Roe v. Wade: The Banality of Evil in Mr. Justice Blackmun

1/21/2013

(Page 2 of 3)

most defenseless in the wombs of their mothers.

And so this banal "little Eichmann," under the name "BLACKMUN, J.," legalized a procedure called abortion, and raised it to the level of a constitutionally-protected civil right, and so ushered into America a horrendous evil, the Holocaust of the unborn. It is a decision from which it has been difficult to escape.

At his confirmation hearings in 1970, three short years before he authored Roe v. Wade, Blackmun described the Supreme Court as the "end of the line." "The decision," he said, "had better be right."

"Right," Blackmun stated. What, for Blackmun, is right? How does a morally banal man know what's right?

When the case of Roe v. Wade, which started at the U.S. District Court in Texas, reached the "end of the line," Justice Blackmun wrote the majority (7-2) opinion. The decision he made was wrong, not wrong in any banal sense, but deadly and horrendously wrong. So wrong that one would hardly be guilty of exaggeration in calling it the greatest moral evil in which our country and its institutions of government have participated. So wrong, indeed, that it puts the legitimacy of our government in question.

And from the terrible "end of the line," we have endured the terrible beginning of, and so-far have seen nothing but, unending lines of death. Endless women have lined up before abortionists to end the lives of their children in a Holocaust bequeathed to the nation courtesy of Blackmun's banal moral vision. In his view, these women are "emancipated," and this banal word covers the multitude of sins.

While the banal Blackmun had his supporters, he had his detractors. But he was a proud, stubborn, and entirely impenitent little man. "I think it was right in 1973," he stated, "and I think it was right today," he said in 1994 when he left the Supreme Court.

Right? Again, Justice Blackmun uttered that word, "right." How could this banal little man say anything meaningful about right in light of the mounting numbers of dead unborn that he had a hand in allowing against the will of the majority of Americans? What sort of banal meaning did the word "right" have in the mind of Mr. Justice Blackmun?

No, he was neither hot nor cold; he was lukewarm, which is another word, the Biblical word, for banal. (cf. Rev. 3:16) "The sad truth," Hannah Arendt observes, "is that most evil is done by people who," like the conventional Adolf Eichmann and the conventional Harry Blackmun, "never make up their minds to be good or evil." One might note that they both had the same thin smile, a smile as narrow as their banal minds. I imagine Satan sports one of those.

"We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins," Justice Blackmun wrote in Roe v. Wade? What? Shakespeare's Hamlet who never set eyes on the United States Constitution had a better grasp of the issue than "Ol' Number Three." "To be or not to be," Mr. Justice Blackmun, "that is the question."

"The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal. From the viewpoint of our legal institutions and of our moral standards of judgment, this normality was much more terrifying than all the atrocities put together," wrote Arendt.

It is terrifying. Blackmun found six "little Eichmanns" just like him in the Supreme Court in 1973. The only difference, as far as I can tell, is that Eichmann looked smarter in his Obersturmbannf�hrer uniform than the seven little Eichmanns looked in their plain black robes. But without their clothes, the eight men within were, in terms of banality, the same.

In addition to his banality, there was a sort of cowardice behind Mr. Justice Blackmun, perhaps the glitch or glimmer of a suppressed conscience trying to justify the crime against humanity in which it conspired to bring about. In justifying his vicious opinion, he hid behind the skirts of women or, rather, the skirts of some women. These women were as banal as he (for women can be as morally banal as men). These were women whose banality was found, like their violated and artificially infertile wombs, underneath skirts decorated with the plaid of meaningless words like progress and emancipation.

In the news conference that followed his resignation from the Supreme Court in 1994, Justice Blackmun stated that Roe v. Wade was "a step that had to be taken," a step "as we go down the road toward the full emancipation of women." A banal thought, as devoid of meaningful content as Blackmun's banal word "right." How ...
- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Harry Blackmun, Roe v Wade, Doe v Bolton, particular judgement, Pro-Life, Abortion, Right to Life, March for Life, US Supreme Court, Andrew M. Blackwell

NEWSLETTERS »

Previous Page 1 | 2 | 3 Next Page

Rate This Article

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Would you be interested in more articles like this? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

1 - 10 of 29 Comments

Harry Reyhing
3 months ago
Mr Greenwell My apologies to you.Point taken.Im sorry I took the ending too literal.It is an excellent article.I just am sick of liberal priests out there who have greatly watered down God's word since vatican 2.For instance some say that the catholic church teaches that no one is in hell.That is universalism and is a greatheresy.But what the church says is we cant say a PARTICULAR person is in hell.Because that person may have repented beforedeath and made it to heaven.But by the same token we cannotsay a particualrp[erson is in heaven because maybe a godly catholic in his last years ecame an immoral wicked atheist and died and went tohell.What the church does teach is heaven and hell is very populated but only God knows whomadeit or who didnt.Thats the realteaching.But thanks Great article
angie
3 months ago
at first while i was reading i agreed with everything that was being said then i took a break then came back to finish........and now as much as I still agree that the "...banality of morals has indeed led to an endless line of deaths..." I am not sure focusing the article on one individual was the right approach...The approach could have ruined this man's chances of conversion...its never good to focus on the sinner rather the sin especially if its in public....moreover in a catholic website...am sorry the approach has not impressed me; God's mercy is to be shown to all as the sun rises to the good and the evil....the article should have taken a closer look at the judgement,its effect then and now and how banal morals were the cause....the banal morals of this particular individual was plainly in poor taste not to ever dare look at its effect on the soul....
Louis Barta
3 months ago
Another brilliant commentary by Mr. Andrew M. Greenwell. Esq., that unfortunately (and myopically) short-circuited into Holocaust propaganda by stating "millions upon millions of Jews will cry out against the pleas of Eichmann." At that time, no such large numbers of Jews (communists) dwelt within the Third Reich's sphere of tyranny. Many fled or were expelled.The vast majority of the Reich's victims were Christians and non-Jews. Don't they count? If so, why weren't they even mentioned?
Emma
3 months ago
FYI .....please register to attend this webcast tonight. Hosts are trying to set a record. 40daysforlife.org to register or for more info.
Andrew M. Greenwell
3 months ago
@harry reyhing. Do not take the ending to be theologically rigorous; you must give me some poetic license. It is in fact kind of tongue in cheek and trying softly to suggest where Blackmun may be. It is somewhere along the line of C. S. Lewis' quip that he could see how a hell for humans and a heaven for mosquitoes could be conveniently combined. A banal "heaven" is a literary euphemism for Hell.
michael
3 months ago
Excellent article...two things should be emphasized. First, Blackmun was appointed by a Republican named Nixon..enough said. Furthermore, the "inspiration" from Harry's decision came not only from Lucifer and his usual offspring, but also from Justice Brennan, Roman Catholic, who was the brains behind the decision. Secondly, all of these issues are not a part of supernatural revelation essentially, but rather something that can be arrived at by human reason. All men are bound to follow the natural moral law, including those things surrounding abortion, sterilization, contraception, and sodomitical activity. There are many souls going to hell for such crimes and not all are Catholic.
EJH
3 months ago
"Many Americans rightly place more value on the lifetime of a 13 year old victim of rape or incest than on the potential life of the product of such an evil act. Those Americans are protected by our constitution - through the Supreme Court - from those who would impose their version of morality on us all."

It is not a "potential life" but a human life.
So you want to punish the innocent victims: the 13 y/o old and the unborn baby with an abortion? Not only will the 13 y/o suffer the trauma of rape but also the traumatic experience that is abortion and the post traumatic stress disorder that oftentimes comes along after an abortion.
Why should the unborn baby be punished for the crime? Shouldn't we punish the real criminal in this case and not these innocents? Are you not imposing your own morality as well in this case?
harry reyhing
3 months ago
Great article.But I dont like the ending.what do u mean t6hat Eichman and Blackmun are in some banal heaven?What are you talking about?Both men IF they died unrepentent are in hell according to the Bible and 2000 years of church teaching.Unless you are one of the phony liberal post vat 2 catholics who water down Gods clear truth on hell.Both men if they truly repented could have made heaven after perhaps a long stay in purgatory.But if unrepentent they died with a mountain of mortal sins on their soul and are in hell
Father James Farfaglia
3 months ago
To Mr. Mark Holder - You are more than welcome to post any opinion on this website. But, please be open to honest, sincere and objective discussion: not ad hominem, but ad rem. Having said that, please feel free to read and listen to my Sunday homily for this weekend at http://www.fatherjames.org/2013/01/18/building-a-culture-of-life/.
johnblaster
3 months ago
Mark Holder, I regret to inform you that you suffer from a lack of understanding on Catholic teaching. As you readily admit, you being a non-catholic you are not aware of Catholic teaching concerning contraception. Contraception is an evil that has led to many of the issues we face in our society today such as underpopulation where we as humanity are no longer replacing ourselves. In reference to your comment earlier on, the 'potential' life is not potential at all. It is a human being! I would agree with you that the victim needs to be cared for! Amen to that! However, the child that was conceived due to the rape/ incest did not choose to be in that situation. That is something that we as humans have understood for a long time. That we do not choose what social class, family or situation we are born into! Therefore, I would argue that the child in the womb of the rape victim would much rather have a father who loves and cares both the child AND the mother. Also, I would like to point out that the child in the womb is having another persons morality (or lack of) forced on them when they are not afforded the basic rights that should be granted unto them. Lastly, the Supreme Court was in direct violation of their Consitutional boundaires when they ruld on Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Balton. It is sad that we had nine justices that ruled on a law that was never a law. The issue should have stayd with the states instead of being tackled by our federal government. This is where the issues of homosexual 'marriage' and abortion should stay. Thank you for your comments, they were a pleasure to read!

Prev12 3 Next

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment