“This decision marks a dramatic departure from four decades of Supreme Court rulings that upheld a woman’s right to choose and recognized the importance of women’s health. Today’s decision blatantly defies the Court’s recent decision in 2000 striking down a state partial-birth abortion law because of its failure to provide an exception for the health of the mother. As the Supreme Court recognized in Roe v. Wade in 1973, this issue is complex and highly personal; the rights and lives of women must be taken into account. It is precisely this erosion of our constitutional rights that I warned against when I opposed the nominations of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito.”–Hillary Rodham Clinton on the Supreme Court’s  Gonzales v. Carhart decision

Read Justice Kennedy’s decision in Gonzales v. Carhart.  (You may skip Part I-A if you can’t stomach it.  I know I couldn’t.)

Then (re)-read Justice Blackmun’s decision in Roe v. Wade.  (Pay particular attention to Parts VIII and X.)

Then we’ll talk about dramatic departures.

Until then, speak your truth to power quietly.  I have a headache.