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Inside the US Supreme Court's war on science
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02920-4Tollefson, Jeff
13-17 minutes
In late June, the US Supreme Court issued a trio of landmark decisions that repealed the right to abortion, loosened gun restrictions and curtailed climate regulations. Although the decisions differed in rationale, they share a distinct trait: all three dismissed substantial evidence about how the court’s rulings would affect public health and safety. It is a troubling trend that many scientists fear could undermine the role of scientific evidence in shaping public policy. Now, as the court prepares to consider a landmark case on electoral policies, many worry about the future of American democracy itself.
Often regarded as the most powerful court in the free world, the Supreme Court sits in judgment of laws enacted by Congress and state legislatures, as well as constitutional disputes at any level of government. Its unusual power, in comparison to high courts in other democracies, derives in part from its small size and the fact that its nine justices are appointed for life, says Nancy Gertner, a retired federal judge who teaches at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This makes appointments both highly consequential and highly political. Partisan divisions in the US government make passing new laws difficult and adopting constitutional amendments next to impossible, meaning that the court’s word on crucial issues — such as the right to an abortion — can stand as the law of the land for a generation or more.
The Supreme Court has been tilting to the right ideologically for more than a decade, but its political centre of gravity shifted drastically after former president Donald Trump secured three appointments, culminating with Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020. The result, scholars say, is an ultraconservative, six-member supermajority that is often sceptical of — if not outright hostile towards — science.
“The Supreme Court’s role in American history is a very mixed bag, but this really is different than anything we’ve ever seen,” says Wendy Parmet, who co-directs the Center for Health Policy and Law at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. “In some cases they are elevating individual rights, and in others they are dismantling individual rights, but the through line is that they are dismissive of science and the real-world impact of their decisions.”
13-17 minutes
In late June, the US Supreme Court issued a trio of landmark decisions that repealed the right to abortion, loosened gun restrictions and curtailed climate regulations. Although the decisions differed in rationale, they share a distinct trait: all three dismissed substantial evidence about how the court’s rulings would affect public health and safety. It is a troubling trend that many scientists fear could undermine the role of scientific evidence in shaping public policy. Now, as the court prepares to consider a landmark case on electoral policies, many worry about the future of American democracy itself.
Often regarded as the most powerful court in the free world, the Supreme Court sits in judgment of laws enacted by Congress and state legislatures, as well as constitutional disputes at any level of government. Its unusual power, in comparison to high courts in other democracies, derives in part from its small size and the fact that its nine justices are appointed for life, says Nancy Gertner, a retired federal judge who teaches at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This makes appointments both highly consequential and highly political. Partisan divisions in the US government make passing new laws difficult and adopting constitutional amendments next to impossible, meaning that the court’s word on crucial issues — such as the right to an abortion — can stand as the law of the land for a generation or more.
The Supreme Court has been tilting to the right ideologically for more than a decade, but its political centre of gravity shifted drastically after former president Donald Trump secured three appointments, culminating with Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020. The result, scholars say, is an ultraconservative, six-member supermajority that is often sceptical of — if not outright hostile towards — science.
“The Supreme Court’s role in American history is a very mixed bag, but this really is different than anything we’ve ever seen,” says Wendy Parmet, who co-directs the Center for Health Policy and Law at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. “In some cases they are elevating individual rights, and in others they are dismantling individual rights, but the through line is that they are dismissive of science and the real-world impact of their decisions.”
As for court expansion, President Joe Biden has declined to support the idea so far.
Gertner argues that the high court’s ultraconservative swing might prompt a backlash. and that we are at the precipice, but not beyond it.
Meaning?
What can practically be done?
Not just praying for a miraculous ascension into heaven (or somewhere else) of the theocrats.
"Nonetheless, the Earth Moves," Galileo Galilei
