March for Women's Lives: Accounts suggest that today's march in support of abortion rights in Washington D.C. was successful in way of numbers. The march was not only for those who are personally against abortion but for the right to choose, but in general to address the rights and needs of women here and globally as well. The basic idea still was to protect Roe v. Wade, though in actuality it is really the more recent Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) case that is involved. In fact, it does a better and more eloquent job in many ways in stating what is involved.

Men and women of good conscience can disagree, and we suppose some always shall disagree, about the profound moral and spiritual implications of terminating a pregnancy, even in its earliest stage. Some of us as individuals find abortion offensive to our most basic principles of morality, but that cannot control our decision. Our obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate our own moral code. The underlying constitutional issue is whether the State can resolve these philosophic questions in such a definitive way that a woman lacks all choice in the matter, except perhaps in those rare circumstances in which the pregnancy is itself a danger to her own life or health, or is the result of rape or incest.

This is from the second section of the opinion, apparently written by Justice Kennedy. The overall themes that give life to the opinion was similarly show in his opinion striking down an anti-sodomy law.

Liberty protects the person from unwarranted government intrusions into a dwelling or other private places. In our tradition the State is not omnipresent in the home. And there are other spheres of our lives and existence, outside the home, where the State should not be a dominant presence. Freedom extends beyond spatial bounds. Liberty presumes an autonomy of self that includes freedom of thought, belief, expression, and certain intimate conduct. The instant case involves liberty of the person both in its spatial and more transcendent dimensions.

Both opinions ended with the sentiment first expressed in Casey that: "Our Constitution is a covenant running from the first generation of Americans to us, and then to future generations. It is a coherent succession. Each generation must learn anew that the Constitution's written terms embody ideas and aspirations that must survive more ages than one." Quite true, and the rights and needs of women are important not just because they are our friends, neighbors, family, spouses, and children. They are important because in some larger way they are the rights of us all.

Note: Many participants of Air America were involved in the march, including Laura Flanders (weekend host, 7-10pm EST). She also is a long time journalist, author, and has a daily show out of California. I really enjoy her show, especially her tendency to have interesting guests, and to be a bit less hyper at times than some other Air America hosts, while still truly being a strongly progressive voice. The last two nights she had conservative guests in the mix, and it really helps to supply a well rounded discussion.