On the heels of draconian rulings in cases addressing such critical issues as Miranda rights and the safe regulation of firearms, a majority of Justices on our nation’s highest court have just voted in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to strip millions of Americans of the right to their own bodily autonomy, their own health, their own futures.
Historians will mark today as a grim moment in the trajectory of our nation’s judiciary, a blatant perversion of justice at the behest of an extreme minority who wish to create a religious state where autocracy flourishes and protects the moral judgment and privilege of a few at the expense of the dignity of the many. Today, right now, millions of Americans across the country will immediately suffer from this decision.
Last month, after a draft of today’s majority opinion was leaked to the press, we stated emphatically: we cannot turn our backs on injustice. This stance is just as true today as it was then. While six Supreme Court Justices may have abandoned the rule of law for the tyranny of ideology, we at Our Children’s Trust will continue to fight for what we know is right: the protection of our freedoms, the health and safety of our children, and the welfare of our most vulnerable citizens.
What we wrote on May 1st still holds true today:
“If we walk away from our courts, if we turn our backs, even for a moment, those who seek to eviscerate our rights will win. What matters now is what we do next. We must be relentless.”
Today an institution whose very purpose is to preserve and protect our fundamental rights, an institution charged with shining light into the darkest corners of our society in order to protect the freedom of all, not just the will of some, dimmed the lights of justice. Today we stand with our fellow Americans in grief, fury, and opposition.
