Clarence Thomas Ready to Strike Down Marriage Equality Following Dobbs
Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization, the ruling that came out today and struck down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established abortion as a constitutional right and meant states could not ban it and could regulate it only in a limited fashion.
The Dobbs ruling means any state can ban the procedure or restrict it severely.To reverse those decisions on contraception, sex, and marriage equality, a case would have to come before the Supreme Court, but Thomas clearly would welcome such a case.His rationale: The Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution “does not secure any substantive rights.” The court today, in the majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, declined to disturb other rulings relying on the substantive due process doctrine, but it should do so in the future, he wrote, referring to Griswold v.
Connecticut (contraception), Lawrence v. Texas (private consensual sex), and Obergefell v. Hodges (marriage equality).“In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.
