#Souter closed by reiterating that #Casey, & #Roe, were about far more than simply #abortion:
“A decision to overrule Roe's essential holding under the existing circumstances would address error, if error there was,at the cost of both profound & unnecessary damage to the Court's #legitimacy, & to the Nation's commitment to the rule of #law. It is therefore imperative to adhere to the essence of Roe's original decision, & we do so today."
#DavidSouter #SCOTUS #law #judiciary #Independence #ethics

“It is the dimension present whenever the Court's interpretation of the #Constitution calls the contending sides of a national controversy to end their national division by accepting a common mandate rooted in the Constitution.

"The Court is not asked to do this very often, having thus addressed the Nation only twice in our lifetime, in the decisions of #Brown & #Roe.

Then #Souter moved to the core of his argument, 2 paragraphs that rank among the most memorable lines ever authored by an American #jurist:

"Where, in the performance of its judicial duties, the Court decides a case in such a way as to resolve the sort of intensely divisive controversy reflected in #Roe & those rare, comparable cases, its decision has a dimension that the resolution of the normal case does not carry.

That background had not been fully understood by the commentators & Senators who had debated what his 1990 nomination meant for the future of #Roe & other fundamental rights. If they had, what was now happening in Casey would not have come as a surprise.

#Souter's analysis reflected a realism not always found in high court pronouncements:

The most eloquent section of the opinion was the discussion of #Roe & the principle of #StareDecisis — Latin for #judicial respect of existing #precedent — that had been crafted principally by #DavidSouter. Souter's words in Casey spoke not only for the Court, but also for the essence of America's judicial heritage & for the very core of Souter's own judicial background.

Well before Rehnquist's opinion was circulated to other Justices in late May, Kennedy privately joined #DavidSouter & O'Connor in preparing an extensive separate statement. Sometimes all 3 Justices, sitting on the couch in Souter's office, would jointly review their progress, & their cooperation led to a stunningly unexpected result: Rather than Rehnquist & Scalia having 5 votes to void #Roe, there were 5 votes -- Souter, O'Connor & Kennedy, plus Blackmun & Stevens, to uphold Roe.

But while 7 Justices indicated that they would uphold most of the PA restrictions, only 4—Rehnquist, White, Scalia & Thomas—wanted to explicitly vitiate #Roe. O'Connor, Kennedy & #Souter, however, all believed the restrictions could be upheld at the same time that Roe was left standing. While Rehnquist himself undertook the drafting of Casey's apparent majority opinion, Kennedy's surprising stance gave Souter & O'Connor the opening toward an intermediate outcome….

…Only as Preate's time was about to expire did the 52-year-old #DavidSouter speak up to ask Preate a statistical question about the Pennsylvania provision that would require married women facing unwanted pregnancies to notify their husbands, even if they were separated or estranged, before seeking an #abortion. Then, after #UnitedStates Solicitor General Kenneth W. Starr, representing the anti-abortion views of the Bush Admin, succeeded Preate to second the attack on #Roe,

But now #Roe's survival was very much in doubt, as was starkly revealed by the Pennsylvania anti-#abortion regulations under review in Casey. 3 years earlier, Chief Justice William Rehnquist & Justices Byron White, Antonin Scalia & Anthony Kennedy had signaled their desire to overrule Roe at the first available opportunity, & few observers doubted that the Court's newest & most controversial member, #ClarenceThomas, was eager to join them as the fifth & decisive vote.

@mvario When #RedStates started going after #Roe while #Biden was still president, I posted on here that #IUDs would be next (and if successful, then The Pill.)

All that nonsense they ran on about "#Abortion simply being returned to the states" was obvious hogwash. Every "win" only emboldens them.

“Downing Street said on Monday it expected “more than 30” countries to join a coalition to help secure a lasting peace in Ukraine, though British officials admit that *many would not be willing to put boots on the ground.*

#Britain, #France and #Australia have signalled they are ready to send #troops to help enforce a #ceasefire in #Ukraine, but all have warned that any peace could only be guaranteed if the US provided a military “backstop”.

…

A larger group of EU countries — including #Ireland, #Luxembourg and #Belgium — have not ruled out participating in a possible force, depending on the rules of engagement agreed and its #LegalBasis.”

#ROE / #rules <https://archive.md/phILM> / <https://www.ft.com/content/61cb338a-0d8e-41bc-bd25-72a2096ecf90> (paywall)

@VeroniqueB99
The #GOP packed the #SCotUS with his appointees who then ruled he's #AboveTheLaw.

That was the #Republican long game. They only needed to fill 5 seats (they have 6). They (arguably) can't be removed, and enjoy lifetime appointments. And just look how much damage they've done in just a short time:

They abolished the 1965 #CivilRights Act.

Overturned #Roe.

And declared the #Potus is Above the Law & can't be #impeached.

@Free_Press
YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE of why I'm becoming increasingly skeptical #OrangeHitler actually legitimately won the election.

People upset over #Gaza voting for #BibisBuddy? #PuertoRicans voting for the guy who invited a comedian to call them "a floating island of garbage"? #Union members voting against #Harris (who walked the picket line with them) in favor of the guy who praised Elon Musk for his union busting? Women voting to protect #Roe ALSO voting for the guy who overturned it?

@DemocracyMattersALot
Lots of finger-pointing for #Harris' loss, but I personally blame the #DNC most of all (#MerrickGarland a close 2nd for not arresting T**** on DayOne.)

I did not see even ONE commercial or campaign event going after T**** on his greatest strength: the big lie on the state of the #economy, or letting him get away with laying all the blame on #Biden/#Harris.

They thought outrage over #Roe would be enough to carry them over the finish line to the point of ignoring all else.

@DrPsyBuffy
The fact such rampant #misinformation went unchallenged (particularly on T**** strongest issue: the #economy & #inflation) is why I blame the #DNC for her loss.

They thought the woman vote (outrage over #Roe and T****'s #Misogyny) would be enough to carry them over he finish line.

"Stupidity is the same as Evil if you judge by the results." - Margret Atwood.

@GottaLaff
There is something seriously wrong with people (like in Missouri) who voted to codify #Roe AND elected T**** who is certain to nullify any such measure once in office. #OperationPointless #ThePoorlyEducated