Sam Ashworth-Hayes Sam Ashworth-Hayes

Revoking Roe v. Wade is not an assault on democracy

Why we should ignore the backlash to this leaked ruling

(Getty images)

The leak of a draft Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade has sparked a furious reaction in Britain. Yet for all the backlash in British political circles, the reality is that the proposed shake-up of abortion laws in the United States doesn’t really matter here. Our nominally conservative-leaning parliament just voted to make abortion easier, and the issue is nowhere near as salient for the British right as it is in the US. Those who are furiously denouncing the ruling are wading into an issue that will have little to no impact on their own lives.

Yet there is something significant for Brits to take from this furious debate: we’re lucky that we live under the rule of law rather than the rule of lawyers. How much longer will this be the case? Across the Western world, activists, lawyers, and politicians have worked assiduously to shift intensely controversial and inherently political issues from the realm of politics into the realm of law and human rights, where inconvenient obstacles such as debate and democratic process are no longer present. The abortion row shows why doing so is not a wise approach.

We should ignore the backlash to this leaked ruling

It’s hardly surprising that liberal coalitions founded on the basis of disliking existing social structures should strike on this tactic eventually. Using the law to achieve political ends means you don’t need to persuade the public to come along with you. All you need to do is present a sufficiently sympathetic court with an argument that invites them to go along with what they want to do anyway. Once pushed into this space, political issues become instead matters for judges and lawyers, with all discussion framed in terms of technical compliance. Legislators may complain, but know their hands are bound; what the courts have done let no man undo.

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