While we were enjoying a long holiday, we see that the other side was… deciding to go FULL nuclear on Roe and precedent and logic.
That’s right, the amicus briefs for the anti-abortion side of June Medical Services v. Gee ARE HERE and they SUCK. We’ll be diving into them all in the coming weeks. Honestly it makes us mad that there are people out there who can write legal briefs and yet… cannot seem to muster any human empathy… oh wait, that’s where ALL lawyer jokes come from!
But the big brief we’re gonna discuss today is the one from FUCKING 207 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.****
NOT LIKE THERE’S A LOT OF OTHER NEWS TODAY.
So let’s talk about the two really dangerous parts of this brief. FIRST THINGS FIRST: they’re ALREADY saying that Roe should be overturned! This case could just be an “undue burden” case — it’s not one of the bans that have been trying to make it to the court for years to get rid of Roe — but NO they specifically say in this brief that they want Roe to be reconsidered. I mean, we knew it forever, but now it’s WRITTEN OUT. And the reason they give for WHY?? Because it’s “unworkable.” IDK I think “right to abortion” is PRETTY FUCKING CLEAR. DOESN’T REALLY SEEM UNWORKABLE. In fact, it’s USUALLY NOT confusing to courts… just to asshole politicians who keep passing laws they KNOW are in violation of Roe. So “we’re willfully ignoring this” now becomes “unworkable” we guess. Here’s some select quotes from this trash:
The Fifth Circuit labored to do the best it could with the vague and opaque “undue burden” standard on which the Court has relied since Casey. Amici respectfully suggest that the court’s struggle—similar to dozens of other courts’ herculean struggles in this area—illustrates the unworkability of the “right to abortion” found in Roe and the need for the Court to take up the issue of whether Roe and Casey should be reconsidered and, if appropriate, overruled
And
These incessant retrenchments show that Roe has been substantially undermined by subsequent authority, a principal factor the Court considers when deciding whether to overrule precedent. Casey clearly did not settle the abortion issue, and it is time for the Court to take it up again.
“Did not settle” is so fucking patronizing. “Well, Casey reaffirmed Roe… which is NOT what we wanted … so let’s just reverse it and say ‘no rights’ cuz that’s easier for everyone.” What’s even more infuriating about this is WE WOULD LOVE for Roe and Casey to be clearer, to just say, “You can’t pass laws that make it harder for people to get abortions.” That’d be great. But they are really saying “because we refuse to believe Roe or pass laws that affirm Roe… the problem is clear… Roe is unworkable.” The brat argument… is honestly all anti-abortion people have.
BUT ALSO LUDICROUS is their argument about why they think that providers SHOULDN’T be able to sue on behalf of their patients:
When it comes to State health and safety regulations, there is an inherent conflict of interest between abortion providers and their patients. It is impossible for abortion clinics and doctors to share or represent the interests of their patients when they seek to eliminate the very regulations designed to protect their patients’ health and safety.
JESUS CHRIST! This is them saying that doctors INHERENTLY have different interests than helping their patients. Should there just be NO DOCTORS THEN? Should doctors just… never get to advocate for their patients? JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!
But let’s think about this big picture. They use specific violations from these clinics to argue that NO CLINICS should be able to advocate for their patients. DOESN’T THAT SEEM RIDICULOUS TO YOU? How are you gonna make SUPREME COURT PRECEDENT based on like, a few mistakes from a few doctors?? “Yes because this doctor checked the wrong box… no doctor can even care about their patient.” COME THE FUCK ON!
And this also plays into their horrifying rhetoric that they are just trying to “help” patients. And in 2020 we’re not letting them get away with that. Because yes, patients should be safe, but we 100% know that’s not what these lawmakers want. They want to close clinics. And they want to overturn Roe.
And we’re in for a big fight in 2020.
**** Here’s a fun fact: some states have 1 representative in the House of Representatives but STILL GET TWO SENATORS. YES, THE TWO SENATORS FROM NEW YORK SHOULD DEF HAVE THE SAME POWER AS THE TWO NORTH DAKOTA SENATORS. COOL SYSTEM. We know this is old news to people but, just wanted to point out that both ND senators signed this brief.