ColumnThe American political climate has been at its craziest over the past few months. And while a lot of the political news is quite concerning, we’ll touch on one of those major concerns, which happens to rhyme with “Rump”.
One story that restored our faith in American politics this past week was the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to block a Louisiana law that would have restricted the state’s abortion providers. The law would have left the southern state with one doctor who was “licensed to perform the procedure [an abortion],” reports the LA Times. The decision was made last Friday. Justice Clarence Thomas entered the single no vote.
While this is positive news for women seeking abortions in Louisiana, the decision is also a sign of hope for abortion access supporters throughout the country.
“For the third time in a little over a year, the Supreme Court has stepped in to preserve women’s ability to get the constitutionally protected healthcare they need,” Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, says. “We look to the justices to put an end to these sham measures threatening women’s rights, health and lives across the U.S.”
But just because SCOTUS votes one way on a certain case doesn’t meant that the Court will continue to vote in a similar fashion on future cases. And since a seat on the Supreme Court recently opened after Judge Scalia’s sudden passing, the Court’s future is even more uncertain. Thus far, it’s unknown if President Obama will be able to place a justice on the Court during his last year in office.
And that leads us to a quick discussion about America’s 2016 presidential nominees. While nothing is set in stone, it appears that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic Party’s candidate and that Donald Trump will be the Republican Party’s candidate.
Now, if Clinton becomes president, she will most likely continue to make moderate or left-leaning decisions, which probably means U.S. abortion rights will remain, at the very least, relatively safe. But if Trump becomes president? All bets are off.
Over the past few weeks, Trump has catered to white supremacists, made various references concerning the size of his penis during a debate, and has hocked his various Trump products during a post-primary speech.
While Trump has said many things that seem to indicate he doesn’t respect women, he also has made some incredulous declarations about abortion. Just recently, Trump said the following during a press conference: “Look, Planned Parenthood has done very good work for many, many—for millions of women. And I’ll say it, and I know a lot of the so-called conservatives, they say that’s really—’cause I’m a conservative, but I’m a common-sense conservative.”
The sentiment seems to indicate that Trump is beginning to realize the he’s going to have to start “moving toward the middle” if he wants to win the general election. However, as we all know, everything that comes out of politicians mouths–especially Trump’s mouth–can’t be taken seriously. After all, it’s hard to believe that a man who has made fun of women’s periods could ever be an advocate for women’s health.
We’re certain this isn’t the last time Trump will be in the news-we’ll keep you up to date on all his antics in the coming months.
It’s going to be a long summer.
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Image of SCOTUS via Erik Cox Photography Shutterstock