by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 22, 2004
New Orleans, LA (LifeNews.com) -- Though a three-judge panel
of a federal appeals court turned back a request by Norma McCorvey to
reopen the Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion, one of the panel's
judges blasted the nation's high court for its landmark 1973 decision.
Circuit
Judge Edith H. Jones wrote the opinion for the court denying McCorvey's
request. However, she also wrote a concurring opinion calling Roe an
"exercise of raw judicial power," and citing evidence McCorvey
presented showing abortions hurt women.
Jones, a Reagan nominee, wrote that the "[Supreme] Court's rulings have rendered basic abortion policy beyond the power of our legislative bodies."
"The perverse result of the Court's having determined through constitutional adjudication this fundamental social policy, which affects over a million women and unborn babies each year, is that the facts no longer matter," Jones added.
Jones chided the nation's high court for being "so committed to 'life' that it struggles with the particular facts of dozens of death penalty cases each year," but failing to grasp the fact that abortions destroys the lives of unborn children.
Judge Jones accused the Supreme Court of purposefully ignoring the evidence that legalized abortion has been harmful to society.
"Hard and social science will of course progress even though the Supreme Court averts its eyes," she wrote.
McCorvey's motion included over 5000 pages of evidence with affidavits from over 1000 woman who have been harmed by abortion.
"I deeply regret the damage my original case caused women," McCorvey said. "I want the Supreme Court to examine the evidence and have a spirit of justice for women and children."
Jones' opinion cites the affidavits and says women hurt by abortion should be taken seriously.
"It takes no expert prognosticator to know that research on women's mental and physical health following abortion will yield an eventual medical consensus," Jones said.
"One may fervently hope that the court will someday acknowledge such developments and re-evaluate Roe and Casey accordingly," Jones concluded.
"Judge Jones said a lot of good things," McCorvey told the Houston Chronicle in response to the opinion. "We're learning who our friends in the courts are."
McCorvey is receiving assistance in the case from the Justice Foundation, a pro-life law firm. Attorneys there are considering whether to ask the full appeals court to consider her case or to appeal the panel's decision to the Supreme Court.
In 1995, McCorvey announced that she had become a Christian and pro-life. Later, she formed a pro-life educational outreach called Roe No More.
Related web sites:
Justice Foundation (Operation Outcry) - http://www.operationoutcry.org
United States Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit - http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov
Roe No More - http://www.roenomore.org
