Obsidian Wings

Would mandated kidney donations be Constitutional?

by Ugh

Suppose State X passes a law providing "all individuals meeting the living kidney donor criteria* shall donate one of their kidneys to any discovered matching recipient in need and any individual refusing to donate shall be subject to a sentence of no more than Y years in prison."

Such a law would be consistent with similar laws imposing a duty to act or suffer state imposed civil/criminal punishment: (i) conscription in the Army; (ii) registration for the Draft; and (iii) mandatory reporting for, e.g., teachers, school administrators, therapists (see also Butler v. Perry, 240 U.S. 328).  

What, if anything, in the Constitution would bar a State from passing and enforcing that law?  

*Other than being willing, of course

No Mo' Roe

by Ugh*

Are we the dog that caught the car or is it on to Griswold, Loving, Obergefell, Lawrence, Baker....

This seems most unfortunate.

*I've decided my best approach to post-2016 POTUS election life is to bury my head in the sand as much as possible, hence I've not been around much, if at all.  I hope everyone is well despite all the things.

Open Thread

by JanieM

Non-depressing topics especially encouraged.

Like, we could talk about the fact that IMHO this the most beautiful week of the year in my neck of the woods (ice gone, grass green and thick but not mowed yet, trees with the faintest of pale green buds) as long as we ignore the black flies, ticks, and pollen. :-)

Edited to add:

Sauce for the Goose

by wj

Coming up with a title for this Open Thread was a bit challenging. Alternatives I toyed with were:
- As you sow, so shall you reap
- Payback's a bitch

We're all familiar by now with RWNJs who denounce with great outrage other people who (supposedly) have been engaging in immoral behavior which, in fact, the RWNJs have been engaging in themselves. It's practically become cliché by now.

But here's another example
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/28/ukrainian-attacks-bring-war-home-russia-fraying-civilian-nerves/

It seems that the folks in the Kremlin are utterly outraged that Ukraine might actually launch attacks on Russian forces in Russia. The nerve of some people! Just because Russia has invaded their country, how does that give them the right to strike at what were supposed to be safe havens?

The happiest place on earth

by liberal japonicus

A bit late, but folks here might have some comments and perhaps some insight into the push to make Disney pay.

https://www.bostonherald.com/2022/04/27/disney-in-the-dark-about-florida-move-to-dissolve-self-government/

A college friend of mine in Florida observed that Orange and Osceola counties went Democratic in the last election, so this plugs into it and he also feels that this was more a distraction from the work of gerrymandering to ensure an unbreakable lock on the state. Anyway, share your thoughts and observations.