When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week, it ostensibly freed states to regulate abortion as they see fit. But that won't be possible if Congress manages to impose one abortion policy on the entire country or if states succeed in applying their own laws beyond their territory.
Both power moves are constitutionally dubious. They threaten to undermine or negate the federalist approach that was supposed to convert a winner-take-all national controversy into state-by-state debates that leave room for a diversity of policies based on a diversity of opinions.
