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Judicial review, established in the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803), refers to the Supreme Court's ability to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution (About the Supreme Court, n.d.). It is important because it maintains the limits of the power of the two other branches of government, without it there would be no position of authority to make a final determination of constitutionality when it comes into question. I believe that judicial review was appropriate for determining the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) first because there were valid questions raised, and second because of the significant impact that the Act had on individuals and states. The two legal questions posed were whether congress had exceeded its power and violated any part of the U.S. Constitution by requiring individuals to purchase healthcare (a private commodity) or be taxed, and whether the government was coercing states to comply with increasing their contributions to the jointly funded Medicare program by withholding federal matching funds if they didn't. Had this case not been accepted by the SCOTUS for review, I think it would have led to a major upheaval. The executive and legislative branches need to defer to the decision of the highest authority to maintain order.

My answer is the same for any potential future bill to ban abortions in all cases. The right to bodily autonomy including abortion is a major healthcare decision that has a considerable scope, having either a direct or indirect impact on all Americans. There is significant disagreement among the American people related to the right to bodily autonomy. The questions related to abortion in the past relate to constitutionality of the right to choose including due process rights, and the right to privacy clause in the Fourteenth Amendment (Legal Information, n.d.). As long as there are valid constitutional questions that are not explicit in the constitution, I believe judicial review is appropriate. I also believe that it is critical to defer to the ruling of the highest court on their decision or risk major discourse in the Nation.

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