Posted by David Aubry on Apr 02, 2018
 
Rotary Meeting Minutes April 2, 2018
The meeting was called to order at 6:32 PM by President Steve Shinstrom. 
David Mutal led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
John Pruitt manned the front desk.
Visitors and Introductions:
Monica Fratita is here for her last visit as a ‘visitor’.  She will be inducted into the Club next week.  Mike Hunter introduced our latest Student of the Month, Teresa, a Senior at Lake Washington High School.  John Woodbery introduced his wife Dee, and announced that this month they will have been married for 56 years!  John also introduced several other guests, Patti Wright and her mother Sandra Roe, and Roger and Chris Meddys [sp?].  [Really need to improve my handwriting so I can read it!]
Announcements:
The District Conference at Tulalip is April 27-29.  A number of ‘Packages’ are available.  Do not forget that Miracle League starts April 21, 10AM, at Perigo Park in Redmond.  We are actually recruiting more disabled kids to participate.  Ambereen reminded us about assisting in cleaning and decorating veterans’ graves at Kirkland Cemetery.  Help is needed in placing flags on the Thursday before Memorial Day.  Dave Aubry spoke about two upcoming work parties at the site of the Club’s project on the Cross Kirkland Corridor. Volunteers led by CKC Steward Karen Story will be working 9-11AM April 9 and 23rd clearing non-native and invasive species from the area just south of the old station platform, near Kirkland Ave and Railroad Ave.  Wear work clothes, gloves and tools are provided.  James Nevers reminded us that in three weeks [April 23] we will have our Scholarships Awards Dinner.
Rick Walter spent some time extracting Happy Dollars from a number of Happy Rotarians.
Our speaker this evening was our own John Woodbery in the role of his ancestor, Levi Woodbury, a former US Supreme Court Justice who served from 1845 to 1851.  [The spelling of the name underwent changes over time.]  He spoke about Roe v. Wade 1973, a case that still causes much conflict among various members of US society.
As ‘Justice Woodbury’ spoke, he recounted some family history and how his descendant’s [John’s] familiarity with the case and with the US Constitution gave him a perspective on the how the case was tied to parts of the Constitution by the majority written opinion at the time. As part of the discussion, we were given a short lesson in the structure of the US Government as described by James Madison in the Federalist Papers, with its three coequal branches of government and system of checks and balances that is designed to prevent any part of the government from accumulating too much power.  Mr. Madison felt that this was the only way to ensure the long-term survival of a successful republican form of government.
Roe v. Wade grew out of a decision of the Texas Supreme Court that held that a woman’s right to privacy meant that the state could not interfere with a decision by a woman and her doctor to have an abortion.  This decision was appealed to the US Supreme Court, which mainly upheld that ruling.  There were a number of side issues such as the age of the unborn child and the states’ undoubted ability to regulate the practice of medicine.  Basically, the Court held that past a certain age, the states could place restrictions on abortion and even prohibit abortion if the child was viable outside the womb. 
Partly because the decision was judicial rather than legislative, the battle continues between opponents of abortion for any reason and the advocates of essentially the right to unrestricted abortion.
Some of the interesting features of the case are the fact that the case hinged on a right to privacy, something nowhere mentioned in the Constitution, and the potential rights of an unborn child, something also not mentioned in the Constitution.
It was an extremely informative an interesting talk which, as an aside, gives rise to the observation that a trial lawyer might also have gone into acting as a profession.
President Steve regaled us with a humorous story and then adjourned the meeting at about 7:45PM
Respectfully Submitted
Acting Scribe - David Aubry