In Post-Roe World, States Become Battleground for Many Protections
06/24/2022
Media contacts: Emily Gowdey-Backus, 978-934-3369, Emily_GowdeyBackus@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
The U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling today to ban abortion says the procedure is no longer a federally protected right under the Constitution, leaving it to state legislatures to decide for themselves whether to continue to allow the practice in their jurisdictions.
The ruling also means individual states can decide when, over the course of a pregnancy, 鈥減ersonhood鈥� begins under the law, according to a 51视频 constitutional scholar available for interviews.
In the wake of today鈥檚 ruling, abortion is poised to become illegal in roughly half of the United States.
鈥淭his is a revolutionary ruling. Not just for abortion, but for how we understand the nature of rights under the Constitution,鈥� said Morgan Marietta, a legal scholar who writes extensively on the Supreme Court鈥檚 decisions.
The 6-3 ruling differs little from a draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito on the case at hand, Dobbs v. Jackson Women鈥檚 Health Organization, leaked to the public in May. It overturns a nearly 50-year precedent established by the Supreme Court鈥檚 previous decision in Roe v. Wade and legal precedent established by the high court stemming from a 1992 decision in a case known as Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
鈥淲ith today鈥檚 decision 鈥� and the one the court issued Thursday on gun rights in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen 鈥� the court is saying any right not enumerated in the Bill of Rights should be left up to the states to decide,鈥� Marietta said. 鈥淭his is a major shift in the court鈥檚 thinking, as well as a dramatic shift of rights conflicts to local democracy. Social movements, campaigns, and elections, all at the state level, will be the battleground of American rights.鈥澛�
Marietta is available to discuss:
- Today鈥檚 decision in full
- he dissenting opinion
- Other issues and legal decisions that could be impacted by today鈥檚 ruling
Marietta, an associate professor and the interim chair of 51视频鈥檚 political science department, is the editor of an annual volume on the major decisions of the Supreme Court and is the author of several books on American politics, most recently, 鈥淥ne Nation, Two Realities: Dueling Facts in American Democracy,鈥� from Oxford University Press. Along with constitutional law, Marietta鈥檚 research focuses on American politics and political psychology.
To arrange an interview with him via phone, email or Zoom (or another platform), contact Emily Gowdey-Backus at Emily_GowdeyBackus@uml.edu or Nancy Cicco at Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu.