As of this morning, in one of their final decisions of the term, the Supreme Court released a 6-3 decision in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization stating that abortion is not a constitutional right in the United States.
What this means:
Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey have officially been overturned.
The six conservative justices (Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett) voted in the majority; the three liberal judges (Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan) dissented. Ketanji Jackson Brown is not on the court yet, but that played no role in the result of the decision, as she'll be replacing Breyer.
13 states have trigger laws that were intended to make abortion illegal as soon as Roe was overturned. This New York Times article details the status of all states regarding their abortion legislation.
It's not clear what this means for other precedents established under the same right for privacy.
Thomas specifically called for the reconsideration of Griswold v. Connecticut (right for married couples to use contraception), Lawrence v. Texas (right to same-sex relationships), and Obergefell v. Hodges (right to same-sex marriage). (He didn't call for Loving v. Virginia to be overturned, funny enough.)
Alito tried to wall off abortion from the above cases because of the "critical moral question posed by abortion", but it's not clear if that will stand.
There are currently protests happening across the country, and there will continue to be more.
What this doesn't mean:
That abortion is illegal everywhere in the United States. A number of states explicitly protect abortion in their own state laws. They are primarily in the northeast and the west coast but also include Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado, Minnesota, and Illinois.
That the fight for abortion rights is over. Some of that will happen in state legislatures, and some will happen in the courts. There is already a lawsuit brought by a synagogue in Florida claiming that a Florida abortion ban after 15 weeks violates Jewish teachings.
What to do next:
Donate. Here is a list of some places to donate to. And another. NARAL. Remember to donate beyond Planned Parenthood
Vote. State-level voting will play a large role in deciding abortion legislation. Federal-level voting will play a large role in deciding who is on the courts.
If you are going to protest, be careful and be safe.
Be consistent in your recognition and support of reproductive rights as impacting people beyond cis women. Be clear in the language that you use--if you're talking about people who can bear children, say people who can bear children. If you're talking about pregnant people, say pregnant people. Not all women have uteruses or can bear children, and not people who have uteruses or can bear children are women.
Take care of yourself and your community. This is a really hard time, and we need to look out for each other.
Has anything actually gotten better, for all the work you talk about doing? Or is it just treading water in misery forever?
Anon, ten years ago gay people couldn't get married in large parts of the US. AIDS was an almost certain death sentence when I was in high school. I was looking at job boards the other day and found a part time gas station job that had health insurance as a benefit, which NEVER would have happened 15 years ago. When I was a kid, hitting your child was extremely normalized in the US and my parents were the weird ones for not doing it. There is a vaccine for chicken pox. I didn't meet anyone who had transitioned until my 20s because it was so uncommon to transition in the aughts, and now there are some states that protect your right to have gender affirming care provided by your health insurance. It's not all states, but it's better than the number of states that had it in 2010, which was zero. THERE ARE TENANTS UNIONS NOW. WE HAVE A VACCINE AGAINST CERVICAL CANCER.
And all of that has been the work of a lot of individuals and organizations and research teams and activists.
Write it shitty, write it scared, write it without a clue but don't you be so spineless and have an AI write fanfic for you.
My friends who have never experienced flooding, and who are about to deal with it from this storm, please remember:
1. NO. YOU CANNOT MAKE IT THROUGH THAT WATER ON THE ROAD. I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU'RE DRIVING. TURN. AROUND.
2. DO NOT GO WADING THROUGH THE WATER. EVEN IF YOU JUST WANT TO SEE HOW DEEP IT IS. THAT. WATER. IS. CONTAMINATED.
3. IT IS CALLED FLASH FLOODING FOR A REASON. THE WATER RISES AND SURGES IN A FLASH. STAY. HOME.
4. If you're at risk of flooding, raise up any of your belongings now. Put the legs of tall things in buckets. Know where your important documents are.
5. Stay safe.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) dir. Brian Henson
Source
Transcript:
“BREAKING: A constitutional amendment has been filed allowing President Trump to seek a 3rd term in office.
"No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice."
It was filed by Congressman Andy Ogles (R-TN).
Don’t let this slip by unnoticed. This is not just “one extra term”, it’s a warning shot. It’s a red flag. It’s an omen.
They are slowly turning up the heat in the pan. Do not be the frog who sits denying it’s getting hotter.
One extra term will become two, two will become three, and three will eventually give way to lifelong reign of each president.
Fight. Fight for God’s sake.
Contact your local representative of congress. Convince them we do not want this.
We are going to end up in a dictatorship.
@ikiyou
Please help spread this. I don’t usually get political and I don’t usually ask for assistance but this is important and you have more reach.
Guys.
Guess what?
It’s officially…
HALLOWEEN!!!!
Yet again, and entirely for the best, it appears that Canada will be smarter than us.
i love telling people "godspeed" it adds so much weight and dignity to everything i'll say it to a friend driving cross country or a coworker grabbing lunch from the corner store like good luck bitch!! may the road rise to meet you and the wind be at your back!!!