Today's Opinions: If the Supreme Court throws out ‘Roe v. Wade,’ it will tear the country apart

The Supreme Court is about to prove just how political it is; Red states are now paying people not to get vaccinated; Covid trauma seems not to have shaken American Christians' faith; Biden is right to fight omicron with travel restrictions. But more must be done.; Republicans hamper Biden's attempts to fight the pandemic — and then hammer him for its persistence; Lauren Boebert is what George W. Bush called the 'worst of humankind'; Bret Baier's missing courage; There's a huge hole in the debate over how Democrats can save themselves; The Virginia GOP's focus on education policy worked. It may be issue No. 1 in the midterms.; Pandemic perpetuity; The world lacks a global disease radar. South Africa showed how it could work.; Lee Elder broke barriers in a notoriously White sport; Enough games. Debt limit fights are as dangerous as they are dumb.; Three critical differences between Canadian and American politics; Israel 'cancels' a prize to a mathematician — and dishonors itself ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sign up for this newsletter Read online Your morning dose of Post commentary and guest opinions.       By James Downie Digital opinions editor  Email On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The arguments "will not really be about 'textualist' or 'originalist' legal principles," says columnist Eugene Robinson. "They will be about whether the Constitution protects a woman's freedom over her own body." "Roe v. Wade is an important piece of the duct tape that holds this fractious nation together," Robinson writes, "and it would be a grievous error for the antiabortion majority on the Supreme Court to rip it away." For five decades, he argues, Roe v. Wade and related case law have (somewhat) limited the abortion debate to restrictions on the right to reproductive choice, rather than the right itself. "But if Roe is reversed — if the court rules, as its most conservative justices have argued, that no protected right to reproductive choice exists — then the political cold war over abortion will flare immediately into a roaring blaze." For more ahead of Wednesday's historic arguments, check out former attorney general Edwin Meese III on why overturning Roe is essential for the conservative legal movement, and economics professor Caitlin Myers on the evidence that restricting abortion access restricts women's lives. And make sure to read deputy editorial page editor Ruth Marcus's Opinions Essay on the tremendous implications of a six-justice conservative majority, ahead of her Thursday Q&A with columnist Henry Olsen. ADVERTISEMENT   (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) If the Supreme Court throws out 'Roe v. Wade,' it will tear the country apart Despite arguments to the contrary, 'Roe v. Wade' was a unifying decision. By Eugene Robinson ●  Read more »   The Supreme Court is about to prove just how political it is If the conservatives destroy Roe v. Wade without overturning it explicitly, they can no longer claim to be above politics. By Paul Waldman ●  Read more »   Red states are now paying people not to get vaccinated By Catherine Rampell ●  Read more »   Covid trauma seems not to have shaken American Christians' faith With illness, my own philosophic questions have faded. The importance of the personal and human expands. By Michael Gerson ●  Read more »   Biden is right to fight omicron with travel restrictions. But more must be done. The U.S. should pull out all the stops to slow the spread of the new variant. By Leana S. Wen ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Republicans hamper Biden's attempts to fight the pandemic — and then hammer him for its persistence The idiocracy has won: More Americans died of covid in 2021 than in 2020, despite the availability of vaccines. By Max Boot ●  Read more »   Lauren Boebert is what George W. Bush called the 'worst of humankind' And Republican leaders have divested themselves of shame. By Dana Milbank ●  Read more »   Bret Baier's missing courage Host of 'Special Report' on Fox News prefers to ask, rather than to answer, the questions. By Erik Wemple ●  Read more »   There's a huge hole in the debate over how Democrats can save themselves Why isn't there more focus on making Republicans pay a price for their ongoing radicalization? By Greg Sargent ●  Read more »   The Virginia GOP's focus on education policy worked. It may be issue No. 1 in the midterms. High-profile clashes on socially charged issues have landed some state school board meetings in national network newscasts. By Mark J. Rozell ●  Read more »     Editorial Cartoons Pandemic perpetuity A new variant of the coronavirus is detected in South Africa. By Ann Telnaes ●  Read more »   Get breaking news alerts, offline reading lists and more. Download the app     The Post's View (Jerome Delay/AP) The world lacks a global disease radar. South Africa showed how it could work. South African scientists offer us a glimpse of the future we need. By the Editorial Board ●  Read more »   Lee Elder broke barriers in a notoriously White sport Elder died Sunday at 87. By the Editorial Board ●  Read more »   Enough games. Debt limit fights are as dangerous as they are dumb. Again? Republicans drag their feet on the debt limit as default looms. By the Editorial Board ●  Read more »     Global Opinions (Chris Kleponis/Bloomberg) Three critical differences between Canadian and American politics Which system sounds better? By J.J. McCullough ●  Read more »   Israel 'cancels' a prize to a mathematician — and dishonors itself If your chance of receiving a state honor for your poetry or your breakthrough in quantum physics depends on saying only what's acceptable this year, freedom has shrunk in your country. By Gershom Gorenberg ●  Read more »     Try our new daily mini meta crossword It's a week-long adventure that connects a daily 5x5 mini puzzle with a special reveal on Saturdays. Play game   We think you'll like this newsletter Check out Follow Sergio Peçanha for email alerts every time Sergio publishes a new opinion column. Sign up »

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