With abortion rights withering away in states across the nation, lawmakers, particularly conservative lawmakers, are seeking to defend the rights of states to make the decisions that affect the lives of Americans. In the conservative point of view, the Supreme Court and the federal government have taken too much control, and Republicans, supporters of centralized government, want power given back to the states.
Another issue lawmakers are mulling over is whether birth control devices should be outlawed.
With a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, a strong conservative influence in Congress, and Republican-controlled State Congresses and courts, conservatives are asking themselves, why don’t we just go ahead and tackle everything we don’t like?
In 1965, the Supreme Court voted to protect the right of married couples to use contraception. Yes… married couples.
Conservative lawmakers are talking about overturning the right of married couples to use contraception.
The case they are talking about overturning, Griswold v. Connecticut, ruled against a Connecticut law that made birth control devices illegal. The ruling said that married people have a right to privacy, and set a precedent for future rulings regarding contraception for the unmarried as well.
The case also set a precedent for gay marriage rights and abortion access, which are related issues.
Why not give all these decisions back to the states? That’s what conservatives are talking about these days. If they achieve their goal of allowing states to make laws concerning birth control, there will likely be restrictions, or even bans on contraception, varying from state to state.
Federal guarantees of these rights could be demolished.
This is what is happening with abortion rights. Yesterday, the US Congress let the American public know in no uncertain terms that the Congress would not guarantee access to abortion on a federal level. In a vote of 49-51, with Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia joining the Republicans, The Women’s Health Protection Act, which had passed the House, failed to reach the 60 votes needed to break the filibuster. The federal guarantee of abortion was squashed. So for now, if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the decisions go back to the states.
It looks like that could happen with many other rights that Americans take for granted.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), voiced her opinion recently, saying that the Griswold case, regarding contraception, was constitutionally unsound.
Other popular conservative lawmakers have expressed their opinions and spoken out against the Griswold decision.
Right now, the state of Louisiana is debating a bill that would make abortion a crime of murder. Women who get abortions could be charged with homicide. The bill also seeks to make IUDs and Plan B pills illegal.
The Griswold case may be safe for a while. Amy Coney Barrett, the new Supreme Court justice appointed by Donald Trump, said in her confirmation hearings in 2020 that Griswold is unlikely to be overturned.
People thought Roe v. Wade was safe too.
What’s the issue about contraception? Is has to do with what you believe about the beginning of life. Does life begin at conception? If so, the “morning after pill” could be classified as murder. On the other hand, contraception is the prevention of pregnancy. Are our thoughts murder too?
Senator Ron Johnson (Republican-Wisconsin) said that life begins at conception. He’s up for reelection.
Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, also up for reelection, against Rep. Val Demings, has also supported the idea that life begins at conception.
In California, a Republican is campaigning about defining life as beginning in the womb, and wants to create a law that would eliminate all abortions, including in cases of rape and the threatened health of the mother.
The list goes on and on.