Same-sex marriage, contraception under threat after Roe v. Wade overturn

US judge threatens same-sex marriage, access to contraception could see same fate as Roe

The US Supreme Court overturned the historic Roe v. Wade ruling on Friday, and it came with a federal-level threat that same-sex marriage as well as married couples’ access to birth control could be next on the chopping block.

Reversing Roe meant taking the constitutional freedom of having an abortion away from people and giving states the right to ban abortions entirely. But Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Clarence Thomas went a step further.

In the decision for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — which used Roe v. Wade as a foundational argument and, ultimately, prompted the court to overturn it, Justice Thomas added the thinly veiled threat of other historic human rights rulings being reconsidered in court.

In a solo concurring opinion, Thomas says the court should reconsider rulings that protect contraception, same-sex relationships, and same-sex marriage. pic.twitter.com/zcQNko6NVR

— Matt Ford (@fordm) June 24, 2022

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In 1965, the Griswold v. Connecticut decision allowed married people to obtain contraceptives, after human rights activist Estelle Griswold pushed against laws that prohibited it.

In 2003, Lawrence v. Texas granted people the constitutional right to engage in sex acts with anyone as long as they were consensual and private. This came after two men were charged with a misdemeanour for having sexual intercourse, and struck down Texas’s anti-sodomy laws.

Then in 2015, same-sex couples won the right to marry following the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision.

All three aforementioned decisions were deemed worthy of the Court’s reconsideration today, according to the Dobbs court document.

“After overruling these demonstrably erroneous decisions, the question would remain whether other constitutional provisions guarantee the myriad rights that our substantive due process cases have generated,” Justice Thomas was quoted saying.

“For example, we could consider whether any of the rights announced in this Court’s substantive due process cases are ‘privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States’ protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.”

Here’s the full Court text for added context:

[I]n future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Because any substantive due process decision is “demonstrably erroneous,” Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U. S. ___, ___ (2020) (THOMAS, J., concurring in judgment) (slip op., at 7), we have a duty to “correct the error” established in those precedents, Gamble v. United States, 587 U. S. ___, ___ (2019) (THOMAS, J., concurring) (slip op., at 9). After overruling these demonstrably erroneous decisions, the question would remain whether other constitutional provisions guarantee the myriad rights that our substantive due process cases have generated. For example, we could consider whether any of the rights announced in this Court’s substantive due process cases are “privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States” protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. Amdt

Now, human rights activists are protesting and sounding the alarm for what could be a dystopian future for the US and its citizens.

If you’re against abortion, don’t get one.
If you’re against contraception, don’t take any.
If you’re against same-sex relationships, don’t have one.
If you’re against same-sex marriage, don’t marry someone of same gender.

Do not impose your beliefs & religion on all Americans.

— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) June 24, 2022

One of their next goals is overturning same-sex marriage.

That fight is well on its way. Don’t claim no one told you when it happens.

— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) June 24, 2022

Following Roe’s overturning, several leaders of the world aired out their condemnation, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said he “can’t imagine the fear and anger [American women] are feeling right now.”

The news coming out of the United States is horrific. My heart goes out to the millions of American women who are now set to lose their legal right to an abortion. I can’t imagine the fear and anger you are feeling right now.

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 24, 2022

“No government, politician, or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body,” he added in a subsequent tweet. “I want women in Canada to know that we will always stand up for your right to choose.”