A federal appeals court panel refused to revisit the Roe vs. Wade decision Sept. 14, although one of the judges took the opportunity to blast the controversial abortion ruling by calling it an “exercise of raw judicial power.”
The three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously voted to dismiss a case brought by Norma McCorvey, who was the “Jane Roe” in the landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion. Although she sued then to legalize abortion, she had since had a change of heart and wants to see the decision overturned.
At issue in Roe vs. Wade was a Texas law that outlawed abortion. “Suits regarding the constitutionality of statutes become moot once the statute is repealed,” Circuit Judge Edith H. Jones wrote in the opinion. Because Texas currently has laws regulating abortion – such as a law limiting the availability of abortion to minors – the original Texas statute outlawing abortion has been repealed by implication, Jones wrote. McCorvey’s lawyers say they will appeal the dismissal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
But Jones, a nominee of President Reagan, also wrote a separate concurring opinion, signed only by her, in which she criticized the Roe court and expressed her hope that the U.S. Supreme Court someday would revisit the case.
(BP)
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