Court Upholds Abortion Ban

Conservatives are rejoicing that the Supreme Court upheld the congressional ban on the so-called "partial birth" abortion procedure. Over at The Corner, Ramesh "Culture of Death" Ponnuru highlights some of Justice Thomas' concurrence.

I write separately to reiterate my view that the Court's abortion jurisprudence, including Casey and Roe v. Wade, 410 U. S. 113 (1973), has no basis in the Constitution.

Thomas is essentially saying that in his view, abortion is not a guaranteed constitutional right. Leaving aside the "activist" nature of this view (ah, the utter hypocrisy of the right), it's pretty clear that this is a signal by Thomas to the right that now is the time to challenge Roe v. Wade. And to that I say "BRING IT ON!"

For too long, the pro-life movement has used smaller, side issues to chip away at a woman's right to choose. Lets dispense with the sideshow, and settle once and for all whether abortion is a legal right for American women.

We have public opinion on our side. We have the House and Senate on our side. And ultimately, we have the American way on our side - it is Un-American to allow a group to use their religious beliefs to impose their will upon all women (a kind of sharia for us).

We shouldn't be afraid of this fight. We are right and they are wrong, and I guarantee you that a number of tough talking conservatives will flee if they have to vote to outlaw abortion. Republicans have provided lip service to the religious right for years on this issue, and if put to the test, they will not vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. It will splinter their coalition.

So, today they won the battle. And they will continue to have these "victories," unless we widen the war and challenge them on Roe v. Wade.

UPDATE FROM CLIFF: My pal Joshua Holland has a great take on this over at AlterNet. Definitely worth a read.