Why is Abortion still legal with the GOP in Charge?

[NOFX]

The GOP has always been strongly against abortion right? Now my question if the GOP is in charge of congress, the senate, the Presidency why havent they change the law to make it illegal? How does the process work?

 

[bored]

Abortion is such a hot-button that there's basically an unspoken rule to not bring it up in Congress.

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

uh...'cause of Gloria Steinem.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Well essentially you'd have to overturn Roe v. Wade.

 

[NOFX]

Well essentially you'd have to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Yea, and didnt bush hired two conservative judges to the supreme court.

 

[jaguarr]

The GOP just uses the abortion issue as a political tool to elicit votes from conservatives and religious folks. I think, in all reality, they could care less about it which is why you see so little of it even brought up by them. They know it's a hot button so as long as they can keep it alive to bring up around election time to remind people who want it abolished that they're "on their side", they will. The rest of the time they don't do a damn thing about it.

jag

 

[Ben Urich]

Democrats want you to kill babies.

 

[NOFX]

The GOP just uses the abortion issue as a political tool to elicit votes from conservatives and religious folks. I think, in all reality, they could care less about it which is why you see so little of it even brought up by them. They know it's a hot button so as long as they can keep it alive to bring up around election time to remind people who want it abolished that they're "on their side", they will. The rest of the time they don't do a damn thing about it.

jag

Hmmmm

 

[cass]

Yea, and didnt bush hired two conservative judges to the supreme court.

Kennedy has become the swing vote, who would most likely not overturn Rowe v. Wade.

Mathematics.

 

[Babs Gordon]

It's pretty flipping difficult to amend the constitution, that's why.

They've been doing their best to chip away at it, those sneaky mctrickersons.

 

[War Lord]

Abortion, like smoking, could be banned. However, the party that actually bans it outright would be trashed at the earliest opportunity and it would take years to rebuild.

No party is willing to commit suicide over it.

 

[Kaboom]

first, you have supreme court precedent.

then you have to understand the federal system of government, there are somethings the federal government does not have the power to legilate against, and are reserved to the states under the tenth amendment.

meaning, it could be a states rights issue.

To the extent the federal govt would be able to legislate against abrtion, it would probably have to amend the constitution to give it such power.

even if it did that, it would have to withstand judicial scrutiny, the justices being guided by precedent more than their own political'religious/social agendas.

its not as easy as just saying the GOP is in charge they should change it.

*note i'm not advocating the passing of such a law, merely describing the way it would have to be done.

 

[hippie_hunter]

The GOP has always been strongly against abortion right? Now my question if the GOP is in charge of congress, the senate, the Presidency why havent they change the law to make it illegal? How does the process work?

1. The Supreme Court would over rule the law banning all forms of abortion. Roe v. Wade has guaranteed a woman's right to abortion.

2. Banning abortion will create a huge mess and most Republicans know this. Restricting forms of abortion and out right banning it are two different things.

 

[kaylee]

Two reasons:

1. The minute they ban abortion, they lose everyone in the "mushy middle" so to speak. There are a lot of people who would favor more restrictions on abortions, who would never support an outright ban.

2. Isn't it more effective to keep using it as a tool to motivate the base in terms of donation and get out the vote efforts? If they always think they are a hairsbreadth from overturning abortion, won't they work that much harder.

The problem with the second one is that evnetually someone is going to figure out they keep *not* keeping their promises.

All that said, dear Justice John Paul Stevens, please please hang in there.

 

[Man-Thing]

If Roe vs. Wade were to be overturned by judicial opinion, it would not make abortion illegal, it would simply revert back to the system in place before Roe vs. Wade, which left it in the hands of the states.

In order for abortion to become illegal, there would have to be a constitutional ammendment added, because Roe vs. Wade was decided upon an interpretation of the fourth ammendment. (The supossed grounds for the right to an abortion stem from the interpritation of the fourth ammendment as guaranting a "right to privacy", thus women's right to privacy trumps out the life of the unborn.) In order for there to be a constitutional ammendment, there has to be a purposal by congress or a national convention of atleast 66% of the states. Then after this, they must be ratified by conventions held in 75% of the states or the legislatures.

Roe vs Wade, could be overturned, but would likely be reinstated upon the apointment of Liberal activist judges at the supreme court sometime in the future. This is why for there to be any closure to abortion as a means of birth control, there must be a constitutional ammendment.

 

[Superman79]

Roe v. Wade could be overturned, but the odds of any state making abortion 100% illegal is highly unlikely...

That and really, we have bigger things to worry about right now...call me crazy...

 

[Not Jake]

Sometimes my son eats the last of the Count Chocula and I wish I would've had him aborted.