It was just 150 years ago, in March of 1857, when US Supreme Court ruled in the Dred Scott Case that black people are less than persons. If the congressmen of the time believed in the infallibility of the courts as strong as Paul Martin or Stephane Dion, slavery might have lasted well into 1900s. Luckily, this wasn't the case. It was in 1862, just five years after the Supreme Court ruling when the Congress passed several acts restricting slavery, including the Emancipation Proclamation. Finally, the Fourteenth amendment was ratified in 1868, overturning the Dread Scott decision. The amendment clearly stated that every man is a person regardless of the color of his skin.
This wasn't the only case when the courts refused to recognize some people as persons. In 1928 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the word "persons" doesn't apply to women. Again that decision might've been effective today if the existing laws (that restrict people's right to appeal court decisions) were used. But the ruling was appealed and yes, the Supreme Court was found to be wrong. The Privy Council decided that women are persons despite the objections that the "court has spoken".
Dred Scott didn't live to see the slavery abolished and the Fourteenth amendment ratified. But his story is not forgotten. Lynne Jackson, a great-granddaughter of a man who was declared "unperson" by the US Supreme Court speaks up for the unborn, whose right to personhood is denied by the courts nowadays. Back in 1857 it seemed like slavery was there to stay. Where is the Lincoln for the unborn children?
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