Justice Alito in the draft opinion of Dobbs v. Jackson, overturns Roe v. Wade on the basis that a woman’s right to choose is grounded in the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and is not expressly written into the Constitution. If we overturn Roe, there are a number of other cases, also grounded in the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, that, by extension, would also be overturned.
I have made several Tik-Toks about this. Some have asked for the text of my counterargument. Here it is:
If we strike down Roe v. Wade on the basis it is not expressly rooted in the constitution and we undermine protections that have been historically granted by the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment we are putting a lot of people that I know, love and care about at risk:
The EP clause of the 14th Am. Not only provides the right to choose, but it also:
- ended school segregation;
- it said that a woman can choose what type of birth control she wants to use;
- it said that a black person and a white person can love one another and not be charged with a crime;
- it said that two people, regardless of gender can marry one another; and
- it said that if two people are consenting, they can make love however they want without being charged with a crime.
These rights are important to me and I believe these rights are essential to all humans.
Seeing people as equals is not part of the history of our country, and no it certainly is not expressly written into our constitution, but it is essential if we want to be able to say we live in a free America.
