“Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.”
“We emphasize that our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right,” the draft states. Hodges, which legalized gay marriage, are based at least in part on that same right to privacy.Īlito, in the draft opinion, explicitly states that the court is only targeting the right to abortion, not those other matters. Texas, which struck down sodomy laws criminalizing same-sex intimacy, and Obergefell v. Connecticut, which said that a right to privacy exists that bars states from interfering in married couples’ right to buy and use contraceptives.Ĭases like Lawrence v. The president said he believed the conservative justices on today’s court would, like failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork in 1987, disagree with the court’s ruling in Griswold v. The draft opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, argues that unenumerated constitutional rights - those not explicitly mentioned in the document - must be “deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and traditions." And it says abortion doesn’t meet that standard.īiden and others are sounding alarms that the same logic could be used to toss out other protections. The draft’s potentially sweeping impact could be tempered by the other justices, or it could emerge largely unchanged - with what advocates and Biden say could bring even more severe consequences.
So while the eventual ruling in the abortion case appears all but assured, the written rationale - and its implications - may still be a hotly debated subject inside the court’s private chambers. “What are the next things that are going to be attacked? Because this MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that’s existed in recent American history,” Biden said.Ĭourt opinions can change in ways big and small throughout the drafting process. “This is about a lot more than abortion,” President Joe Biden warned Wednesday, saying the court’s draft opinion could jeopardize same-sex marriage, access to contraception and LGBTQ rights.