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Political Reality
Even if dropping their mutual obsession with Roe would be best for both sides from legal, statistical, and public health perspectives, one can be forgiven for thinking it politically unpalatable. Roe has been a remarkably effective lightning rod for support—both for secularists on the Left and evangelicals on the Right. The decision serves as a universal access point to a complex and contentious moral question, so it remains an important tool for both sides of the debate.
But if Roe serves as a political tool, it is also a political liability, particularly for the Left. Since 1973, preserving abortion rights has become a game of diminishing returns: while the courts have allowed for increasingly restrictive additions to abortion law, the left has lost political ground—largely, some say, because of its very support for abortion rights. The movement has backed Roe at the expense of its broader social welfare agenda, and in order to remain a viable political force, it should consider dropping its support.
And although overturning Roe would have only a marginal effect on the legal or statistical availability of abortion resources nationally, it could help remove some of the ‘judicial activist’ stigma associated with the Left, enabling it to pursue the rest of its agenda with broader popular support. If Balkin is correct, the Right may still find itself unable to allow a complete reversal of Roe.
The pro-life movement would also do well to divert its attention from Roe. Should it be successful in influencing the court to reverse the decision, it would run the risk of a major popular backlash in exchange for a modest reduction in abortions. South Dakota’s recent abortion ban, designed to test the judicial waters, suggests that the public may not have the stomach for such a dramatic reversal: many congressional Republicans have voiced disapproval or hesitation over the severity of the law.
However much pro-life and pro-choice advocates tout the importance of Roe, it will remain one of many laws, judicial decisions, and social scruples that govern the status of abortion in the U.S. Until one faction or the other is able to recognize the cultural and statistical realities of the procedure, the debate will remain a misguided one, lodged firmly in the hands of a handful of judges in black robes.
John Davisson is a sophomore majoring in History at Columbia University.