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Comment by cato_the_elder | Hacker News Reader

> why was it never codified in law

Because a large part of the country is against late-stage abortions, and there is a need to keep a semblance of democracy?

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But in that case, what's the problem? If you can't get the legislation through because it isn't popular enough, that seems like a pretty solid case of "Won't fix: working as intended".

Congress still has the ability to pass those laws, should they want to.

Roe v Wade said nothing about late-stage abortions.

My understanding is the state of the law before Dobbs was that late term abortions couldn't be legally prevented if continuing the pregnancy put the woman's physical or mental health at risk. I think depending on how late the abortion is and how grave the danger is a lot of people will flip their position between permitting it and not permitting it.

It's a federation, not a democracy. States themselves are federations of legislative districts, the borders of which are drawn by the same legislature (without, thanks to today's supreme court, the checks and balances of judicial oversight). In a democracy, sensible legislation that appeases a large majority is possible.

> States themselves are federations of legislative districts

The variety of ways that US States internally allow municipalities to have their own rules is actually quite interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_rule_in_the_United_States

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