That
the ideologues who don’t want President Barack Obama to have a political
victory by providing access to health insurance for the masses would be upset
that the 4-4 tie would result in a lower court being upheld in its decision to
strike down parts of the act.
BUT
THAT’S NOT what wound up happening. In fact, I could see how it would be the
conservative ideologues who were counting on the court’s partisan split and
shortfall of a member to result in a positive ruling by default.
Instead,
the nation’s high court wound up issuing about as sensible a ruling as could be
achieved. They unanimously issued an order saying the lower courts need to come
up with a compromise situation. One that would appease all.
Although when it comes to Barack Obama and abortion, there probably is no such thing as something for everyone.
The
issue at stake in this case was that certain entities don’t want to have to
include medical coverage in the health insurance packages they offer their
employees that would cover a woman’s ability to terminate a pregnancy.
THEY
WANT TO think that if people work for them, then they somehow forfeit their
access to what has been a fully legitimate and legal medical procedure since
the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling of 1973.
Appeals
courts with a partisan leaning had ruled those companies could get away with
such narrow-minded thinking.
Had
the court given in to the 4-4 split caused by the death earlier this year of
Justice Antonin Scalia, that ruling would have been upheld by default. The
lower court’s ruling would have stood.
Instead,
the high court came up with their idea of a compromise, which shows a
willingness to not let partisan politics become the cause of creation of the
rule of law.
IF
ANYTHING, THIS court decision affirms my basic faith in government. Because I
have come to believe that while our government officials are always capable of
doing something incredible stupid, shallow and narrow-minded, every now and
then they will be capable of doing the right thing.
If
anything, it is the reason why people who talk about throwing out our
government and issue penny-ante talk of revolution (including many of those how
talking about backing Bernie Sanders for president) usually strike me as being
fairly shallow thinkers.
It
will be interesting to see how the appeals courts wind up resolving this issue.
Because
they’re going to have to figure out what constitutes compromise. They’re going
to have to come up with the way of letting religious organizations express
their opposition to abortion without actually interfering with a woman’s right
to decide for herself what she should do with her body.
BELIEVE
IT OR not, that is a very radical thought for some of those
religiously-motivated people. Then again, for many of them they just want to
use “God” as an excuse to tell women (and all other people) what they can or
cannot do.
I
don’t know how this situation will resolve itself, or what the compromise will
look like. For all I know, the appeals courts may wind up failing, and it will
come down to a Supreme Court of the future ultimately having to make the
decision.
If
it does turn out that way, let’s hope the court shows as much responsibility in
the future as it did on Monday.
Even
though I’m sure if it does happen that way, the conservative ideologues of our
society will wind up reviling such a decision the way the masses of our society
still sneer at the way the high court resolved the 2000 election voter count.
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