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PHOENIX – For most of his life, Marshall Barwise viewed the U.S. Supreme Court as soberly dedicated to protecting the rights of all Americans, especially those who are not white men.
The court then reversed Roe v. Wade.
Although Barwise is personally opposed to abortion, she does not agree with the repeal of the nationwide right to abortion and sees it as yet another example of how American democracy is broken.
“There is so much disagreement even within our own government, how can we trust it? Everything is so divisive,” said Burwise, 37, a new mother who works in financial sales and considers herself politically independent.
For years she diligently voted, believing in the democratic system that should represent everyone. Yet, she said, a powerful few seem to be making decisions that don’t match what the majority wants — or taking no action at all.
“We’ve all been through cases where we’ve heard people say all the right things, and then they get into a position of power and do the exact opposite — or a segment, a small part, enough to appease or hopefully get re-elected. ” she said.
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With Congress gridlocked and presidents facing challenges when acting alone, the Supreme Court — historically the most apolitical branch of government — appears to have become the most capable of rapidly reshaping society.
In the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin, many who oppose the abortion decision said they did not expect Rowe to fall because it had been in place for nearly five decades and, though controversial, had become ingrained in American society. It was considered settled law, so its sudden end was unsettling to many — and left them worried about what might come next.
The decision catapulted abortion into the headlines in all three states where races for governor and the U.S. Senate are underway.
Although the court should focus on legal reasoning rather than public opinion, the June 24 decision did not align with the views of most Americans. Fifty-six percent of adults oppose the rollover Rowe, according to a recent Marist College survey conducted with NPR and PBS NewsHour after the court issued its decision. Of those surveyed, 57 percent said they thought the court’s decision was based mostly on politics, while 36 percent said they thought it was mostly based on law.
“They must be impartial. They have to look at the law as it is instead of what political interests might have in mind,” said Timothy Oxley Jr., 31, a statistical programming analyst from Columbia, South Carolina, who was visiting Atlanta last week. “They are there to work for the people, not for their own interests. And I feel like that’s what they do more than anything these days.
A year ago, 60 percent of adults approved of the job the Supreme Court is doing, according to a Marquette University Law School poll. There was little difference between the views of Republicans and Democrats.
Until May – soon after the project of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org opinion expired — the court’s approval fell 16 points, to 44 percent, according to a follow-up Marquette poll. That poll showed a dramatic party split, with 71 percent of Republicans approving but 28 percent of Democrats doing the same.
The abortion decision came amid a series of major decisions, including ones to expand gun rights and limit the EPA’s ability to limit carbon emissions. On Thursday, the court agreed to consider whether state lawmakers have the sole power to determine how federal elections are conducted and where congressional district lines are drawn.
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Many of the recently issued decisions, but especially the annulment of Rowe — excited conservatives and angry liberals, prompting protests and condemnation from lawmakers, celebrities, corporations and civic groups who said they worried the court was becoming another political branch of government. After the court spent decades expanding rights for many Americans, including by legalizing same-sex marriage and protecting the right to vote, many were surprised to see a right revoked.
“It’s just going to be really interesting to see what happens in terms of people’s respect for the Supreme Court going forward. I’ve always held him in such reverence and I don’t at this point,” said Emily Moore, a school speech therapist in Middleton, Wis., who was outraged by the abortion decision.
Clinics in Wisconsin stopped offering abortions because of an 1849 law that prohibited abortions unless the woman’s life was in danger. Gov. Tony Evers (D) asked the court to strike down that law. Moore, 59, said she’s glad Democrats are fighting those restrictions, but she’s pessimistic about the possibility of change in her state.
Clinics in Wisconsin stopped offering abortions because of an 1849 law
“I vote every election and I’m going to keep voting and I’m going to keep trying,” she said. “I know it might not matter, given how things are rigged, but Democrats are winning statewide elections in Wisconsin, so every vote counts.”
While many liberals see the decision as trampling on a long-established right, many abortion opponents see it as a decision correcting a catastrophic legal wrong.
Gary Schmitz, who has long rallied with other abortion opponents outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Madison, Wis., said he did not see the latest decision as more political than Rowe.
“It was also political, if what we have now is political,” he said.
One of his compatriots, Julia Haag, said she sees the recent abortion decision as Brown v. Board of Educationthe 1954 decision that overturned the 1896 decision that allowed racial segregation in schools and other public places.
“They went back when they made mistakes and fixed them,” she said. “They should have fixed that.”
Laila Shima of Madison, Wis., said the court has become increasingly political for decades, but the problem has worsened in recent years. She was disappointed in 2016 when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) refused to hold a hearing for President Barack Obama’s nominee to the court, Merrick Garland. She was further irritated when McConnell put President Donald Trump’s three nominees on fast tracks.
“It was just like a blatant attack on democracy,” she said. “It was just ridiculous, wasn’t it? It’s appalling how they can pretend to be democratic.
Jalisa Johnson, an Atlanta entrepreneur, said the abortion ruling and the ruling released Thursday, which some say undermines Miranda rights, worries her as a black woman. While black Americans have made progress over the past century, she said, many still feel unrepresented by their government.
“We’re still not equal,” she said. “And because that was not our nation’s agenda, in any sense, at that beginning. The goal was to elevate white Americans or the white majority. So the fight for equality is … a problem we have today.”
Johnson said he “morally does not believe in abortion” but “believes in freedom and the right to choose.” In Georgia, Republicans are trying to ban abortions in about six weeks.
In Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey (R) just signed a law banning abortions after 15 weeks, and Republicans may try to impose other restrictions. Arizona Attorney General Mark Burnovich (R) said a law from the mid-1800s that makes it a crime to perform abortions could be enforced.
“I feel like a lot of it goes back to racing in the old days, like they want to go back to 1900 when women were in the kitchen,” said Case Mears, 20, a Democrat who was spending time with a cousin in Glendale, Arizona , the same afternoon Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as the first black woman on the Supreme Court.
Mears doesn’t usually follow the court’s work closely, but she did pay attention to the abortion ruling, which she sees as an abrogation of her rights. She distrusts the court and believes that many judges prioritize their own political and religious beliefs over the general American public.
“Everyone should be treated equally and have the same rights,” she said.
She added: “They really don’t care about me. They just take care of themselves.”
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She felt more hopeful about the country’s direction in 2020 when she voted for Joe Biden for president and Mark Kelly for US Senate. Nearly two years later, she feels as underrepresented as ever in Congress, an institution that feels distant and disconnected from her daily life as a middle school teacher.
She wishes lawmakers would spend more time expanding rights for all Americans.
“Everyone is equal, and I feel like some people in Congress and the government are trying to put some races and genders above everyone else,” she said.
Alfredo Gutierrez, former Arizona Democratic Senate Majority Leader, has been fighting for civil rights, most recently on behalf of undocumented immigrants, for most of his 77 years.
It’s a cause that took him from the fertile fields of southern Arizona alongside Cesar Chavez to the streets in the late 1960s to help convince voters to recognize Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a holiday at the beginning of The 90s.
Along the way, Gutierrez revered the Supreme Court for its tradition of expanding rights, though his admiration gave way to cynicism about the confirmation process.
Now, after the abortion decision, he sees the court as a political tool.
“Every step of the way, it’s been a step of inclusion, it’s been a step of bringing people into the circle to determine the future of this country,” he said. “And that’s it…
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