Leave It to the States? Why We’ve Seen This Episode Before (And It Didn’t End Well)

 

It’s 2024, and somehow, we’re still hearing that familiar refrain, "Leave it up to the states!" It’s the argument some people trot out to settle thorny national issues like abortion rights, the kind of argument that makes you feel like you’re watching a rerun of a bad sitcom from the 1850s. Because, surprise, it’s the exact argument folks used to justify leaving slavery up to the states.

Let's rewind: the 1850s, an era of hoop skirts, poorly thought-out facial hair, and some very dubious decision-making. The country was on fire—figuratively, and later, literally. At the heart of the debate? Whether individual states should be able to decide if people should be considered property. And if you’re thinking, “Hmmm, that didn’t go well,” you’re right!

The States' Rights Argument: Old, Dusty, and Still Problematic

In the 1850s, Southern politicians were all about "states' rights" (read: the right to enslave humans). Their idea was that each state should get to decide for itself whether it wanted to embrace the icky business of slavery or, you know, nottreat people like cattle. They argued that the federal government had no business meddling in such matters .

Spoiler alert: this brilliant strategy didn’t lead to peace, tranquility, or a neat solution where everyone could just agree to disagree. Instead, it gave us a little thing called the Civil War. You may have heard of it . More than 600,000 lives were lost, and we got some awkward national reunions post-war, like that uncomfortable family dinner where no one wants to talk about why Uncle Steve is missing a leg.

Fast Forward to 2024: Same Argument, Different Century

Now, we're hearing a similar tune: “Leave abortion up to the states!” Yes, once again, people are suggesting that states should be able to decide what’s best for women and their reproductive rights . Never mind that this creates a patchwork of laws that look like a game of Twister, where women’s rights twist into knots depending on which state they’re in. Left foot, Alabama! Oh, no, guess you’re stuck there.

But Can’t We Just Learn from History?

Look, we tried the "leave it to the states" approach on human rights once before, and we ended up fighting an actual war to fix it. Maybe we don’t need to roll that dice again? You don’t see anyone saying, “Let’s leave traffic laws up to the states! Sure, let one state decide that stop signs are optional!” Or, “Leave it to the states to decide whether people should pay taxes in Monopoly money.” We know that some things are too important to leave to the whims of state politics .

National Problems Require National Solutions

The problem with the “leave it to the states” argument is that some issues—whether it’s slavery or abortion—affect fundamental human rights. In cases like these, leaving it to the states doesn’t just lead to bad policy; it leads to injustice. What happens when a state decides that women shouldn’t have access to healthcare or bodily autonomy? People suffer . In this case, real people’s lives and futures hang in the balance, just like they did in the 1850s.

So, before we rehash this old mistake, maybe we should ask ourselves: Is history really a circle, or do we have to keep stumbling through the same tired arguments just to wind up on the wrong side of it again?

The Bottom Line

We’ve tried leaving human rights up to individual states before. It didn’t end well. Perhaps we can skip the reruns and come up with a better solution this time around—one that doesn’t involve sacrificing human dignity on the altar of "states' rights." If the last season of this show taught us anything, it’s that national issues need national solutions. Let’s not let history repeat itself like a badly written soap opera.

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References:

1. "Why the Civil War Was Fought Over States' Rights." History.com. Retrieved from History.

2. "Abortion Rights in America: State-by-State Breakdown." Planned Parenthood. Retrieved from PlannedParenthood.

3. "The Effects of Abortion Bans on Women’s Health." American Medical Association. Retrieved from AMA.

4. "The Danger of a Patchwork of Abortion Laws." ACLU. Retrieved from ACLU.

5. "The States’ Rights Argument: Slavery in the South." PBS. Retrieved from PBS.