This week, a draft opinion by the Supreme Court was reported by POLITICO and confirmed by Chief Justice John Roberts. While subject to change, this draft ruling would apply to the pending Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and would nullify the Court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade and 1992 ruling in Casey v. Planned Parenthood, which each affirmed the constitutional right to an abortion.
Roe v. Wade has been considered practiced law since the 7-2 ruling. The Court ruled that the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause protects the right to privacy, which applies to a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion free from government restriction. Current Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion, if it becomes the official vote later this year, would leave the decision to the states.
The New York Times reports that twenty-six states are at risk of immediate bans on most abortions. Thirteen of these states have “trigger-ban” laws, where as soon as Roe is overturned, they will ban abortion either immediately or within thirty days. These laws are restrictive, un-American, and draconian. People with uteruses’ right to choose is a fundamental freedom, and the Supreme Court’s ruling against that is not “pro-life,” it is anti-choice.
Rulings and laws against abortion disproportionately impact people of color and low-income people. It is important to note that banning abortion does not end abortion, it ends safe abortion.
We deplore this draft decision by the Supreme Court and hope that it will not, however unlikely, become the final ruling. Climate justice is intersectional, and the climate movement must stand with the fight against gender injustice. When we talk about and teach climate justice, we have to appreciate that it is a fight for our future, a future for everyone that we all have a responsibility to take care of. . Protecting all of our collective rights is essential to taking care of each other and the planet.