HolyCoast: Justice Ginsberg and Roe v. Wade
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Thursday, July 09, 2009

Justice Ginsberg and Roe v. Wade

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg had some interesting things to say about her understanding of what Roe v. Wade was supposed to do:
Question: Are you talking about the distances women have to travel because in parts of the country, abortion is essentially unavailable, because there are so few doctors and clinics that do the procedure? And also, the lack of Medicaid for abortions for poor women?
Ginsburg: Yes, the ruling about that surprised me. [Harris v. McRae – in 1980 the court upheld the Hyde Amendment, which forbids the use of Medicaid for abortions.] Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion. Which some people felt would risk coercing women into having abortions when they didn't really want them. But when the court decided McRae, the case came out the other way. And then I realized that my perception of it had been altogether wrong.
So, Roe was for reducing members of unwanted populations? The people who worry about abortion and eugenics are apparently right to worry.

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