The aftershocks of today’s SCOTUS opinion overturning Roe vs. Wade are already rippling across the country, as many states have trigger laws withdrawing the established right to abortion. This devastating decision is happening despite that documented fact that a majority of this country—Democrats and Republicans alike—support abortion and understand it as a fundamental right.
Black and brown women in this country have always struggled with obstacles to equality and with the bitter reality that, as citizens, we are “lesser than.” And, as always, Black and brown women and those struggling to get by financially will be hit hardest by the ruling.
As a lawyer deeply engaged with civil rights issues, I am appalled at a ruling that claims, at its core, the justification that the right to abortion is not specifically enumerated in the constitution. The Constitution is silent on countless other rights we rely on every day in this country; it’s telling that a woman’s right to abortion is the one the Court has chosen to decimate today.
The concurring opinion of Justice Thomas should be a wake-up call to everyone. Thomas calls out the rights to same-sex marriage and contraceptives as examples of others that are not enumerated in the constitution. He is laying out the game plan of the right. We should consider ourselves forewarned.