Today, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning the longstanding precedent set by Roe v. Wade affirming the constitutional right to abortion. I am proud that ADL joined 72 other organizations in an amicus brief urging that Mississippi’s anti-abortion law be found unconstitutional. At the same time, I am devastated that we lost and the Court has taken away this fundamental liberty. Make no mistake, this decision infringes on our Founders’ aspiration for religious liberty and the separation of church and state. Today’s decision enshrines the religious beliefs of the majority that voted for it. I firmly believe that no one religious point of view about when life begins should control over the beliefs of those of us that adhere to a different religion or no religion at all.
Martin Luther King, Jr. famously reminded us, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” In light of decisions the Supreme Court has recently made on funding sectarian schools in Maine, against restrictions on the right to carry a gun in New York, the inability to sue for violations of Miranda, and – now – the removal of rights of women to control their own reproductive rights, we know that it is going to take all of us not just leaning, but actively pushing, to get the arc to bend back toward justice.
We must all work to ensure that as many states as possible do not further restrict reproductive rights. Having been told by Supreme Court Justices during their Senate confirmation hearings that Roe was “settled law” and precedent under principles of stare decisis, we simply cannot trust them. Speak out, march, write letters, talk to your family, friends and neighbors, support our efforts, and do so much more before the Supreme Court takes further devastating actions. Do not trust them to say this decision will not be used to destroy other rights. Act before they take away rights to contraceptives, rejects the rights of LGBTQ+ to marry, and further enables discrimination and prejudice in this country.
Scott Levin, ADL Mountain States Regional Director
Read ADL’s full statement here.
Register for the 2022 Supreme Court Review livestream program on Tuesday, July 12 at 10 AM MT here. In addition to Dobbs, the program will cover cases from the current term including voting rights, church-state separation, reproductive rights and immigration and the most significant takeaways from this term’s rulings.