It’s time to overturn Roe v. Wade

In 1973, the Supreme Court opened a can of worms and needs to close it.

Alabama just enacted one of the most restrictive and ridiculous abortion laws of the modern era. Other states are planning to follow suit.

It’s said the reason for these extreme laws is to persuade the United States Supreme Court to review its decision in Roe v. Wade. The hope is that the court will reverse its position on women’s rights and abortion and states like Alabama and Texas (Henry Wade, the defendant in the case, was the district attorney for Dallas County) will be free to return to the good ol’ days of self-righteousness, back-alley providers and blindfolded patients.

This is really a no-win deal for the Supreme Court. Uphold Roe v. Wade and the Bible Belt will go ballistic; reverse and women will justifiably be marching in the streets.

Take your pick.

But there is a third alternative. The court doesn’t need to make any comment on abortion at all. It can simply rule that the federal government does not have any jurisdiction in this area and that regulation of abortion should be left to the states.

Is that going to make everybody happy? Of course not. I am not even sure if it’s going to make very many people happy at all. But the ongoing all-or-nothing battle is futile.

But if the federal government steps out of the picture, it will still be possible for a woman to get an abortion. She might have to travel to do it…