Justice Kennedy May Be Key to Abortion Limits

In other news, AP reports that the earth is round:

WASHINGTON -- Legal efforts to further restrict access to abortion will depend, in the short term, on whether Justice Anthony Kennedy is willing to go along.

The majority opinion he wrote upholding the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act offers hope both for those who think the impact of Wednesday's decision will be limited and for those who think it will be profound.

While Kennedy adopted some language favored by abortion opponents _ "life of the unborn," "abortion doctor," "respect for life" _ he also carefully distinguished the controversial procedure that was the focus of the Supreme Court case from a more common abortion method used after 12 weeks of pregnancy. The latter was unaffected by the ruling.

There was widespread agreement that the court's ruling was important, upholding for the first time a nationwide ban on a controversial abortion procedure. The key difference from earlier rulings was in personnel, with Justice Samuel Alito replacing Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

The majority _ Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Clarence Thomas, Alito and Kennedy _ consists of five Catholics who were appointed by Republican presidents who believed Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be overturned.

For the moment, though, Kennedy holds the balance of power. He has written key decisions on both sides of the long-standing divisive issue.

Particularly since O'Connor's retirement last year, what he thinks probably is where the court will come out when asked to consider new abortion restrictions enacted either by states or Congress.

[More]

My Comments:
Duh. Kennedy has been the key ever since he flip-flopped from his initial decision to vote to overturn Roe to voting instead to reaffirm it in the Casey decision 15 years ago (either from rank cowardice or from treachery in exchange for whatever 30 pieces of silver Harry Blackmun offered him).

Whatever Kennedy's motivation, let it be said unequivocally that abortion-on-demand is as widespread and available today due to the decision of one man - Associate Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy - to sell out the unborn and the U.S. Constitution.

May God have mercy on his soul.