Dobbs, Civic Education, and Judicial Supremacy

The Dobbs decision has divided our nation–perhaps even more than it was already divided. The pro-lifers have celebrated the decision, while the pro-choicers have bitterly denounced it. Many pro-lifers have celebrated a decision that they think has made abortion illegal nationwide; pro-choicers denounce it for the same reason. But the decision hasn’t actually affected the nation, as a whole. Instead, the Supreme Court majority has reversed Roe by returning the decision about the legality of abortion to the states, where, as the dissenters in Roe itself argued, it always belonged. The question in Dobbs is not whether legalizing abortion is … Continue reading Dobbs, Civic Education, and Judicial Supremacy

The Abortion Decision and Civic Literacy

I had the purely coincidental experience of teaching today both Roe and Casey in my Constitutional Experience course required of all Baylor students, so there are 250 of them in my class. That in combination with my browsing of Twitter (I’m on it too much now) convinces me that this decision illustrates well that we have a profound civic literacy problem. Many on Twitter and many in my class (apparently I haven’t taught them well) seemed to think that the decision would mean the immediate stoppage of all abortions nationwide. Some on Twitter worried that this decision would have an … Continue reading The Abortion Decision and Civic Literacy