Courts and Public Policy

ThinkProgress with an interesting post noting that 87% of U.S. counties have no abortion provider; with Mississippi moving toward having no abortion provider.

I wonder if Roe v. Wade had not been decided in the 1970s, and states had continued to muddle through on abortion if we would have a similar epidemiology of abortion provision that we have today, but with less political toxicity around the issue? Getting a “win” for your side via a court ruling can sometimes be the only way (Brown v. Board of Education, Civil Rights cases, for example, in my opinion). In other cases, a court win could actually harm your “sides” ability to make the case politically and culturally.

This is an important consideration generally in public policy.