Justice Ginsburg: Roe v. Wade Decision Came Too Soon
The U.S. Supreme Court may have moved too quickly when it found a constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade, according to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Speaking at a Columbia Law School symposium on Friday, Ginsburg said the court could have delayed hearing the case while state law evolved on the issue, the Associated Press reports. “It’s not that the judgment was wrong, but it moved too far too fast,” she said.
Another alternative, she said, was to strike down the Texas law before the court, without finding a right to privacy that overturned abortion bans nationwide. “Things might have turned out differently if the court had been more restrained,” she said.
At the time of the 1973 decision, abortion was legal in four states, and available on a limited basis in about 16 others, according to AP.
The story sees a parallel to changing laws on same-sex marriage, which is now legal in six states. “Legal advocates on both sides of the issue wonder if the Supreme Court will want to have a say on the matter relatively soon, or let the state-by-state process evolve further,” the story says. “Ginsburg did not comment on that issue.”
Hat tip to How Appealing.
Recent Ginsburg coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Ginsburg Appears on Egyptian TV, Talks About Constitution Writing”
