Dobbs, 2 years later
The second anniversary of Dobbs, the worst decision in U.S. Supreme Court history
It has now been 2 years since the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which ruled that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. In doing so, the Court overturned 50 years of settled law in Roe v. Wade (1973) and 32 years in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) by returning to individual states the power to regulate any aspect of abortion not protected by federal statutory law.
The Dobbs decision was, in my opinion, the worst U.S. Supreme Court decision in our history, even worse than Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857).
According to FindLaw:
Dred Scott held that African Americans, whether free men or slaves, could not be considered American citizens. The ruling undid the Missouri Compromise, barred laws that would free slaves, and all but guaranteed that there would be no political solution to slavery. The opinion even included a ridiculous "parade of horribles" that would appear if Scott were recognized as a citizen, unspeakable scenarios like African Americans being able to vacation, hold public meetings, and exercise their free speech rights.
Dobbs was worse than Dred Scott because it took away rights that had been used for 50 years. In contrast, Dred Scott only took away future rights. Dred Scott may have slowed the process for Black Americans to obtain equal rights, but probably not by too much considering that this is still an issue 167 years later.
The composition of the U.S. Supreme Court is a major issue for the November 2024 election between Biden and Trump. We can expect even more terrible decisions by the Court if Trump is elected and appoints more Justices. If Biden is elected but Republicans control the Senate, it would not be surprising if Republicans refuse to confirm ANY of Biden’s appointees.
If Trump wins or the Republicans control the Senate, we should anticipate future Supreme Court decisions that:
allow States to prohibit abortions under any circumstances, even to save the life of the mother
allow States to prohibit gay marriages and the recognition of gay marriages from other states
allow States to prohibit hormonal contraception, the morning after pill (Plan B) and IUDs
allow States to prohibit marriages between Whites and non-Whites.
All of these possible State laws have been seriously discussed by Republican political figures.
If this offends you, then you should try to find a way to get more politically active to prevent this from happening.
Related essays:
Getting a little more involved, 24 June 2024
Effective government requires our participation, 12 October 2023
Thoughts from Jennifer Rubin about what you should be doing, 22 September 2023
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