Does Paxton Believe in a Constitutional Right to an Abortion?

Does Paxton Believe in a Constitutional Right to an Abortion?

By

James Scott Trimm

Today’s Quorum Report has reported:

"Now, Chairman Cook has informed Rep. Tinderholt, R-Arlington, that Attorney General Ken Paxton's office has said the proposal is "unconstitutional" and "would not be able to defend this bill should it become law."

(Quorum Report; Amid demands for a hearing on outright abortion ban, AG Paxton's office says it is unconstitutional by Scott Braddock; March 27, 2017)

The issue at question is HB 948, which would abolish abortion in Texas.  This bill was filed by Texas State Representative Tony Tinderholt, and was called for by the 2016 Texas Republican Party Platform which says:

Abolish Abortion- We call upon the Texas Legislature to enact legislation stopping the murder of unborn children; and to ignore and refuse to enforce any and all federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, and court rulings, which would deprive an unborn child of the right to life.

But how can the Texas Legislature enact legislation abolishing abortion in Texas?  What about Roe v. Wade?  Hasn’t the US Supreme Court ruled that there is a Constitutional right to an abortion?

Well as the platform says, there is a way for Texas to “to ignore and refuse to enforce any and all federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, and court rulings, which would deprive an unborn child of the right to life.”  That way involves reclaiming our Texas Sovereignty, as the Platform elsewhere states:

State Sovereignty- Pursuant to Article 1 Section 1 of the Texas Constitution, the federal government has impaired our right of local self-government.  Therefore, federally mandated legislation, which infringes upon the 10th Amendment rights of Texas, should be ignored, opposed, refused, and nullified. Regulation of Commerce in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution has exceeded the original intent. All attempts by the federal judiciary to rule in areas not expressly enumerated by the Untied States Constitution should be likewise nullified. Any federal enforcement activities that do occur in Texas should be conducted under the authority of the county sheriff.

But how can we actually accomplish this?  How can the State of Texas nullify a federal court ruling from the US Supreme Court? 

The Supreme Court has become the final interpreter of the Constitution for one simple reason: because they say they are.  The Supreme Court usurped this authority, claiming it for itself in 1803 in Marbury v. Madison.  Nowhere does the Constitution assign this role to the Supreme Court, they simply have it because they say they do.

The framers stated that the US Constitution is a compact between the member states, and that as such, each state has equal standing in determining for itself the meaning of the Constitution.  The tenth amendment states that the states and the people retain all powers not delegated to the federal government in the Constitution, and nowhere in the Constitution did the states delegate to any branch of the federal government the power to be the ultimate and final interpreter of the Constitution.  The Supremacy Clause never mentions the Supreme court, but appears to indicate that state judges would make these judgments.

It is truly Ironic that this report has come out on March 27^th, the anniversary of the 1836 Goliad massacre.  The Goliad massacre occurred during the Texas Revolution, in which nearly 500 Texans who had surrendered to the Mexiacan Army were killed in the town of Goliad, Texas.

Surely any law our state passes that reclaims its sovereignty will be declared unconstitutional by the federal government, since they have developed their own precedence on the issue. 

Suing in federal court is the Goliad approach to fighting for Texas Tenth amendment rights.  We surrender the decision of our fate to the very tyrant we are fighting, and we get massacred.

We must simply pass legislation that enforces Texas Sovereignty, as a matter of enforceable and implemented law.

This means the federal courts will also have no power to find such legislation itself unconstitutional, because the law itself takes that decision out of their hands and places it in those of our state.  For example HB 948 says:

SECTION 10.  Any federal statute, regulation, executive order, or court decision which purports to supersede, stay, or overrule this Act is in violation of the Texas Constitution and the Constitution of the United States of America and is therefore void.  The State of Texas and its political subdivisions, and agents thereof, may not enter an appearance, special or otherwise, in any federal suit challenging this Act.

Certainly for this reason only Paxton ""would not be able to defend this bill should it become law." But not because it is supposedly "unconstitutional".  Unless Paxton believes there is a Constitutional right to an abortion.

Likewise the Texas Sovereignty Act (HB 2338 & SB 2015) would establish a permanent committee that could determine that specific federal acts are unconstitutional.  This bill would prohibit using any state money or resources to enforce such unconstitutional acts and would make any effort to enforce them a violation of the Texas Official Oppression Act and perhaps other applicable laws.

Any effort that leaves Texas sovereignty ultimately in the hands of federal courts will fail, because they will simply declare it unconstitutional (though their own usurped power to do so is itself unconstitutional).  Yes we can nullify Roe v. Wade in Texas! 

This is how we can finally end abortion in Texas! 

So the question we all need to be asking Ken Paxton is: “Are you saying you believe that there is a Constitutional right to an abortion?”

Do you support these basic precepts of the 2016 Texas Republican Platform?

Do you believe Texas should enforce our Tenth Amendment rights?

Tell us that you do not believe there is a Constitutional right to an abortion.  

Tell us you believe in and support these basic precepts of the Texas Republican Party Platform.

Tell us you believe Texas can and should enforce its Tenth Amendment rights! 

If State Representative Byron Cook is misrepresenting you, please make yourself clear!

Don’t surrender the decision to federal courts, Remember Goliad!