Word: court
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Both inside and outside the U.S. Supreme Court last week, the endless argument over abortion came to a critical confrontation. Outside there was a | raucous standoff on the courthouse steps and plaza, where some 200 demonstrators, pro and con, sang, chanted and shouted. Inside, where the noise could not penetrate, the nine Justices were assembled to hear arguments in William L. Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, a case that could leave in tatters the pivotal Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973. In both places many of the issues were the same. But inside, though the language...
...perform or assist in an abortion. The statute, which has never gone into effect, would also forbid doctors in publicly funded hospitals to "encourage or counsel" a woman to obtain an abortion. Webster argued that several of the law's provisions would have little impact, implying that the court could uphold them without jeopardizing...
...Solicitor General Charles Fried, called back by the Bush Administration to argue this case, who made the broad attack, presenting the White House argument that Roe should be overturned. In the most interesting exchanges of the morning, O'Connor and Kennedy appeared to press Fried to explain how the court could reverse Roe without also undoing a crucial 1965 decision, Griswold v. Connecticut. In that ruling the court found that the right of privacy protects the decision to use contraceptives. Abortion is different, Fried replied, because it involves the purposeful termination of potential life. "We are not asking the court...
...Justices must decide how widely to rule: to strike down the Missouri law or to support it as compatible with Roe; they could also restrict or, less likely, overturn Roe. Many observers expect a fragmented court until further appointments produce a firm majority on one side or the other. As with some affirmative-action cases, even Justices who agree in an abortion ruling might disagree about the legal basis for their conclusions. Although the Justices were expected to vote on the case in a closed-door session last week, their decision is not likely to be announced until late next...
...peculiarly American idea that the social injustices of the past can be mollified with cash and property payments. In 1980 the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Federal Government to pay some $122 million to eight tribes of Sioux Indians to make up for the illegal seizure of their tribal lands in 1877. Two years ago, Japanese Americans forced into internment camps during World War II were awarded checks for $20,000. Now some African Americans want cash compensation for the slavery their ancestors endured. "We call for reparations," declared a resolution passed at the African-American summit in New Orleans...