Friday, September 03, 2021

Post Roe v. Wade

The nation certainly didn't see this coming. SCOTUS has let stand the draconian Texas law that effectively rescinds abortion rights in the state. You may have a right to an abortion but you will not be able to actually get one. It also opens up a potential new era of law in which the states can enact laws that evade judicial review by using bounty hunting as a means of enforcement. This is the sort of crises that can focus the national mind.

Imagine, for example, that New York passed a law permitting “any person” to sue gun owners and collect a $10,000 bounty from those gun owners. Or, for that matter, imagine if a state allowed anyone to file a lawsuit against Justice Samuel Alito, seeking a $10,000 bounty every time Alito used the word “the.”
Does anyone think this Supreme Court would rule that a law authorizing thousands of harassment suits against gun owners is compatible with the Second Amendment? Or that it would force those gun owners to hire lawyers and litigate a seemingly endless stream of lawsuits to avoid paying a bounty?

Update: Travis County Judge temporarily blocks enforcement of the Texas anti-abortion law until September 17.

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