By Ligia De Jesus Castaldi
A new book exposes judicial activism and the manipulation of legislative processes to illegitimately create abortion rights in eleven Western democracies.
Abortion has never become a legal right, in any nation, through a truly democratic process. International comparative law studies on abortion legalization have long suggested this proposition, and Unborn Human Life and Fundamental Rights: Leading Constitutional Cases under Scrutiny seems to confirm it. The book exposes judicial activism and the manipulation of legislative processes to illegitimately create abortion rights in eleven Western liberal democracies.
International norms on abortion are relevant to any future U.S. Supreme Court appeal to the “law of nations” alluded to in the U.S. Constitution. The book’s editor, international human rights scholar William Saunders, Director of the Human Rights program at The Catholic University of America, has pointed out that “even if Roe v. Wade were overturned, the court might impose abortion if it is viewed as an international norm.”
Originally published on 10 July 2020 at Public Discourse
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