Roe Abolition Would Threaten Vulnerable Communities: Experts
"Everyone who is vulnerable" — from people of color to victims of domestic violence — would be at risk if Roe v. Wade is overturned, says a report in the Boston Globe. And although GOP senators have said they won't "wade into" same-sex marriage issues, Democrats have expressed worries over other rights, and the LGBTQ+ community is already feeling the effects, says a report at NBC News.
The Boston Globe:
‘Everyone Who Is Vulnerable In Some Way’ Will Bear The Brunt If Court Overturns Roe, Specialists Say
Teenagers. People of color. Low-income workers. Undocumented immigrants. Victims of domestic violence. If the Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion, those and other marginalized groups will bear the brunt of the consequences, according to reproductive rights experts. “Everyone who is vulnerable in some way that makes leaving a state more difficult or impossible — that’s who this overturning is going to fall more heavily on,” said Shoshanna Ehrlich, a gender and sexuality studies professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston. (Pan, 5/4)
The Hill:
After Leaked Abortion Draft, Democrats Fear What’s Next
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), in a brief interview, pointed to Griswold v. Connecticut, the 1965 decision that struck down a state law that barred married couples from using contraceptives. Griswold, like Roe, rested on what the Supreme Court said was an individual’s right to privacy. “I think the most obvious one is Griswold just because it deals with that same kind of notion of privacy, which Alito seems to reject. … I think the scope of the rationale is incredibly sweeping,” Kaine said. (Carney, 5/5)
Reuters:
Gay Marriage, Other Rights At Risk After U.S. Supreme Court Abortion Move
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's draft opinion that would end the recognition of a constitutional right to abortion could imperil other freedoms related to marriage, sexuality and family life including birth control and same-sex nuptials, according to legal experts. The draft ruling, disclosed in a leak that prompted Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday to launch an investigation, would uphold a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide. (Chung, 5/4)
Business Insider:
GOP Senators Won't 'Wade Into' Same-Sex Marriage Amid Abortion Debate
Insider spoke with nearly a dozen Republican senators at the Capitol on Tuesday, asking each of them whether they believed the draft opinion threatens marriage equality and whether they would support overturning Obergefell v. Hodges. None gave a clear yes or no answer, and several outright declined to comment. Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana, who recently faced criticism for telling reporters in Indiana that he believes interracial marriage should've been left up to the states instead of decided by the Supreme Court, told Insider that he had "no idea" whether Obergefell could be overturned. He argued the case was "a narrow consideration just on an issue that's been contested for like 49 years." (Metzger, 5/4)
NBC News:
‘It’s Already Having An Impact’: LGBTQ People Fear Abortion Rights Reversal
Josiah Ramos, a Black transgender man, said he fears that a Supreme Court opinion that would overturn longstanding precedent protecting access to abortion would have a greater effect on transgender and nonbinary people, who already face barriers to care. “We all should have the right to decide what we want to do with our bodies,” said Ramos, 23, who is also the co-director of Black Trans Blessings, a trans-led organization in New York City. “I’m not ready to have a kid,” he added. “So if I, God forbid, was to get pregnant, and I wanted to have an abortion, you’re basically trying to strip my right … and that’s not fair.” (Yurcaba and Bellamy-Walker, 5/4)
