July 4, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – I don’t have to tell you the US Supreme Court decision on Obamacare was a disaster. What makes it doubly tragic is that Chief Justice John Roberts, perceived as “one of our own,” threw every American under the bus, because we’ll all be impacted in some way by this federal legislation.
While writing the majority opinion, Roberts said that Congress could force Obamacare on the American people—complete with its mandatory participation in abortion, healthcare rationing and euthanasia. The mandate was declared constitutional with a legal sleight of hand—provided the price for disobeying the mandate is called a “tax” and not a “penalty”.
Some pundits complimented Roberts’ intellect, saying he was “playing chess” to ensure that the Supreme Court wasn’t viewed as being political under his leadership as chief justice. But the tragic reality is that while Roberts fiddles with the court’s image, Rome burns. During his “chess match” with the Obama administration, our religious rights and basic freedoms were discarded like yesterday’s trash.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his opinion, “It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.” At first glance, that has a ring of truth to it, but only until one considers that every law the US Supreme Court considers is the consequence of those the voters have elected. If Roberts is abdicating his court’s responsibility, why do we even need them?
All of this, Roberts claims, was done in the name of judicial restraint—that the Court only interpret the constitution, not legislate from the bench. But that becomes an impossible sell when in the Obamacare decision Roberts first said the mandate wasn’t a tax. This enabled Obamacare to get past the Anti-Injunction Act which would’ve required a citizen be actually taxed and claim damages before it could be brought before the Court. But paragraphs later, the Chief Justice did a complete about-face and declared the mandate could be considered a tax, making it within the powers of congress and thus constitutional.
Roberts’ judicial activism is especially egregious because from the very beginning Congress went out of its way to avoid calling it a tax so they could garner enough votes to pass it. A version of the bill calling it a tax was actually voted down. If Roberts’ judicial version of the bill would’ve been known earlier, Obamacare would have never seen the light of day.
The dissenting opinion, co-written by justices Alito, Scalia, Thomas and Kennedy, shows they know judicial activism when they see it. “To say that the Individual Mandate merely imposes a tax is not to interpret the statute, but to rewrite it. Judicial tax-writing is particularly troubling.”
The Court ruling has thrown us to the wolves of a vast government bureaucracy. This is a government entity that has at times demonstrated an outright hatred of Christianity, morality and the right to life.
An encouraging piece of this judicial disaster was that Justice Anthony Kennedy joined the dissenting opinion denouncing all of Obamacare as unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy’s stand against the legislation underscores what my colleague, Dr. Willke, has been saying about the chances of him siding with us against Roe v. Wade. This gives credibility to his theory.
President George W. Bush must be grieving the Court’s ruling more than anyone. One of his greatest legacies was his impact on the Supreme Court. That legacy is now in tatters—much like our constitution.
Just as Justice Harry Blackmun is notorious for Roe v. Wade, Chief Justice John Roberts will forever wear the mantle of Obamacare, going down in history for imposing anti-life bureaucratic mandates on our nation.
The redeeming news is that the end of this story has yet to be written. We can undo Obamacare if pro-life voters become educated on where every candidate stands on this legislation. This is not the time to sit out the election because a candidate on your ballot is “less than perfect.” This philosophy is partially responsible for the dire straight we’re in now.
If Americans stand in unison and say no to Obamacare and all of its embedded anti-life measures this November, newly elected officials can repeal this tragic behemoth. Electing candidates who will say no to Obamacare should be job one of all pro-life citizens.
It’s not too early to start. Tell everyone you know to support candidates who value innocent human life from fertilization to natural death, and who will walk the talk by repealing Obamacare.
This article has been re-published with permission from the Life Issues Institute.