Judicial review has been an element of judiciary power in the United States since Marbury v. Madison in 1805. From the beginning, the role of the Supreme Court has been to express and clarify the Constitution’s meanings and intents. In modern day there is more and more power being given to the Supreme Court Justices and the rise of judicial activism has become more apparent over the decline of judicial restraint. The idea of judicial policy-making has become a hot topic for debate. While the Supreme Court does not have the democratic legitimacy to make political decisions, as the citizen’s do not elect them, their premier role of upholding constitutional values is necessary in maintaining individual rights. In the case of Roe v. Wade the Supreme …show more content…
Thus, ideology must certainly play a role. Ideology and party politics played a large role in this case. The most noticeable influencers were ideological groups that organized themselves in response to Roe v. Wade. First off there are religious views and ideologies that mobilize mostly towards a pro-life stance. The pro-life side of the case was backed by organizations such as the National Right to Life Committee and Pro-Life Action League. Groups such as the National Abortion Rights League and Planned Parenthood largely supported pro-choice proponents. Ideology does not mix well with the inalienable rights outlined in the Constitution. The problem with ideological views and the courtroom is one major issue with this case. Many people that believe that at the foreground and core of the Supreme Court and judges in general is the general rule that political ideology should not affect legal judgments. There will always be a risk for Supreme Court justices to be ideologically swayed in making decisions because they are elected by the president and very often represent that political party. Roe vs. Wade rightfully attended to the individual’s rights but did it fairly represent both sides untainted with ideological …show more content…
Being nominated by the president and confirmed by the senate, justices automatically have party affiliations. The way the are elected to represent in the Supreme Court highlights an undemocratic part of government. The citizen’s do not choose the justices and so they do not choose the law or make them from time to time. In avoidance of majority policymaking, cases are often brought to the Supreme Court where it is easier to insinuate policy change and easier to add an ideological backbone to the ruling and to each side of the case. A large problem with judicial policy making is that law can only be interpreted. The constitution is relatively open-ended and can be bent in court cases. In the case of Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court’s use of judicial review sought to judge the Constitutionality of abortion and the Constitutional rights of women such as the right to privacy. While this case was intended to review the constitutionality policy-making intents arose and ideological tendencies created great political tension and ultimately set precedence for abortion politics and policy