S02E12 – Did the Supreme Court’s decision in Hobbs move the court into activism?

In light of the recent decision by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade (and Casey), we discuss the Dobbs decision and whether this indicates that the Supreme Court is made up of activist judges. Josh and Ryan agree that the Dobbs decision undid prior legal precedent legalizing abortion and that the Dobbs decision does not comment on whether abortion should be legal at the federal level but rather moves the legality of abortion to the states. Josh and Ryan also agreed that the legal justification for Roe was not particularly strong (arguing for abortion on privacy grounds). Josh argued that the Dobbs decision was less activist than Roe or Casey as it didn’t stipulate how the law should be interpreted but instead punted the decision to state legislatures. Ryan didn’t agree on that point. Begrudgingly, Josh had to agree that the Dobbs decision stipulated that there is no federal right to life for women once they become pregnant, but he thought that point was overly technical and would not be the effect of the decision because states would write legislation that protected women. Ultimately, we all agree that the Supreme Court is now a political body made up of activists.