Courting disaster

Leaving aside the particular question on which the US Supreme Court issues its ruling last week, the decision has dire consequences for the United States. 

In overturning Roe vs Wade and Planned Parenthood vs Casey, the Court reversed a 50 year old precedent that had been previously upheld by the Supreme Court on several occasions. Given their assurance at their confirmation headings that they would respected stare decisis, that makes the three most recent appointees look less than honest. While we now have come to expect our political leaders to lie routinely, something the 45 demonstrated par excellence, to now find that the most powerful and highest ranking members of the judicial branch do too is not simply disappointing; it erodes trust in another critical institution of democracy. Their example will filter down the food chain with the result that anyone seeking to serve in the judiciary will be presumed to be disingenuous until proven otherwise.

Second, given the relentless campaign by the right to appoint politically conservative justices, whatever the research on SCOTUS decision-making suggests, there can now be no question, at least in the public mind, that the Court is simply politics by other means. That opens that door for further politicization, this time from the left to tip the political balance on the Court back to the center (and back to where, at least in the case of abortion, the majority of the public is). A highly political Court, as this one clearly is, undermines trust in the judiciary.

The implications for democracy in the US are profound. When citizens lose trust in the administration, Congress and the judicial branch, there is, in the end, nothing left but protest, violence and the achieving of ends by force. This country is heading down a dark and dangerous road.