Friday, June 24th, 2022—The day the United States Supreme Court officially took away a constitutional right from the American people. Yes, people. This does not and will not impact only women. It will affect ALL people.
This decision undermines presumed rights to privacy previously determined by earlier court cases based upon prior interpretation and application of certain portions of the Bill of Rights. It opens up all cases decided based upon those presumptions to new scrutiny and future overturning by the current radically extreme members of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) was the first case to recognize a right to privacy. Combining protections from the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments, the court found the basis for an implied right to privacy within the Constitution. This is the case that granted a right to marital privacy. Specifically, it ruled that states had no right to ban contraception for married couples. This landmark case establishing a constitutional right to privacy regarding reproductive decisions paved the way for all others, including Roe v. Wade (abortion rights), Lawrence v. Texas (same-sex sexual activity) and Obergefell v. Hodges (same-sex marriage).
And it seems likely that the overturning of Roe v. Wade is just the beginning, as indicated by Justice Clarence Thomas in his concurrent opinion:
“For that reason, in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Because any substantive due process decision is ‘demonstrably erroneous.'”
Justice Clarence Thomas, 19-1392 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (06/24/2022)