An Unconscionable Mess

Posted by Bob Lord

Hard not to be depressed by the last three days at the Supreme Court. While the tea leaf readers obsess over each question asked and even the inflection of the Justices’ voices, the hard realities remain.

First, there’s a reason why attorneys can in good faith argue both sides of a case, and why two courts can decide the same issue in opposite ways, and why appellate cases frequently are decided by divided courts. The law has a huge gray area, which leaves room for lawyers and judges to justify coming out on either side of many issues. Anytime the Supreme Court accepts a case for review, it’s in that gray area. They don’t waste their time on slam dunks.

So these nine Justices can justify whatever result they want in deciding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. And they’ve already proven themselves to be political animals.

Second, as flawed as the Affordable Care Act may be, lives will be lost if it is struck down. People die from lack of health insurance. We lose about 45,000 Americans per year this way. Thus, the increased insurance coverage of the Act will save lives. If it’s struck down, we lose those lives.

Third, the invalidation of the Affordable Care Act will be a devastating blow to Obama, possibly the only thing that could get Mitt Romney elected.

Combine these realities and you arrive at the cruel reality that is the Roberts Court. Five Justices have the legal latitude and the political motivation to cause tens of thousands of Americans to die prematurely. Make no mistake. They can justify upholding the law or they can justify striking it down. Which option they choose will determine the fate of many hapless Americans.

And for the next two months or so we’ll all be left to speculate whether they’re heartless enough to do it.