The draft opinion's arguments for rejecting Roe – that it's not mentioned in the Constitution or deeply rooted in history – also could be applied to marriage equality and consensual same-sex intimacy, she said.ĭemonstrators in favor of same-sex marriage rallied in 2015 outside the Supreme Court, which later established that right. LGBTQ rights could be especially vulnerable, UCLA Law School professor Cary Franklin said. "And there's no doubt that it creates a lot of uncertainty and nervousness about what comes next." "The idea that the Supreme Court would be comfortable overturning a seminal case that's 50 years old, that guarantees people physical autonomy over their own bodies … because of the change of composition on the court is a truly terrifying prospect," said Cathryn Oakley, state legislative director and senior counsel for the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ rights organization. Most think same-sex marriage, established less than a decade ago, would be the first to be challenged, while interracial marriage, which has the support of constitutional equal rights protections, would be less endangered.Īll agree that just by taking the monumental step to overturn an established right, the court could open the door to challenging other rights. Legal experts and rights advocates disagree to some degree on which right would be most threatened. Wade, the 1973 landmark abortion rights ruling. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito is reportedly the author of the draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. "So, if you unravel one string in that fabric of doctrine, it could potentially unravel the other rights or at least open them up to greater attack." And from that we got a whole slew of sexual privacy rights," he said. The right to privacy "comes from a number of different areas within the Constitution itself, but it evolved out of a right to contraception access.
The potential decision, which would uphold a Mississippi law prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, also undermines the right to privacy, a grounding for the Roe decision and of numerous other rights, said Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University College of Law. WHAT'S NEXT? Anti-abortion groups aren't stopping with Roe One argument leveled against abortion in the court draft is that abortion rights are not enumerated in the Constitution, a circumstance that also could be applied to same-sex marriage and contraception, legal experts said.ĭECADES IN THE MAKING: A look at conservatives' efforts to overturn Roe v. Worry about the fate of other civil rights stems not just from the potential overturning of Roe, but the language used to justify it in the draft opinion, reportedly authored by Justice Samuel Alito with the backing of a court majority. "I think gay marriage is right on the heels of this" in terms of potential legal challenges and legislative proposals, said Kierra Johnson, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, a national LGBTQ rights organization.Īnd it goes beyond that, she said: "I caution anyone who thinks that anything is off the table that our democracy, our agency, our civil rights are on the line." If the draft opinion, published Monday by Politico, takes effect, it would open the door to reconsideration and potential reversal of other established rights, including same-sex marriage, contraception, private consensual sexual activity and even interracial marriage, according to activists and law professors. Abortion isn't the only right that could be under threat by the Supreme Court's draft ruling overturning Roe v.