What is the Court For

In today's Kranz column, Kate Looby of South Dakota Planned Parenthood says this:

"Justice O'Connor's departure is a nightmare for reproductive health care and women's rights. Without her moderate voice on the court, women's health is clearly at risk, and the future of reproductive rights in this nation is in grave danger," Looby said.

If Kate Looby actually believes it is the role of the Supreme Court to protect women's health, then she is down right daffy.  One can see in many of the comments by the left/pro-abortion activists how central protecting the legal right to kill unborn children is to them.  One can be conservative on everything, but if you vote to uphold the legality of abortion on demand, you are alright in their book.  You've just become a "moderate". 

Why is the Supreme Court so controversial?  Volokh has a CNN interview with Robert Bork which I think says it all:

KAGAN: OK. So you would like to see -- actually, you bring up a good point. This is a time in U.S. history that's not just talking about who is going to be the next person on the U.S. Supreme Court, but when the whole topic of what the judicial system and how it operates in this country is up for debate.

BORK: That's right, because it's really a cultural fight now. The Supreme Court has made itself into a political and a cultural institution rather than a legal institution, so that both sides see it in political terms.

You can see Bork's point played out in the words of those like Kate Looby who think that the Court (rather than executive branch bureaucracies) protects our health and Ralph Neas who thinks the Court holds in its hands everything that we believe in.