Letter: Republican-appointed justices voted in favor of Roe v. Wade
To the Editor,
For 47 years, Roe v. Wade has been the law of the land in regard to the abortion issue. Did you ever study the decision?
In factual terms, it was the Republican-appointed justices what actually allowed the right to a legal abortion to become the law of the land. The nine justices at the time of the decision were:
| Justice | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | Appointed by: | |
| William O. Douglass | Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) | ||
| William J. Brennan Jr. | Dwight Eisenhower (R) | ||
| Potter Stewart | Dwight Eisenhower (R) | ||
| Bryon White | John F. Kennedy (D) | ||
| Thurgood Marshall | Lyndon Johnson (D) | ||
| Harry Blackman | Richard Nixon (R) | ||
| Lewis Powell Jr. | Richard Nixon (R) | ||
| William Rehnquist | Richard Nixon (R) | ||
| Warren Burger | Richard Nixon (R) |
Six justices were appointment by Republican presidents; three were appointed by Democratic presidents.
The vote for Roe v. Wade was 7 justices for and 2 against legal abortions. The dissenting votes were cast by Justices Rehnquist and White.
History has it that since Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court has been controlled primarily by Republican-appointed justices and the decision of Roe v. Wade has not been overturned.
What does all this mean? We all must decide for ourselves.
Dean Watts
Bardstown
