Not to change the subject, and apologies in advance, but when did they start allowing cameras into USSC arguments? Is this something CJ Roberts allowed? I can't believe I missed this - I've been hoping they'd do this for years.
Back to the topic, kind of: I hadn't realized Hentoff was a pro-lifer. Good news - I've always thought he was a great thinker, though I disagree with him on some things. I'd assumed abortion was one of those things.
I assumed that only oral arguments were allowed to be taped and broadcast, at least one justice, when asked when cameras would be allowed, replied "Over my dead body".
In practice, I think cameras in courtrooms are an abomination. In Britain, most (all?) trials have a gag order of some kind or manner, so they don't get such public spectacles like the OJ trial and similar evidence of a society in ruin.
Hentoff wrote a memorable and hard-hitting series of columns defending Terri Schiavo. It did not endear him to his own Village Voice readers, but he was resolute. In fact, he was one of the earlier voices to speak up for Terri. He covered the story for several years. As he put it in one column, he is an atheist, so in his view, life is all we have. The right to life is fundamental.