Yes, in 2024, we are still having to wait for an ultra-conservative court to decide how much bodily autonomy we get to have on a day-to-day basis. But today the Supreme Court released a decision in its abortion pill case that left many of us happily surprised.
Thursday morning, the Supreme Court rejected efforts to severely limit access to the abortion medication mifepristone. The case was brought by medical professionals who were represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian group that tries to impact social norms by demanding we all follow their beliefs via the courts. I mean, it is a good strategy for tyrants …
Fortunately, the court rejected their nonsensical attempts in a surprising unanimous decision. Even Brett Kavanaugh agreed and wrote for the court that the plaintiffs did not have a federal case because none of the people in the lawsuit had suffered any actual injury. A person must suffer some kind of injury—physically, financially, etc.—in order to have a real lawsuit decided in the courts, regardless of what side the justices rule on. The people who brought this case have no injury, they just don’t like the idea of abortion.
Kavanaugh made clear that the federal courts were not the right venue for the Alliance’s grievances. Because he’s the worst, he added that the group should use the regulatory process or the legislative process to try and limit access to mifepristone if they so choose.
President Joe Biden, who is making abortion rights a central part of his 2024 Presidential campaign, applauded the decision. But while he supported the unanimous ruling, he cautioned the American people, saying that the fight for access to reproductive freedom is going to remain. Which is so true. This is a very small victory in the grand scheme of things and the idea that we can lose rights to something as vital as our own bodies and right to privacy, simply because right-wing ghouls have a weird moral obsession, is still egregious.
Published: Jun 13, 2024 04:34 pm