The American Spectator : The Seamless Argument

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Justice Scalia's remarks about the death penalty are consistent with the constructionist position that judges shouldn't legislate from the bench, but only uphold the law. Does this put him in opposition to the Catholic Church?

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Judges should not legislate from the bench. Abortion was made legal by judicial fiat, which overturned state laws. To oppose Roe v. Wade as a Supreme Court Justice, one need not be pro-life, simply honest about the limitations of the federal bench.

Judges should not use their position to sabotage the law. The death penalty is available in 37 states, where it has been voted upon by the residents of those states and enacted by the legislatures.

Scalia's remarks on the death penalty bolster his constructionist view. The Pope's moral teachings on the death penalty tighten the "seamless garment" that human life must be treated with dignity, while not excluding recourse to the death penalty in certain cases.

In both instances, Scalia the constructionalist, and the Pope, leader of all Catholics, have rendered seamless arguments that make Roe v. Wade much harder to defend.

p> Eileen Ciesla is the 2001-2002 Warren Brookes journalism fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. br> /p>

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topics:
Abortion, Constitution, Law, Supreme Court

Letter to the Editor View all comments (4) | Leave a comment

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