Over the past few weeks, Americans have come to understand just how deeply Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that established women’s rights to control their reproductive health care, is ingrained in the nation’s legal foundation. The leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion has put the nation on notice that federal protections for abortion could soon vanish, and triggered a wave of betrayal and anger from women who thought — despite more than a decade of attacks — that abortion would remain safe, legal and accessible. These women are Democrats and Republicans, non-partisans and those who have never voted — until now.
The impact of this potentially seismic shift reaches far beyond women of childbearing age. Attention focused immediately on court decisions that are part of Roe’s lineage. Its precursors include decisions protecting access to birth control and interracial marriage. Its descendants — cases which directly cited Roe — include safeguards for parents who home-school their children and same-sex couples who want to marry.
These landmark court decisions share a foundation that draws on several sections of the Constitution to create a federal safeguard against government intrusion into private lives. It is a right that Justice Samuel Alito — the author of the leaked draft — insists never existed.
