- [{Female] Wheelan-Pressley Funeral Home and Crematory have been serving Quad City families and veterans since 1889.

Wheelan-Pressley Funeral Homes are located in Rock Island, Milan and Reynolds, and our proud supporters of WQPT.

- [Male] At IHMVCU we've always been here for you.

You are and always will be our top priority.

We care about your financial and physical health and we are here.

IHMVCU is a proud supporter of WQPT.

- [Female] Alternatives is a proud supporter of WQPT and has been serving our community for 40 years.

Alternatives provides professional guidance to maintain independence and quality of life for older adults and adults with disabilities.

- A Supreme Court facing the biggest backlash in a generation.

How did we get to this point?

Plus your blood donation could have a big impact in Ukraine.

Something you can do for people in a war torn country, in The Cities.

(melodic music) ImpactLife says you can leave an impact in Eastern Europe with your blood donation, more on that in a moment, but first, the bombshell from the US Supreme Court.

Never has a draft decision been leaked out of the Court, the pillar of justice, the cornerstone of America's judicial system, but it happened.

And at the heart of it is the most polarizing case in American politics today, abortion.

There's no doubt the Supreme Court will recover, but how and how could this happen?

We talked with Western Illinois University Supreme Court and Constitutional Law Professor Dr. Richard Hardy.

Dr. Hardy, thanks for joining us.

Let's start with this leak.

How profound is that?

How much does that shake and rattle the nation's high court?

- Well, it certainly has rocked it unlike I've ever seen before.

You know, ever since the Supreme Court began, they've been shrouded in secrecy in terms of their decision making.

You know, I've been to the Supreme Court.

I've been in that room where the, the conference room off of the Chief Justice's office, where they make those decisions, not when they were making a decision, rarely does anybody get in there.

But when somebody, when they're in session, nobody, nobody gets in.

And when they have their own telephone system, they have their own system of communication and they do not allow anybody to leak that.

And that's a norm that has never been violated up until now.

And so, given this seriousness and the contentiousness of this decision on abortion, it has magnified it many times over and they have to get to the bottom of it, obviously, but it is something that has absolutely broken all norms of conduct from the Supreme Court.

- Does this say something about the Robert's Supreme Court?

I mean that, has he lost control of his own Supreme Court?

- Well, he may feel that way.

Now, we have to find out where this came from.

Now, if it came from a justice, this is grounds for impeachment I would think.

I doubt that it would.

All indications it might be a clerk.

Every justice has four law clerks.

They're selected from recent graduates of the top law schools in the United States.

They're at the cream of the crop.

In fact, many of the people on the Supreme Court were law clerks, including John Roberts, including Breyer, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh.

These people have been, you know, it's a real trust.

So if someone there leaked it, it is going to be very serious for them.

I don't know what their future holds.

You know, it kind reminds me in some respects of when the Watergate, excuse me, when the Pentagon Papers were leaked to the New York Times and Washington Post.

And some people felt as though the person is a real hero for exposing what went on there in four administrations and others thought the person was a you know, a traitor.

I think what we're seeing here is, I think you mentioned in your intro, that some are praising this person as a profile in courage while others are saying you've just violated the most important trust that anybody could have in our system, is to violate the trust of the Supreme Court.

So I guess we'll find out what happened and we'll go from there, but it is extremely serious.

- Explain to me the protocol that you have when it comes to a decision and an opinion being drafted.

The opinion is drafted by, of course, there's a majority and a minority opinion.

Who picked Samuel Alito and why do you think he was picked for this?

- Well, the way that the Court works is first of all, you have to have a rule of four to get the case to the Supreme Court and obviously there were at least four members that wanted to get this.

And then once they decide in the conference room, they go around the table and they give their views and they take a vote.

If the Chief Justice is in the majority, then the Chief Justice will write the case or he could assign it to somebody else to that is closest to his opinion.

If the Chief Justice is not in the majority, then it goes to the most senior member and that person can decide who writes the opinion.

I'm kind of leaning to the fact that John Roberts was not in the majority, is not, was not writing the opinion, that he was probably in the, on the dissent.

Now for it to be law, five members have to agree to the exact same decision to be law, otherwise it's a ruling, and you need five, four in order to make that ruling.

When they make that decision, they always send it around for comment.

It's what they do out of courtesy.

And everybody gets to look at it and offer suggestions.

People can write dissents, it could be dissenting opinion, or it could, you know, you've got all different combinations here, but when it's sent out, everybody makes a comment if they want to.

And then it goes back before the final draft is presented to the Court.

At any time during that time, it can change.

So what we have seen if this was written by Alito, that was prematurely let out.

And this is not necessarily the final result, but it sure gives an indication what the Court's gonna do in terms of Roe versus Wade, in this case of Dobbs versus Jackson Women's Health Center.

- Well, Dobbs versus Jackson is what this case is about, having a test of the Mississippi law that had the 15 week viability, I guess, what would you say the 15 week line as far as an abortion is concerned.

- Yeah well, Roe versus Wade picked viability as the beginning of the seventh month and which it would be capable of living outside the womb, but in the Jackson case, they're talking about detecting a heartbeat that the fetus then many would, the law in Mississippi would call it a human being.

And so therefore that's the new demarcation that it would be.

- But are you surprised that Alito went as far as he did?

I mean, he didn't just limit it, at least according to this draft, he didn't just limit it to the Dobbs case which would be a little more specific.

He went straight after Casey, Planned Parenthood versus Casey, as well as Roe V. Wade.

- Well, I have a list that I've given my students of the cases that have taken place in the Supreme Court, been rendered by the Supreme Court, since Roe versus Wade and it's an extensive list.

And every time that would come before the court, it would be nibbling away at asking questions about what about father's rights?

What about the parents' rights if you got a 13 year old becomes pregnant, there are an infinite number of cases before the court.

Casey of course is probably the most far reaching since that time saying that really you can't do anything to encumber a woman's right to have this abortion.

But here's the problem from the very beginning, if I may, in order to be a right, a fundamental right, it has to be found in the Constitution.

For example, the First Amendment says there should be no abridgment of freedom of speech or press.

The Fifth Amendment, no self-incrimination or double jeopardy, but the problem with some rights that we perceive in the public as a right, for example, education, a lot of people say education is a fundamental right.

Well it's not because the word education is not found in the Constitution.

It's therefore left up to the states under the 10th Amendment.

Those powers not given to the national government or prohibited to the states are reserved the respective to the states or the people.

That includes homeschooling.

The problem with privacy rights is which Roe versus Wade is based upon is that there is no provision of privacy in the Constitution.

So it's based on inference.

And if we went back to what Justice Blackmun said in Roe versus Wade, he says, well, there are zones of privacy.

And for example, I may show this, if this is with the Constitution here, and you can't find it in this Constitution, but you find the First Amendment says, well, freedom of expression and freedom of religion and the Third Amendment, no quartering of soldiers.

And the Fourth Amendment says your right to your, be secure in your purchase, house papers, check against unreasonable search and seizure shall not be violated, and you got the Fifth Amendment, no freedom from self-incrimination and the Ninth Amendment, whatever that entails, cast a shadow.

And in the shadow I got on my desk here is the zone of privacy.

And that's big enough to include the right to have an abortion.

Well, it's based on an inference upon an inference and even Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is the most staunch supporter of abortion rights, has said on occasion, that she's worried about the way it was built constructed.

And it could very well collapse down the road.

We have a situation where we've got now with Trump's appointees, with Gorsuch and Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, we have a majority of people who now believe in that this abortion rights is on not on firm ground.

And this is the bone of contention.

And a lot of people think it's been there for so long we're just gonna continue with this right.

What this case appears to do is that it sent it back to the states.

It does not necessarily make abortion illegal, but it would throw it back to the states where the fights would be then in the state legislatures, in Springfield, in Des Moines and Jefferson City, et cetera.

That's the importance of this case.

And it's as much a federalism issue as it is a fundamental right to freedom and privacy.

- You know so well the Supreme Court, the buck stops there, whether it's issues of morality or politics or anything else.

And so people say, oh, gee, the Supreme Court shouldn't be politicized, but it can't avoid it can it?

- From the very beginning, the US Supreme Court has been both a political body and a judicial body.

It's a political body in the fact that the president so nominates him, the advice and consent of the Senate for the appointment is very political, has been growing at accelerated rate, being political, especially since the Bjork hearing in which Joe Biden was the residing committee person on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

It has increased to the point at which it's so cantankerous that I don't know why anybody wanna serve.

You don't have to look up your family history.

Your opponents will do that for you.

It is becoming a scathing demeaning process in some respects to whoever goes up.

So it stops there.

Well, there is something that's above that, you could pass a Constitutional amendment.

In fact, we've had four Supreme Court decisions that have been overturned by US, by the US Supreme Court, of the Court, by a US Constitutional amendment.

It happened with the 14th amendment that overturned in Dred Scott.

It happened with the income tax overcoming a case rendered in 1895.

We go down a line, but you can overturn that.

And of course, there's one more thing, it's been said that Supreme Courts follow election returns.

And that is oftentimes when the most contentious cases come out.

It's usually at a time of great social upheaval when we're, our nation is changing and they feel like the Supreme Court might be out of sync with what the American public want.

And when that occurs, eventually there's enough pressure that they've kind of changed.

Roosevelt tried to change the Court in 1935.

He didn't succeed.

He was upset because four of his top programs for the New Deal were declared unconstitutional by the Hughes Court.

And eventually those people retired from the Court.

He got new people on the Court and two or three people changed their minds.

And eventually Roosevelt got exactly what he wanted at the very end.

So it's an ebb and flow.

It's not static by any stretch of the imagination.

People change, personnel change and opinions change.

- Western Illinois University Political Science Professor, Dr. Richard Hardy.

The tulips are already in bloom.

Now that's a sign that things are going in the right direction.

It's a good time also to get out and about.

And here's Laura Adams.

- [Laura] This is out and about from May 13th through 19th, the Quad Cities welcomes back QC Craft Beer Week, May 16th through 21st at breweries throughout the Quad Cities.

The Quad Cities Bike Club holds a multi-surface bike race on the 14th at 9:00 AM at Scott County Park.

Whether you are a runner, walker, or someone who just wants to be a part of the movement to race against racism, join the May 14th event at Lindsay Park Yacht Club.

And the Green Valley Dog Park is the location for Paws in the Park on the 15th from 11 to one.

Be in the audience for Disney's "Frozen" in concert with the Quad City symphony orchestra on the 14th at the Adler Theater at two.

At Circa '21, you have a few more opportunities to see "Grace for President," a musical for kids plus "Just Desserts" a musical bakeoff.

Then step into the enchanted world of Beauty and the Beast which opens at Circa midweek.

Plus the inspired by Agatha Christie play, "A Murder is Announced," finishes its run at Playcrafters Barn Theater on the 15th.

Get your tickets for GIT Improv at the Black Box Theater on Friday the 20th or check out Live Music in LeClaire on the 13th with the Joie Booth at the Wide River Winery at five.

And Air Supply takes the stage at Rhythm City Casino on the 13th at eight.

For more information visit wqpt.org.

- Thank you, Laura.

Blood saves lives.

We know that whether it is for blood transfusions, for surgeries or platelets to help fight diseases, but now ImpactLife wants you to donate blood for points and those points could make a huge difference in Ukraine.

We've talked with Kirby Winn from ImpactLife about its effort to help people in Eastern Europe.

Well, Kirby, once again, it's good to talk to you.

We're talking about, you know, donating blood and helping the Ukrainian war effort.

You're not actually sending blood to Ukraine.

- Right, you're correct.

What we have seen in blood centers across the country are aware that the war obviously has a serious impact on all facets of life in Ukraine.

And that includes some impact on supplies and availability of materials that are necessary for our counterparts in Ukraine to collect and test and process and distribute really to just run the blood program in Ukraine at all.

You have to have blood bags and sterile tubing and needles and the testing equipment.

Well, if that's been impacted, that's an area where we can help.

- I think that's something that people don't really think about in a war zone.

There are critical needs that are not being met.

- Right, Blood Centers of America is one of the national organizations of which we are a member and BCA has identified ways in which its member organizations like ImpactLife can support and help meet those needs.

And Blood Centers of America has also worked with one of our industry vendors called Fresenius Kabi which is matching contributions that are coming from the member organizations up to $250,000.

And so we'll, collectively the blood industry in the US, will help make a big impact over there.

- So if you donate blood locally, what is going on?

It's kind of a point system, so to speak, is it not?

- Yeah, our donor rewards program is a point system that ImpactLife runs on a regular basis and we have for years.

So blood donors who are routine in their donations, well really any blood donor can join the donor rewards program.

And then those donors receive points that go into their account.

And of course it's free to join.

It's an easy online form at our website bloodcenter.org.

But as those points accumulate, donors can then shop, you know, use their points to purchase items in our donor reward store.

And often, you know, that might be something like a pullover jacket or a windbreaker or a, you know, polo shirt, a coffee Tumblr, all kinds of, you know, different promotional items that identify those individuals as blood donors.

This now for the first time is an opportunity for individuals who have points in their account to spend so to speak, spend the points, although it, there's nothing financial about it, but to use the points that then the blood center converts into a cash equivalent and uses that to, as our contribution to the Ukraine Relief Fund of Blood Centers of America.

- Where does it really go in Ukraine?

I mean, you're talking about a country that is totally war torn.

The infrastructure is decimated in so many areas.

How does this work?

- Yeah, you, you know, this is a place where we really lean on and rely on the support we have through Blood Centers of America.

And even for Fresenius Kabi that's doing the matching, you know, it's an international European based pharmaceutical supplier and they are making those connections really for blood centers in the United States to make sure that the dollars go where they are most needed.

Ultimately it's a matter of providing for the materials that are needed.

There are blood donors stepping forward in Ukraine, you know, Ukrainian citizens who want to do their part and support the blood supply.

We've seen news coverage of Ukrainians who are eager to go and meet the needs that are there, you know, certainly in relation to the war, but all of the other, you know, standard reasons that you might need to give a blood transfusion.

So all of that is there.

And the blood collection, you know, the teams and the people in the organization is there.

What's been impacted is the supplies and just having the materials needed.

So the funds that come through Blood Centers of America, and again, matched by Fresenius Kabi, will go to support that.

But the direct, you know, how will it be used and where will it go, is being coordinated at that national level through BCA.

- So if you have this point system that somebody's giving blood to get points, and then they can donate the points to you, thereby it gets converted.

This must be a long term project.

This isn't like a one week hit.

- You're right.

Yeah, it's actually something that we just launched at the beginning of May and runs for ImpactLife donors up until June 14, which is World Blood Donor Day.

And so that's a timeframe that all fits as far as the match in connection with Blood Centers of America and Fresenius Kabi and also ImpactLife is matching the points that are contributed up to $10,000.

So each individual donor can give back points in 500 point increments up to a max of 1500 per donor.

I know that that sounds fairly complex and complicated, but it it's really straightforward once you get into it.

It's a matter of clicking the button that says donate points for Ukraine for those who have those reward store balances.

And then, you know, we kind of take it from there in terms of adding up the contributions and matching, and then sending off to BCA, Blood Centers of America, which again, in turn, that's being matched and then provided directly where it's most needed in Ukraine.

- Well and I'm sure that you're already proud of your donors for donating in the first place and now they're giving almost a second donation.

I mean, there's a lot of people that are taking part I'd assume because you have so many of your donors who, you know, that's what they want to do.

- Yeah, I mean, people who give blood that, they're putting good into the world in the first place, right.

They're stepping forward as a volunteer blood donor.

We have seen, you know, some feedback from people who are, you know, they think this is great.

It actually, it's a way to support in a small way, the needs in Ukraine to ensure that the blood industry has the resources that it needs over there, but also doesn't cost, you know, this isn't something where you're getting out your credit card and determining, okay, what, how much money do do I wanna contribute?

Many donors participating in the rewards program already have a points balance and are just glad to see that this is a connection and yet another way to help.

- Kirby we're entering the summer.

Of course, there's always issues in regards to blood donations, the lack of some of the blood drives that happened during the summer, you're also coming out of the COVID pandemic.

Let's start there before we talk about the total impact of the summer blood drives.

You're done with COVID right now in so many different ways, is the impact done as well?

- You know, where we have the greatest impact has been in the loss of blood drives, going back to the beginning of the pandemic, because many have returned, I, by no means, are we not holding blood drives and we have those drive sponsors, but it was a drastic shift from the, you know, groups that couldn't have us come in beginning in, you know, March, April of 2020.

Some of those have been lost for good.

Many have returned but it's resulted in a shift in donation patterns.

We have a greater percentage of donors coming through our donation centers and then also gaps in our collection calendar resulting, you know, from groups that may have hosted for years, but stopped in the early phase of the COVID 19 pandemic and haven't yet returned to our calendar.

And so that's where the change has been, you know, now in our second year of operating in this circumstance, we also see it as you mentioned, summertime, and that's the end of our education.

Well, maybe not entirely the end, but many of our school blood drives fall off the books so to speak by mid-May, at the end of May, and then not to return again until September.

So those donations, we have to replace them in some form or another in June, July and August, because of course the use of blood stays about the same, even as those donation rates and the mobile blood drive calendar does change.

- Well, let's be honest, sometimes actually increases during the summer holiday season as you well know.

Let's talk about, 'cause everyone thinks of blood donation, being that famous person of sitting there and getting the blood drawn.

But there's also your other secondary pheresis collection where people are sitting there for a greater period of time and those platelets are being used so often for cancer patients and other people that are facing such a life threatening diseases.

How is how's the pheresis program going for ImpactLife?

- Yeah, you know, it has been challenged, you know, just to be fully, you know, transparent there.

We're keeping up with patient need, but it's a lot closer.

The inventories of platelets are lower than we would like to see and they have to be used within seven days of donation.

And so that's the out date period, you know, it's 42 days on a red blood cell derived from a whole blood donation, but only seven days on a platelet.

And of course, a couple of days is just the testing and the processing that we have on our end.

And so there's a really, a demand always to refresh and recruit, schedule more platelet donors, keep those schedules full and make sure that we don't have a week when we're lower because we, it's not a product that can stock up and sit on the shelf for very long.

- Our thanks to Kirby Winn from ImpactLife.

On the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile device and streaming on your computer.

Thanks for taking some time to join us as we talk about the issues on The Cities.

- [Female] Wheelan-Pressley Funeral Home and Crematory have been serving Quad City families and veterans since 1889.

Wheelan-Pressley Funeral Homes are located in Rock Island, Milan and Reynolds, and are proud supporters of WQPT.

- [Male] At IHMVCU we've always been here for you.

You are, and always will be our top priority.

We care about your financial and physical health and we are here.

IHMMVCU is a proud supporter of WQPT.

- [Female] Alternatives is a proud supporter of WQPT and has been serving our community for 40 years.

Alternatives provides professional guidance to maintain independence and quality of life for older adults and adults with disabilities.