I’m sure you are as dismayed as I am by the leaked draft opinion written by Justice Alito directly overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
While the opinion is not the final opinion of the Supreme Court, it indicates the end of a federal constitutional right to abortion in the U.S. It also signals a radical erosion of much of the constitutional support underlying the rights to contraception and marriage equality and protections against the criminalization of sex through sodomy laws.
This draft opinion all but guarantees a final decision that will negatively impact the LGBTQ community.
In the draft opinion, Justice Alito writes, “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.” The hostility to rights not specifically mentioned in the constitution also puts at risk the Supreme Court’s decisions in Lawrence and Obergefell. While the draft opinion purports to not reach beyond abortion and arguments remain to distinguish those rights, the Supreme Court has now shown itself antagonistic to this entire line of cases.
You can learn more about the likely impact of the final decision through this talk by our McDonald Wright Faculty Chair Cary Franklin, given last week.
This is a dark day, but the text of this draft opinion also points to the work that we must continue to do.
First and foremost, we must recognize that abortion rights are LGBTQ rights. The fall of Roe will impact many in our community—in particular LBQ women and trans people of color. These parts of our community are already vulnerable in terms of health, poverty, and violence. And our constitutional rights will rise and fall together.
Second, the already incredible wave of anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ legislation is about to jump to an even higher level. It is imperative that we show up for each of those battles and do all that we can to keep additional laws from passing. We must also work at the federal level to protect our rights to the extent possible through federal legislation and policies.
And finally, we must continue to do research that changes hearts and minds. Research that cuts through the myths and stereotypes and documents the devasting impact that decisions like this will have on our communities.
It is because of these deep connections between LGBTQ and reproductive rights that the Williams Institute has been helping to launch a new center at UCLA Law on Reproductive Health, Law and Policy. The new center will launch this summer, and we will work together to do what the Williams Institute does best: produce research that tells the truth about our lives, legal scholarship that leads to protections for every aspect of who we are, and training programs that develop the new researchers and leaders of tomorrow.
While we are saddened by today’s draft opinion, we have also been preparing for this day. This is a marathon and not a sprint, and the Williams Institute is here for the long haul.
