"Indeed, an entire generation of Americans has grown to adulthood since the Roe decision of 1973, which held that the right to choose an abortion was a privacy right protected by our Constitution"
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Casey’s line is a clock on the wall: look how much time has passed, and notice what that time has normalized. By stressing “an entire generation,” he’s not just dating Roe v. Wade; he’s framing it as lived reality rather than abstract doctrine. The argument is cultural as much as legal: when a right shapes the rhythms of adulthood for millions, reversing it isn’t a tidy correction. It’s a rupture.
The phrasing also does sly work. “Indeed” carries the tone of a patient prosecutor, as if the facts have been entered into evidence and denial is no longer credible. Then he anchors abortion rights in Roe’s core rationale: “a privacy right protected by our Constitution.” That’s a strategic choice. He doesn’t lean on contested moral claims or policy outcomes; he leans on the Constitution, the kind of authority that’s supposed to settle arguments in American civic life.
Subtext: legitimacy accrues through time. Casey, a Democrat who was personally anti-abortion, often navigated the party’s internal civil war on the issue. Invoking “privacy” lets him speak in a language broad enough to include people who may be uneasy about abortion but wary of state power, surveillance, and forced intimacy. It’s an appeal to stability: you can debate the practice, but you can’t pretend the right hasn’t become part of the country’s operating system since 1973.
The phrasing also does sly work. “Indeed” carries the tone of a patient prosecutor, as if the facts have been entered into evidence and denial is no longer credible. Then he anchors abortion rights in Roe’s core rationale: “a privacy right protected by our Constitution.” That’s a strategic choice. He doesn’t lean on contested moral claims or policy outcomes; he leans on the Constitution, the kind of authority that’s supposed to settle arguments in American civic life.
Subtext: legitimacy accrues through time. Casey, a Democrat who was personally anti-abortion, often navigated the party’s internal civil war on the issue. Invoking “privacy” lets him speak in a language broad enough to include people who may be uneasy about abortion but wary of state power, surveillance, and forced intimacy. It’s an appeal to stability: you can debate the practice, but you can’t pretend the right hasn’t become part of the country’s operating system since 1973.
Quote Details
| Topic | Human Rights |
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