Almost 50 years later, the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe V. Wade. Although this came as unsurprising to many as the draft was leaked in May and the conservative rulings we have seen in the past week, the news still felt shocking to many online. Although many Democrats and pro-choice voters felt gutted, as one person stated, Republicans celebrated this ruling online. Many also wondered what precedents this set for future rulings.
To every one of our American sisters, we are with you. We will not rest until your rights are restored as your fight is our fight.
They won’t stop trying to control women and we won’t stop fighting for their freedom everywhere. None of us should live under his eye.#RoeVsWade
— stellacreasy (@stellacreasy) June 24, 2022
Although the draft leaked 5-4, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. switched to vote with the majority. As expected, the court’s three liberal judges dissented. As some expressed their concerns, believing it would prove to affect women across the world, others looked at a precedent this ruling might have set. Justice Clarence Thomas expressed not only his opinion on abortion but also discussed other past rulings that may need looking into. “The same rationale that the Supreme Court used to declare there was no right to abortion, he said, should also be used to overturn cases establishing rights to contraception, same-sex consensual relations, and same-sex marriage,” reports New York Times.
PRAISE GOD!
Roe has been overturned! pic.twitter.com/3VL1vmCRjx
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene???????? (@RepMTG) June 24, 2022
According to Thomas, “For that reason, in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process, precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Griswold ruled married couples had the right to contraceptives, Lawrence legalized same-sex sexuality and invalidated laws about sodomy, and Oberfgefell legalized same-sex marriage across the country. Thomas writes “overruling these demonstrably erroneous decisions, the question would remain whether other constitutional provisions.” With Roe V. Wade overturned, some feared that other cases would be affected as well.
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Justice Thomas calls on SCOUS to overrule Griswold (right to contraception); Lawrence (invalidating anti-sodomy laws); Obergefell (marriage equality) pic.twitter.com/xOXEwbfL24
— Leah Litman (@LeahLitman) June 24, 2022
Former President Obama tweeted “Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, but it also relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans.” With over 131 thousand retweets in a few hours, it is clear many people agreed.
