Opinion Overturning Roe and Casey Abandons the Rule of Law, Underscores Need for Americans to Reclaim Our Court

WASHINGTON, DC — Today's U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization warrants unqualified condemnation and sends a chilling warning that the Court's conservative majority has embraced extremism and abandoned the rule of law, putting longstanding rights and protections in grave danger.

In Dobbs, six of the nine justices rolled back our constitutional right to reproductive freedom and privacy and five ruled in favor of overturning the precedents in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In doing so, the conservative majority strayed outside its constitutional role and instead chose to overturn its own precedent, an extremely dangerous move that takes away recognized rights that had been the law of the land for nearly 50 years. That smacks of authoritarianism, not democracy.

Dobbs represents an extreme activist approach and amounts to making law from the bench. In doing so, the majority severely damaged the Court's integrity and called the legitimacy of the institution into question. This has the very real potential to destabilize a constitutional republic that relies on the credibility of its three co-equal branches of government.

The Court’s opinion shows the willingness of the conservative majority to take broad, sweeping action against the progress the United States has made in the past century to advance social justice and protect our environment. It is a direct assault against women and girls and obliterates their fundamental human right to bodily autonomy, and low-income women and girls of color will be the most seriously harmed. The widespread lack of reproductive health and freedom that will now result will also undermine families, communities, and our nation.

Americans must redouble our efforts to reclaim our courts and recommit to mobilizing popular support for policies and institutional reforms that move us toward a more responsive government, a healthier environment, and a more just society.

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