The U.S. Supreme Court took the dramatic step of overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized a woman's constitutional right to an abortion and legalized it nationwide, handing a momentous victory to Republicans and religious conservatives who want to limit or ban the procedure.
The court, in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative majority, reinforced by Trump, upheld a Republican-backed Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks. The vote was 5-4 to overturn Roe, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing separately to say he would have upheld the Mississippi law but not taken the additional step of erasing the precedent altogether.
The Supreme Court decision to end the nationwide right to abortion has sparked speculation, including by President Biden, that other landmark rulings could now be on shakier ground, including those that legalized same-sex marriage and birth control.
"This is about a lot more than abortion," said President Biden. "What are the next things that are going to be attacked? Because this MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that's existed in American history, in recent American history."
Obergefell v. Hodges legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. In Ohio, Jim Obergefell had brought suit in order to be recognized as the surviving spouse of his deceased partner, John Arthur.
The justices voted 5-4 to declare same-sex marriage a constitutional right, citing both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
"The right to marry is fundamental as a matter of history and tradition, but rights come not from ancient sources alone. They rise, too, from a better informed understanding of how constitutional imperatives define a liberty that remains urgent in our own era," wrote Kennedy, who joined the court's four liberals.
What will be next right to cut?
Same-sex marriage (the Obergefell decision) is under threat now. Right-wing Justice Clarence Thomas has said so in his concurring opinion yesterday. He specifically said that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee an individuals rights to a same-sex marriage, just as it does not guarantee a woman's right to an abortion or a right to purchase contraceptive products (as backwards as it sounds). Although I think it is a stretch that SCOTUS will repeal Griswold (the landmark 1965 decision that guaranteed the right of individuals to purchase contraceptives, Republicans are not THAT crazy), I can see many states wanted to take the matter of same-sex marriage approval back into their own hands. I will give you a scenario for how this can happen. United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, right below SCOTUS, is extremely Conservative, and handles cases for Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, three very Red States. The Texas legislature passes a clearly unconstitutional law saying that same-sex couples (again, I am just making this up) have to submit a list of all sexual partners in the past three years to the Texas Department of Health because of future diseases before they are given permission to marry. Since this law is clearly discriminatory, they are sued. It goes to the Texas Supreme Court. Before Long, it is referred to the Fifth District Court which stays the law (holding it from going into effect) until the entire circuit can rule on it. SCOTUS steps in on emergency appeal, and takes it up in emergency session, before Biden can replace one of the older Republican appointed Justices. SCOTUS will probably throw it out but who knows? Roberts, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh are not "paleoconservatives" but after overturning Roe, I do not know what could happen.
ReplyDeleteThis is Trump's fault but leftists' too, because they didnot vote for Hillary when they should do it to stop him. I hope everyone has learned the lesson ahead of the next midterm elections
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