The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the abortion rights law caused a lot of controversy around the world.
In the US, abortion was legalized for nearly 50 years. The move is anti-democratic and a sign that the US is underminority rule according to leading progressives in Washington. Most of the conservatives on the Supreme Court were appointed by Republican presidents who lost the popular vote according to recent polling that shows a majority of Americans support allowing abortion in most or all cases.
The decision of the court in recent days raises questions about minority rule in the US, according to top political scientists. They pointed out that America's democracy is in a bad place because of the Republican party's lack of respect for democratic institutions.
The Supreme Court's ruling in the Jackson Women's Health Organization case would not have happened if the Electoral College had not been in place.
The decision is an example of indirect minority rule in that it was caused by problems in the congressional institutions.
He characterized the decision as a huge blow for the rule of law, as it stripped away a right that people have depended on for a long time. The rule of law states that you can count on tomorrow being the same as yesterday.
I firmly believe that a woman's right to choose is essential to her freedom, equality, and dignity. Fung said that he deeply believed that.
He said that he was confused by the idea that the decision on its own was a blow for democracy because it effectively punted the issue down to states and people's elected representatives. He acknowledged that there are a number of "democratically problematic states" where a majority of voters support allowing abortion as their legislature moves to restrict or ban access.
Despite not winning a majority of the vote at the national level in recent elections, Republicans control a disproportionate share of political power.
Berman said that this is a problem for democracy because both sides are willing to do things that undermine the system. The GOP's embrace of Trump's unprecedented effort to overturn the 2020 election results was pointed out by Berman.
Berman believes that the Republican party is the real problem here.
Berman said that this is not because of the GOP's policies, but because of the party's role in subverting democratic rules.
Berman accused Republicans of playing fast and loose with the rules of democracy by derailing the appointment of a justice under President Barack Obama and then rushing to appoint a conservative justice during the final days of the Trump presidency.
Berman said there was nothing inherently wrong with having a majority of justices appointed by one party. Berman said that when the justices' decisions become an easily predicted function of their partisan background, that neuters its ability to act.
Gallup polling shows that confidence in the Supreme Court has fallen to a historic low.
During an interview on PBS's "Amanpour and Company" this week, an authoritarianism expert at Yale said that the US was on the verge of becoming a one party state.
Stanley said that the court is "fulfilling a nakedly partisan agenda" through rulings like the abortion case.
Stanley went on to say, "We had a president voted in by a minority of the population appoint three radical right Supreme Court justices."
America's democratic institutions have failed to represent solid majorities on the environment, guns, and abortion, according to a political scientist.
"Upgrading our political institutions is something we need to do," he said. It is time for proportional representation.
"I'm extremely worried about the state of US democracy, particularly in relation to the growing distrust Americans have towards fundamental institutions," he stated. Citizens, elected officials, and judges need to be doing everything they can to build a path in which these institutions have more legitimacy.
Berman said it's concerning when people on both sides of the political spectrum are conflating decisions they don't like with decisions that are not democratic.
Berman said that the ruling that states should decide on whether abortion should be legal is not anti-democratic, but how Republicans have acted regarding the appointment of Supreme Court justices on top of their dangerous embrace of former President Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election results is anti-democratic
Berman said that Americans should use democracy to fight against decisions they don't agree with and that they should protect the democratic system that allows them to fight to have their policies realized.
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