Samuel Alito
Analysis: Theory vs. reality. The Dobbs ruling and women’s health
When the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned abortion protections in Roe v Wade, the majority wrote that it’s up to the states to decide whether to allow abortions, restrict them or to ban them altogether. In other words, the six justices were saying that the U.S. Constitution gives no more protections to people who […]
In response to Dobbs, abortion-rights activists turn to state constitutions
On June 24, the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it couldn't find protections in the federal Constitution of a woman's right to abortion — in the process overturning nearly a half-century of decided law. Now abortion-rights activists are turning to state courts and arguing that those protections exist in state constitutions. And at least temporarily, they're having some success.
U.S. House Judiciary Committee debates abortion in advance of landmark court ruling
WASHINGTON — The national debate over abortion rights raged in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, as Democrats warned of the dangers of a potential end to the constitutional right and Republicans argued that legislatures should determine abortion laws. The hearing came just weeks after a leaked draft opinion from Associate Justice Samuel Alito […]
The Supreme Court is giving extreme new powers to increasingly autocratic state governments
There’s a lot to be worried about in the draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade — and with it, half a century of constitutional precedent. At least 26 states are likely to criminalize abortions, often without exceptions for rape, incest, or life-threatening pregnancies. In Louisiana, people seeking abortions could even face execution, which doesn’t strike […]
Rights to bodily autonomy on the ballot in November as U.S. Supreme Court looks to overturn Roe
The foreboding of the late Supreme Court Justice has come to pass. Women are being denied decision-making power over their own lives. They are being dehumanized as lesser. Being robbed of bodily autonomy. Courts, lawmakers and physicians are deciding what’s best for pregnant women — after establishing that they lack the capacity and privilege to […]
The wholly unsurprising fate of Roe v. Wade
Being a woman in this country often feels like an exercise in futility. It’s repeatedly baring your soul and sharing your personal and intimate stories in hopes of proving that you deserve basic rights, only to be slapped in the face with decisions that explicitly negate your own experience. It is exhausting. I am rarely rendered speechless, […]
Returning power over basic rights to illegally gerrymandered states like Ohio is a disaster
Gerrymandering destroys legitimate representation, so the U.S. Supreme Court returning power over basic civil rights to illegally gerrymandered states like Ohio is an absolute disaster in waiting. Many people will suffer horribly in ways big and small. Do you want your privacy rights, your health care rights, your marriage rights, your discrimination protections, and your […]
U.S. Senate to try again on abortion rights after bombshell disclosure of draft opinion
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats on Tuesday pledged a new vote codifying the right to an abortion after publication of a draft court ruling that showed the Supreme Court on track to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision. Democrats, who likely won’t have the votes to advance that bill, also predicted that abortion […]
Three ways a 6-3 Supreme Court would be different
If the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is replaced this year, the Supreme Court will become something the country has not seen since the justices became a dominant force in American cultural life after World War II: a decidedly conservative court. A court with a 6-3 conservative majority would be a dramatic shift from the […]
U.S. Supreme Court hands victories to religious employers in health care, employment
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Trump administration effort to exempt employers with religious or moral concerns from complying with a “birth control mandate” in the Affordable Care Act, the Obama-era law that requires employer-provided insurance plans to cover contraceptives. Reproductive rights advocates say the ruling potentially affects hundreds of thousands of […]
Roberts joins Supreme Court’s four liberal judges in striking down Louisiana abortion law
WASHINGTON — In a major victory for reproductive rights, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a controversial Louisiana law that critics said would have severely limited access to abortion in Louisiana and opened the door to further abortion limitations around the country. Enacted in 2014 by the Louisiana state Legislature, the law would have required physicians […]
U.S. Supreme Court ruling protects LGBTQ workers from job discrimination
WASHINGTON — In a landmark victory for LGBTQ rights, the U.S. Supreme Court held Monday that employers can’t legally fire people because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. In a 6-3 opinion, the court ruled that employers who fire individuals “merely for being gay or transgender” violate Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, […]