Regardless of your personal beliefs about legalized abortion, the politics surrounding the issue are disturbing.
Several states have placed severe restrictions on a procedure that has been deemed legal by the U.S. Supreme Court. Leaders in those states are counting on the current court to ignore these constitutional violations, which it has thus far.
Those leaders also are counting on the court to roll back or overturn its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which determined that the 14th Amendment protected a woman’s right to privacy in choosing whether to have an abortion. Justices heard arguments late last year in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and are expected to issue a ruling this summer. The case challenges a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and veteran Supreme Court watchers expect the justices to uphold that law and give states increased power in defining abortion rights.
In response to challenges across the country to abortion laws, Gov. Jay Inslee this month signed a bill that prohibits legal action against people seeking an abortion and those who aid them.
“We know this bill is necessary because this is a perilous time for the ability of people to have the freedom of choice that they have enjoyed for decades,” Inslee said.
The signing came days after the Idaho Legislature passed a bill prohibiting abortion after six weeks of pregnancy — before many women realize they are pregnant. “To the citizens of Idaho, if Idaho will not stand up for your constitutional rights, we will,” Inslee said.
The Idaho bill was inspired by a Texas law that took effect in September. That law not only places restrictions on abortion, it allows for enforcement by citizens rather than the state and establishes a bounty system. Plaintiffs may file suit against people who seek an abortion or anybody who assists them, collecting up to $10,000 plus legal fees. If the plaintiff loses, they do not have to pay the defendants’ legal costs.
The Supreme Court has declined to stop the law, saying that citizen enforcement prevents it from intervening.
The subterfuge of this end run around constitutional protections is dangerous and frightening. And it already is extending to other facets of society.
California is pursuing a law allowing citizens to sue for violations of the state’s assault weapons ban and other gun-control measures, mimicking the Texas abortion law. “If Texas can use a law to ban a woman’s right to choose and to put her health at risk, we will use that same law to save lives and improve the health and safety of the people in the state of California,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in February.
Promoting vigilantism — regardless of the issue — undermines the notion that we are a nation of laws and undermines the role of representative government. It also leads to questions about where it will end and how far states will go to place enforcement in the hands of advocates rather than legal authorities who can be held accountable by the public.
Abortion has been legal in Washington since a 1970 referendum passed by voters. A 1991 ballot measure also approved by voters further protected access in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Despite these protections, a situation in which lawmakers feel compelled to rebut legislative actions by other states is particularly disturbing. And it is reflective of a nation that is hopelessly divided, using the law to exacerbate those divisions rather than bring us together.
