Greenhouse/Siegel article on Roe

Here is a link to a very interesting article by Linda Greenhouse and Reva Siegel. The article is entitled "Before (and After) Roe v. Wade: New Questions about Backlash." Here is the first paragraph of the abstract--

"Today, many Americans blame polarizing conflict over abortion on the Supreme Court. If only the Court had stayed its hand or decided Roe v. Wade on narrower grounds, they argue, the nation would have reached a political settlement and avoided backlash. We question this court-centered backlash narrative. Where others have deplored the abortion conflict as resulting from courts “shutting down” politics, we approach the abortion conflict as an expression of politics—a conflict in which the Supreme Court was not the only or even the most important actor."

It is important to focus on the Court's role in the conflict over abortion because the Court's decisions have had a profound impact on the nature of the struggle over the issue for nearly 40 years. But I think it is a mistake to overstate the Court's role, and to that extent I agree with Greenhouse and Siegel that there is a danger in being too court-centered. It is not uncommon to hear people place the entire blame for the current situation on Justice Blackmun. And while Justices Blackmun and Brennan played a pivotal role, it is important to focus on the broader culture. That is why it is so important that certain cultural trends on this issue (e.g., the increasing pro-life sentiment among young people) are encouraging.

Richard M.