It was disheartening to hear that the Alaska Supreme Court struck down that state’s Parental Consent Law last week. A majority of the court has discovered a privacy right in the state’s constitution which not only applies to children – it includes an abortion “right” which is superior to the one uncovered by jurists in the federal constitution.

This continues a pattern in which the Abortion Lobby – the ACLU and their clients at Planned Parenthood – have assiduously sought to build a legal breaker in the states, should the U.S. Supreme Court ever reverse its specious ruling in Roe v. Wade. The consequences for Alaska families will be enormous over time. Just look at the devastation wrecked by a similar injustice in neighboring Montana – where the state courts there have struck down virtually every pro-Life law ever enacted.

The events in Alaska are as instructive as they are tragic.

Parental Consent has been the law in that fairly conservative state for some ten years. Who knows how many lives have been spared? How many families protected? How many girls spared the burden of a dark abortion history?

It has been allowed to stand by federal courts – which is no small comment. Like Idaho, Alaska’s fate is bound by the infamy often perpetrated by the 9th Circuit of Appeals.

So what is the lesson for Idaho? It is a warning that if we lose our ability to vote in meaningful contests for state judges – we will one day awaken to a state remade in the image of liberal activists.

Alaska’s constitution provides for the appointment of state judges by the governor to ten year terms. Citizens are given the chance to “retain” or expel supreme court justices at the end of their terms. We’ve not done an exhaustive research effort on the number of justices kicked loose by voters under this system – but we’d bet it is virtually zero.

This is essentially the model many elites in Idaho which to force down our throats. Those elites include two former justices of the Idaho Supreme Court, who just resigned their posts early for the explicit purpose of fixing Idaho elections. Their replacements, appointed by Governor Otter, will be able to run as pseudo-incumbents. It would be more than surprising if either are even challenged by lawyers fearful of retribution.

The Idaho Legislature must rise up in the next session to protect Idaho’s Constitution from the unseemly attempts by Linda Copple Trout and others to destroy our system of government. Otherwise, we will soon find our freedoms hopelessly eroded.