Political Science 1100, Introduction to American Politics, April 15, 2015

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Current events

Why are American Courts So Powerful?

4. The Supreme Court at the Center of American Politics:
 

A. United States v. Nixon (1974), the constitutional crisis of the century

 

B. Bush vs. Gore  (2000)

 

C. The Affordable Health Care Act (2012)

 

How the Courts Make Policy: The Case of Abortion

1. The Abortion Issue
 

   A. In the Early 1800s, Abortion Was Not A Criminal Offense

 

   B. But In The Mid-1800s, States Began To Make Abortion A Crime

      Why? Victorian Morals and Poor Surgical Techniques

 

   C. 1960s: Conditions Change Again

      - Surgery Improved
      - The Old Statutes Were Very Narrow
      - The Women's Movement
      - Griswold v. Connecticut Established A Privacy Right

2. Roe v. Wade
 

  A. Why Roe Sought an Injunction

  B. Why A U.S. District Court? Original Jurisdiction

  C. Why An Appeal ?

     No One Liked the District Court's Decision so they Appealed To
     The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court Of Appeals ...

     ... and Then To The U.S. Supreme Court

D. Key Supreme Court Policy Choices

- Decision #1: Should We Hear the Case?

      Does Roe Have "Standing"?

- Decision #2: Should we decide in Favor of Roe or Wade?

     The decision in favor of Roe

- Decision #3:

  Should we set policy guidelines for constitutional abortion rights for the whole nation ?

    Answer: Yes

    (a) First trimester: No interference
“the abortion decision … must be
left to the medical judgment of the
pregnant  woman's attending physician.”

 

    (b) Second trimester: State regulation

     “the State, in promoting its interest in the health of the mother, may, if it chooses, regulate the abortion procedure in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health.”

 

    (c) Third trimester: States can ban most abortions
 “For the stage subsequent to viability, the State in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life may, if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe, abortion except where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgment, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.”

   

 Politics and Abortion Policy after Roe

 

The Mobilization of interest groups

 

Elections matter   -- especially for the Supreme Court

 

Federalism matters - state actions.

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