WASHINGTON, December 1 – The first abortion case in five years for the Supreme Court stirred up a lot of dust. Special concerns rose over the new Chief Justice on the Supreme Court, the conservative Roberts. Because of these special circumstances this lawsuit about a New Hampshire law grabbed national attention.
Chief Justice Roberts held his end of the deal as promised in the confirmation hearings for his nomination. He promised not to change abortion laws unless absolutely necessary and he stuck to that promise in this case.
The New Hampshire law included that in case of medical , life threatening, emergencies patients under the age of 18 could have an abortion without prior notification to one of the parents. Since the law did not say anything about medical situations without any immediate danger. Two organizations, Lawyers for Planned Parenthood and American Civil Liberties Union, challenged this law as being unconstitutional.
Roberts, as well as the other justices, immediately intervened by proposing a compromise. Upholding the law and simply carving out the exception for medical emergencies. He played it very smart by focusing on the core issue at hand to evade any other ethical debates about abortion, probably to make it easier to keep his promise.
The outcome will be announced tomorrow but it is likely that it will not change much since both parties agreed to the proposition.
