The Justice Party Supports Abortion Rights
On May 2, 2022, Politico published a leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark case establishing that a woman’s choice to obtain an abortion is a constitutionally protected civil right. A woman’s right to control over her body and her reproductive choices has been a fundamental right in the United States since Roe was decided in 1973. That right has been protected by the courts on numerous occasions in the nearly 50 years since, most famously in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992.
The draft opinion published by Politico makes clear that the current Court is preparing to wage an attack on certain basic individual liberties that have been established human and civil rights in this country for generations. Summarily depriving women of the right to obtain safe, legal abortions will lead to devastating—and in some instances, deadly—consequences for women across the country. The implications of such a draconian legal decision will extend far beyond the question of a woman’s right to choose. The reasoning employed by Justice Alito in the draft opinion raises the possibility that any right, the existence of which is not expressly enumerated or at least implied in the text of the constitution, is non-existent. Adoption of this extreme legal rationale could mean the end of marriage equality, in terms of both race (Loving v. Virginia) and sexual orientation (Obergefell v. Hodges), privacy (Lawrence v. Texas), control of decisions relating to contraception (Griswold v. Connecticut), and others.
Because of the pressure brought to bear against abortion rights by many religious organizations and the very real specter of religious control of public policy in the U.S., it bears noting that all the justices comprising the majority in the recent draft opinion (Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas) are Catholics and that seven of nine (78%) of the justices on the Supreme Court are Catholics. Neil Gorsuch was raised Catholic but has attended Episcopalian services for many years with his wife. If he’s not included in the number of Catholic justices, then 6 of 9 (66.7%) of the justices are Catholic, when only about 23% of adults in the U.S. identify as being Catholic. (It is presently unknown what position Chief Justice Roberts, another Catholic, will take in the opinion overruling Roe v. Wade.) Along with several other religious organizations, the Catholic Church strongly condemns abortion and many U.S. Catholic Bishops have advocated banning from Communion those who support the legal right to abortion.
That’s not to say that every Catholic will fall in line with the religious organization’s adamant views against abortion and contraception. For instance, Justice Sotomayor and President Biden are both Catholics. (President Biden has had a long history of waffling on abortion issues. Then-Senator Biden once even voted in favor of a constitutional amendment allowing states to overturn Roe v. Wade.) It seems highly appropriate that Catholic nominees for the Court should have been asked about their views concerning their religion’s adamant opposition to abortion and contraception, including their views about the call by many U.S. Bishops to deny communion for public officials who support abortion rights.
The Justice Party, along with a vast majority of people in the U.S., unequivocally supports a woman’s right to control over her body and her reproductive choices, as sensibly provided by Roe v. Wade. The Justice Party condemns the endeavor by a majority of Supreme Court Justices (all but one of them men) to destroy that right. The Justice Party further reasserts its support of the long history of established Supreme Court case law that has established, affirmed, and reaffirmed guarantees of civil rights, including privacy rights, to all individuals in this country, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, levels of ability, or religious affiliation or absence of any religious affiliation. The Justice Party stands with the many millions of women across the United States and their allies in fighting against the violation of their basic human and civil rights.
The draft opinion published by Politico makes clear that the current Court is preparing to wage an attack on certain basic individual liberties that have been established human and civil rights in this country for generations. Summarily depriving women of the right to obtain safe, legal abortions will lead to devastating—and in some instances, deadly—consequences for women across the country. The implications of such a draconian legal decision will extend far beyond the question of a woman’s right to choose. The reasoning employed by Justice Alito in the draft opinion raises the possibility that any right, the existence of which is not expressly enumerated or at least implied in the text of the constitution, is non-existent. Adoption of this extreme legal rationale could mean the end of marriage equality, in terms of both race (Loving v. Virginia) and sexual orientation (Obergefell v. Hodges), privacy (Lawrence v. Texas), control of decisions relating to contraception (Griswold v. Connecticut), and others.
Because of the pressure brought to bear against abortion rights by many religious organizations and the very real specter of religious control of public policy in the U.S., it bears noting that all the justices comprising the majority in the recent draft opinion (Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas) are Catholics and that seven of nine (78%) of the justices on the Supreme Court are Catholics. Neil Gorsuch was raised Catholic but has attended Episcopalian services for many years with his wife. If he’s not included in the number of Catholic justices, then 6 of 9 (66.7%) of the justices are Catholic, when only about 23% of adults in the U.S. identify as being Catholic. (It is presently unknown what position Chief Justice Roberts, another Catholic, will take in the opinion overruling Roe v. Wade.) Along with several other religious organizations, the Catholic Church strongly condemns abortion and many U.S. Catholic Bishops have advocated banning from Communion those who support the legal right to abortion.
That’s not to say that every Catholic will fall in line with the religious organization’s adamant views against abortion and contraception. For instance, Justice Sotomayor and President Biden are both Catholics. (President Biden has had a long history of waffling on abortion issues. Then-Senator Biden once even voted in favor of a constitutional amendment allowing states to overturn Roe v. Wade.) It seems highly appropriate that Catholic nominees for the Court should have been asked about their views concerning their religion’s adamant opposition to abortion and contraception, including their views about the call by many U.S. Bishops to deny communion for public officials who support abortion rights.
The Justice Party, along with a vast majority of people in the U.S., unequivocally supports a woman’s right to control over her body and her reproductive choices, as sensibly provided by Roe v. Wade. The Justice Party condemns the endeavor by a majority of Supreme Court Justices (all but one of them men) to destroy that right. The Justice Party further reasserts its support of the long history of established Supreme Court case law that has established, affirmed, and reaffirmed guarantees of civil rights, including privacy rights, to all individuals in this country, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, levels of ability, or religious affiliation or absence of any religious affiliation. The Justice Party stands with the many millions of women across the United States and their allies in fighting against the violation of their basic human and civil rights.
