Life Links 5/13/13

At Slate Emily Bazelon claims Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro has never killed even though he allegedly killed Michelle Knight's five unborn children.  Apparently in Bazelon's mind, unborn children can't be killed.

The Supreme Court has so far ruled out the death penalty for crimes other than murder. If you think that's the right line to draw—that the state should not take the life of someone who has not killed—then Castro shouldn't be executed. I have to say I'm having some trouble typing those words. But in this case, I think that's the right call.

     
The New York Times interviewed Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards. To me she comes off as standoffish even though a good deal of the questions are softballs.  There's even a Todd Akin question.


NARAL and Planned Parenthood probably don't like hearing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg talk like this publicly.  Also note that Ginsburg considers herself a proponent of judicial restraint.  

Asked about the continuing challenges to abortion rights, Ginsburg said that in her view Roe's legacy will ultimately hold up.

"It's not going to matter that much," she said. "Take the worst-case scenario ... suppose the decision were overruled; you would have a number of states that will never go back to the way it was."               

Kind of hurts the old "End of the world if Roe was overturned" fear mongering when Justice Ginsburg is saying "It's not going to matter that much."