Word: galebach
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Dates: during 1981-1981
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...Helms-Hyde bill is the brainchild of Washington Lawyer Stephen Galebach. A former editor of the Harvard Law Review, Galebach presented a difficult challenge. For almost two centuries, defining individual rights has been the exclusive province of the Supreme Court. Galebach had to find a way to give Congress a say in that process. The answer...
...protection guarantees. The high court has broadly interpreted this enforcement power before in allowing Congress to extend voting rights. In 1959, the court ruled that literacy tests do not discriminate. But Congress later decided that, in fact, they do-and banned them by law. The court went along. To Galebach, this shows that the court is willing to defer to Congress's factual determination of the scope of constitutional rights or, in the abortion issue, the fundamental question of when life begins...
Most constitutional law scholars, however, believe that Galebach is wrong and that the Helms-Hyde bill is flatly unconstitutional. Allowing Congress to define the meaning of life as it relates to the 14th Amendment, say these experts, would set a dangerous precedent. It would undermine the Judiciary's capacity to protect the rights of individuals from the whims of the majority. Even conservative scholars are upset by this attempt to get around Roe vs. Wade. Says Nixon's Solicitor General, Robert Bork, one who strongly disagrees with the Roe vs. Wade decision: "If the Human Life Statute becomes...
...Galebach thinks that the scholars are overreacting. Says he: "The bill doesn't impair the Supreme Court's ability to review Congress. It's just that this time around, they'll have to take into account the legislative determination. They can decide to follow it or not, but they have to give it due respect." Responds Bork: "The court won't let Congress make a determination of what the facts are, when the facts are the crucial facts for constitutional purposes. I think the court will gather itself to strike this law down...