Necessary Roughness

CNSNews.com reports that the 8th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals will hear arguments as to whether abortion terminates a human life.

This may be red meat for anti-abortionists, but extreme caution is in order here.

Planned Parenthood is arguing that the State of Nebraska is imposing an ideology when the state legislated that parents receive notification that they are terminating a life. If the federal judge actually makes a decision either way as to whether Nebraska’s statement is correct, the federal government has then imposed an ideology from the bench. Brilliant. Planned Parenthood is not an advocate for liberty here, just an advocate for finding the right venue where its will can be codified.

I hope what comes of this is that the state legislature, voted into power every couple of years by registered voters, retains the right to make this decision. Anti-abortionists howled when Roe vs. Wade took the decision out of the hands of the state governments and put it into the hands of five liberal Supreme Court justices. Court precedent is harder to change than state legislation, and thus it is harder to fix mistakes. The bench should not be allowed to make new law, even when the new law looks OK.

Life vs. liberty is a false choice here. We need to protect both.