Dr. John R. Vile, Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University is available to provide expert commentary on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization and whether state laws that ban pre-viability abortions are unconstitutional.
Vile explains: “In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court attempted to resolve the contentious issue of abortion in a decision that attempted to weight the rights of the unborn against those of the mother. It largely did so in a trimester framework that probably appealed more to physicians than it resonated with the American people. Many considered the framework to be a clear case of judicial legislation.
The Court has claimed to uphold the essence of this decision while permitting states to add qualifications as long as they did not impose an ‘undue burden’ on the mother.
The Court’s acceptance of another case setting the point of viability earlier than in Roe could represent a shift on the Court with an apparent 6-3 conservative majority on most issues. But justices surely recognize that a majority that might go farther could be overturned if Biden were to end up with the same number of Court appointments. And justices are surely cognizant that the rule of law suffers when majorities appear to shift too drastically from one view to another.”
Vile is the author and editor of numerous books on the U.S. Constitution including A Companion to the U.S. Constitution and Its Amendments.
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