2022 Supreme Court: the slow and systematic unraveling of constitutional rights,
On January 22nd, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 ruling that a woman had the right to end her unwanted pregnancy. It codified this ruling by attaching it to the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment addresses civil rights and equal protection under the law, limiting states’ ability to infringe upon or deny rights and privileges to its citizens. Fast forward to June 24th, 2022, where the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 opinion to overturn this landmark case. What circumstances could’ve transpired that would have led to this event?
In the 49 years since the original decision was handed down, there have been 10 different Presidents, 6 Republicans and 4 Democrats. And these 10 Presidents appointed 18 Justices; 13 of those appointed by Republican Presidents. The last time a Democratic President appointed a Chief Justice was back in 1941, under Franklin D. Roosevelt. We can no longer blindly accept that justice is blind. Over the last 49 years, the United States has witnessed the slow and systematic unraveling of constitutional rights granted to disenfranchised peoples living within this country. And this campaign has been spearheaded by Republicans and carried out by their appointed judges, on the local, state, and federal levels.
We saw this with the Supreme Court’s unprecedented meddling in the 2000 Presidential election. We saw it again in 2010, with the Citizens United v. FEC 5-4 ruling, which allowed unparalleled and unmonitored amounts of money into campaigns. Again, in 2013, with Shelby County v. Holder, which erroneously claimed that Southern states, with histories of discriminatory practices, no longer needed federal oversight. Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, in 2014, ruled that religious freedoms trump the freedoms of others. And lastly, Janus v. AFSCME, which weakened the bargaining power of unions. All these rulings disenfranchised, predominantly, the Left-leaning electorate. The overturning of Roe is just the latest in this string of cases.
And we are already seeing the beginnings of the attacks on gay marriage. This week, a federal judge in Texas, appointed by former President George W. Bush, ruled that the Affordable Care Act cannot mandate employers to cover drugs that prevent HIV infection. Although not solely a gay disease, the large number of those infected by HIV and by this decision will be gay men.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade should be a wake-up call to Americans that the Republican Party’s command of the judicial system will continue their attempts at dismantling democracy. They will use these life term appointments to fight against the rapidly approaching day that White Europeans will soon no longer be the majority in this country. They will continue to restrict access to the ballot box to protect Evangelicals and gun bearers. If this red spread of hate isn’t stopped, the divisiveness in this country will become permanent, resulting in the undeniable acknowledgement that there now exists two United States, not one.
*********
This series is written to promote political discussion and organizing. Permission is given to use this in fact sheets, talking points, letters to the editor, etc. We’d appreciate if you notified Gettysburg DFA (leonsreed@gmail.com) of any uses.
in case you missed it
Roe is on the ballot in November