SCOTUS punts on an abortion decision:
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that a lower court was wrong to strike down New Hampshire abortion restrictions, steering clear of a major ruling on they placed an undue burden on women.
The opinion was written by retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a key swing voter at the court on abortion rights.
Justices said a lower court went too far by permanently blocking the law that requires a parent to be told before a daughter ends her pregnancy.
An appeals court must now reconsider the law, which requires that a parent be informed 48 hours before a minor child has an abortion but makes no exception for a medical emergency that threatens the youth’s health.
In what may be O’Connor’s last ruling of her career, she said “in this case, the courts below chose the most blunt remedy.”
As with all things law-related, there is a good chance that I am completely wrong about this. However, from my understanding of the reports I have just seen and heard, it appears to me that this was Sandra Day O’Connor’s middle-finger salute to everyone as she exits stage left, in essence stating- “Sure, I created the ‘undue burden’ standard. But it isn’t my job to figure out how to make it work.”
Also, if I remember correctly, this was the ruling that was the focus of this excellent Frontline, “The Last abortion Clinic.”