July 7th saw the New York Times publish an interview with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the only woman currently on the U.S. Supreme Court since Sandra Day O’Connor retired three years ago. At 76-years-old, Ginsberg has served for 16 years on the court. The Times was interested in her views on Sonya Sotomayor ’s nomination, as well as women on the court and abortion. During the interview, Ginsberg was described as mild-mannered, “forceful about why she thinks Sotomayor should be nominated” and “energetic.”
Women on the Court
When asked how she felt about how long it’s taken for another woman to be nominated, Ginsberg cited the difference between U.S. and Canadian appointments, saying “The attrition rate is slow on this court” and “It just doesn’t look good in the year 2009.”
Interviewer Emily Bazelton commented on the double standard in how the press reported Ginsberg as rude when she inadvertently asked a question before O’Connor was finished, while the male judges were commonly abrasive without note. Ginsberg acknowledged the aggressive natures of Justices Scalia and Breyer, predicting of Sotomayor,
“She’ll hold her own.”
Ginsberg Thought Roe v. Wade was Eugenics
Ginsberg said that she was surprised when in Harris v. McRae, the court upheld the Hyde Amendment forbidding the use of Medicaid for abortions.
“Frankly, I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be set up for Medicaid funding for abortion. Which some people felt would risk coercing women into having abortions when they didn’t really want them. But when the court decided McRae, the case came out the other way. And then I realized that my perception of it had been altogether wrong.”
Damian Thompson of Telegraph.co.uk responded in his July 12th piece:
“What the hell did Ruth Bader Ginsburg mean when she linked abortion and eugenics?
“The mainstream media have been incredibly slow to pick up on a creepy comment by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a New York Times interview published today but flagged last week…You can find the full context of the remark [here,] in the Times interview, but it doesn’t settle matters. And the (pro-choice) media haven’t exactly jumped on the story. Bloggers are incredulous,” some of whom accuse Ginsberg of endorsing eugenics, or at the very least, not defending the targets of the court decision in Roe vs. Wade, were that the case.
Where Ginsberg Thinks Roe Went Wrong
In an earlier interview with The Daily Princetonian in October, 2008, Ginsberg was questioned regarding “the discrepancy between her support of a woman’s right to choose and her disapproval of Roe v. Wade.” Ginsburg answered that she was surprised by “how far the court had gone [in this decision].”
“It would have been easy for the Supreme Court to say that the extreme cases are unconstitutional” without broadening the decision to the 50 states…the abruptness of the decision…created a ‘perfect rallying point’ for people who disagreed that abortion should be a woman’s choice. I never questioned the judgment that it has to be a woman’s choice, but the court should not have done it all,” said Ginsberg.
Eugenics and Abortion Connection
Planned Parenthood names as its founder Margaret Sanger, a founder of The American Birth Control League in 1921.
Sanger wrote of her philosophy, "[We propose to] hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. And we do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members” wrote Margaret Sanger in a letter to Clarence Gamble, Oct. 19,1939; Sanger manuscripts, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College.
Calling the urban poor "an ever widening margin of biological waste” and “human waste,” Sanger believed welfare enabled propagation which should be remedied by government via sterilization and abortion, using as her motto, "More [children] from the fit, less from the unfit,” Margaret Sanger, The Pivot of Civilization, courtesy of Jefferis Kent Peterson; Abortion – A Liberal Cause?
Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger
PlannedParenthood.org leads its website with
"Planned Parenthood is rooted in the courage and tenacity of American women and men willing to fight for women's health, rights, and equality. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, is one of the movement's great heroes. Sanger's early efforts remain the hallmark of Planned Parenthood's mission."
Linda DeMerle - Linda DeMerle is an exhibited artist, poet, advocate and freelance writer in a wide range of publications. She has studied Art, ...
