Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"One of the things that I think a lot of people are missing when they focus on the 'abortion rights' portion of the concept of 'overturning Roe v. Wade' is that the Roe v. Wade decision wasn't legally centered on the question of abortion per se but on the right to privacy.

[...]

"The main argument of Roe v. Wade hinged on the right to privacy under the 4th amendment, namely the idea that a private individual has the right to engage in such medical decisions as they see fit without the state getting involved.

"It also hinged on the 14th Amendment's 'due process' clause. So basically, the idea here is that without 'due process,' you cannot be deprived of your liberty to make medical decisions for yourself, nor can you be deprived of your right to privacy about those decisions.

"And if you're saying 'okay, yeah, but it's really about abortion,' maybe it is. But you know what else depends upon the constitutional right to privacy?

"How about the case which established that right to privacy, Griswold v. CT?

[...]

"Eisenstadt v. Baird (which established that access to contraception must be legal regardless of marital status) relied upon Griswold's right to privacy, and extended that right to privacy under the Equal Protection Clause.

[...]

"Let's consult the Legal Information Institute again. What OTHER decision relies upon this right to privacy?

"If you guessed 'Lawrence v. Texas,' which struck down that state's sodomy laws that essentially made queerness illegal, you're right!

"Not only do I think that this is a very deliberate target of this entire attack on our very literal freedom to decide how we live our lives and what we want to do with our bodies, who we love, etc., but I think the cases to challenge these decisions are already being set up.

[...]

"Again, you can think I'm alarmist as much as you fucking want to, and I'll just point you back at the last five years of our judicial and legislative history.

"It's ALL under attack. This is just where it starts."

-- Forged & Folded A Thousand Times in Rainbow Flame (vaspider), 2021-09-04 [Note that I left out a lot of important details, arguments, background, and links in those ellipses, and I still maybe quoted a bit much. Go read.]

Happy Labor Day to everyone celebrating that (yes, yes, I know, that's 1 May most places, but the US is ever so scared of both socialism and communism, so we couldn't have it on that day). And shanah tovah to everyone starting Rosh Hashanah celebrations this evening!