Huckabee Aborts Constitution

Posted at 12:08 pm on Tuesday, November 20, 2007, in Uncategorized, and tagged 2008, religious right.

The scariest thing (so far) about GOP presidential candidate / preacher Mike Huckabee is his rejection of “letting states decide whether to allow abortions, claiming the right to life is a moral issue not subject to multiple interpretations.“

I believe this is the first time a candidate — at least in modern times — has outwardly made such a stance. Typically when a GOP candidate is looking for base support, he (or she, but mind you, this is the GOP; it will always be a he) talks about overturning Roe v. Wade, by way of appointing constructionist judges, I guess.

Overturning Roe v. Wade, however, would make abortion laws go back to the way they were before the 1973 decision (minus any applicable laws made since), which would give the issue back to the states. So New York and California, among many other states, may allow safe and rare abortions, while Texas and Utah, among many others, may ban all abortion procedures, even in the case that the health of the mother is at risk.

Although many liberals may feel that abortion is protected by a constitutional right to privacy, that right is not explicitly stated, and therefore, the right is debatable and, like all constitutional matters, is up to interpretation. However, the reverse is also true. The Constitution does explicitly state, though, that any issue not covered in the hallowed document goes to the state (thank you wonderful tenth amendment, the most important amendment, along with one, four and nine).

And that is where abortion law had existed until Roe and that is where it would be in the case of Roe being overturned. And that is the typical line of conservatives — McCain, Thompson, et al. But now Huckabee, who must be considered a religious nut, and I am quite sure he is proud of that, is saying that the only abortion reform he is willing to make (despite all likelihood of it happening and with evidence of zero bipartisan support) is a federal ban on all abortions, superseding the Roe decision and superseding states’ rights outlined in the Constitution. This is clearly a scary development in the GOP nomination.

We must realize that Huckabee is trying to woo the religious right, and garner media attention in the process, and conservatives do say the darndest things when running for president, but candidates’ statements do matter. Only Congress could pass a law banning abortions, and with Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, it is safe to say that that law is not anywhere close to reaching the floor.

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