Editorial: A jury-rigged legal system

The consequences of an evenly numbered — and too often evenly divided — Supreme Court grew more apparent last week as justices ventured into strange legal territory, taking on a role quite different from what the nation's founders envisioned.

The court failed last week to rule on the merits of a case brought by religiously-affiliated non-profit employers who object to the Affordable Care Act's requirement that they provide female workers with contraception coverage in their health insurance.

The court is weighing a case challenging Texas' requirements that abortion providers have hospital admitting privileges and meet the standards for ambulatory hospitals.

A deadlock would leave in place a lower court ruling in Texas' favor, keeping in place tactics clearly aimed at putting clinics out of business and making it harder for tens of thousands of women to exercise a constitutional right.

In ignoring a sitting president and declaring that "the American people should decide" in the next election who should fill the court vacancy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans are telling Americans that partisan politics trumps their rights, at least for the next eight months.