It was revealed Monday night that the Supreme Court has voted to reverse Roe v. Wade, with a draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion leaked to Politico.
The move to overturn Roe comes as part of the reported decision on Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs, a wildly unconstitutional case out of Mississippi that the court has been considering. The case centers around a 15-week abortion ban that is in direct contradiction with Roe, as well as Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which also offers constitutional protections for those seeking abortions. (Which is why Dobbs never should have gotten before the court in the first place.)
In order for the Supreme Court to uphold Mississippi’s ban, they would have to overturn Roe and Casey, and that’s exactly what they did. In the leaked document, Alito writes that Roe was “egregiously wrong from the start” and declares that abortion is once again a states’ rights issue. That means that as soon as this ruling takes effect, abortion will be illegal in dozens of states across the country that have trigger bans in place and pre-Roe bans still on their books. And more states will surely follow.
About half of the states are expected to ban abortion or enact limits on the procedure if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, as a leaked draft opinion indicates the court has privately voted to do. See what could happen in those states. https://t.co/vBU2UqSLSG
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 3, 2022
When Roe is overturned, millions of people will lose access to safe, legal abortions. That is absolutely scary and enraging enough on its own but it’s surely not going to be all that comes of this. It is likely just the start.
Roe v. Wade is rooted in a constitutional protection of privacy. So by overturning that case, the court is effectively undoing decades of precedent for other forms of privacy protections. Alito’s opinion is also based in a (ridiculous) strict originalist approach to the Constitution, as he basically insists that abortion can’t be protected by the Constitution because it’s not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution. Protected civil rights and liberties need to be “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition,” he argues.
Requiring civil rights to be “deeply rooted in history” is a great way to say “if you didn’t always have civil rights, then you should never have them.”
— Steve Kenson (@SKenson) May 3, 2022
There are a ton of cases that this would affect (here’s a terrifying thread with lots of examples) but the obvious next target of the religious right would be Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark 2015 case that required all states to permit and recognize same-sex marriages. This new decision absolutely sets the stage to reverse Obergefell.
I’m telling you now how this is going to go down:
— Brynn Tannehill (@BrynnTannehill) May 3, 2022
About a week after the decision to overturn Roe is released, AG Paxton in TX will release an opinion that TX is not bound by Obergefell. 1/n
There’s likely to be some language about determining legality of marriages based on sex listed on original, un-amended birth certificates.
— Brynn Tannehill (@BrynnTannehill) May 3, 2022
State courts will affirm legality of Abbott’s actions in light of Jackson’s Women’s Health decision. 3/n
We will see Obergefell die in 2024. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has been planning this ever since it became apparent that Roe v. Wade was going down. Most conservative state AGs have relationships with the organization. 5/n
— Brynn Tannehill (@BrynnTannehill) May 3, 2022
Obergefell is very likely to be the next target, but it is far from the only landmark case at risk of being overturned. There is now a very real threat to precedent protecting all sorts of civil rights and liberties, from contraception to same-sex relationships to interracial marriage.
Currently about 15 states still have criminal sodomy bans on their books. Think about that fact when you re-read Alito’s draft opinion overturning Roe and gunning for Obergefell
— Jessica Mason Pieklo (@Hegemommy) May 3, 2022
The Alito draft opinion in Dobbs confirms that other rights are at risk. Not just contraception (Griswold) but marriage equality (Obergefell) & possibly even the ban on anti-miscegenation laws (Loving) https://t.co/cU0hgweDUx
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) May 3, 2022
Obergefell v. Hodges is next.
— Robert Hewitt Wolfe (@writergeekrhw) May 3, 2022
Then Lawrence v. Texas.
Then Griswold v. Connecticut.
They’re all supported by the same logic as Roe v. Wade.
Say hello to the Big White Hetero Daddy State.
Say goodbye to freedom.
If the Supreme Court follows though in overturning Roe and Casey, it will be catastrophic. It will also only be the beginning.
(image: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Published: May 3, 2022 06:05 pm