US Flags at Half-Mast for Former Chief Justice Rehnquist

Another good article about Rehnquist

from LifeSiteNews.com:

US Flags at Half-Mast for Former Chief Justice Rehnquist

WASHINGTON, September 6, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – US President George W. Bush ordered flags to half mast to observe a period of mourning for former Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who passed away from thyroid cancer Saturday.

Rehnquist, who served on the court for a total of 33 years, 19 of those as Chief Justice, will be remembered by pro-lifers for his opposition to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in the US. “Even today, when society’s views on abortion are changing, the very existence of the debate is evidence that the ‘right’ to an abortion is not so universally accepted as (Roe) would have us believe,” he wrote at the time. He often dissented from opinions that were not grounded in the written Constitution, such as those that extended constitutional protection to virtual child pornography and sodomy.

The President remembered Rehnquist as a man who “revered the Constitution and laws of the United States. He led the judicial branch of government with tremendous wisdom and skill,” Bush added. “He honored America with a lifetime of service, and America will honor his memory.”

Concerned Women for America (CWA) applauded Rehnquist, who they said, “never deviated from his strong pro-life interpretation of the Constitution and the right of the states to regulate abortion and ban partial birth abortion.” Jan LaRue, CWA’s chief counsel added that Rehnquist “Considered Roe v. Wade as an affront to the Constitution – a position shared by most constitutional scholars, pro-life and pro-choice.”

The US National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) quoted Rehnquist’s dissenting remarks, as only one of two dissenters from Roe v. Wade. “To reach its result, the Court necessarily has had to find within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment a right that was apparently completely unknown to the drafters of the Amendment,” Rehnquist wrote.

NRLC pointed out that, with Rehnquist's death, the current Supreme Court is divided 6 to 2 in favor of Roe v. Wade. The Court has been divided 5-4 in favor of partial-birth abortion, however. Rehnquist voted to allow states to prohibit the method, while Justice O'Connor, who retired this summer, voted to say that Roe v. Wade prevented bans on partial-birth abortion.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said, “As Chief Justice, Mr. Rehnquist was a principled jurist and had shown the greatest respect for the text and history of the Constitution. As Chief Justice, Rehnquist left the Supreme Court with a distinguished legacy,” he added.

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