The Supreme Court of the United States ruled abortion, a
legal health care practice in the nation for fifty years, was not guaranteed in
the constitution as of June 24, 2022. Of course, this is upsetting to the vast
majority of Americans, but not apparently as much as AK-15 ownership.
However, for the sentient whom are my readers, this article is devoted to legal
and scholarly tactics available to restore female autonomy. Not as a legal scholar
but as a nonfiction reviewer for a decade for The New York Journal of Books, my review on the brilliant Elie Mystal’s, Let Me Retort-A Black Guy’s
Guide to the Constitution was published in January before its release.[1] This
blueprint for possible remedies to the current court which does not represent
the majority of voters, is drawn from his inciteful chapter on abortion.
The court’s overarching ruling on originalism-Of course, the right to contraception and abortion are not in the 1776 United States Constitution, as women were not considered full citizens at that time, merely appropriated by men. Women did not gain the right to vote until 1920. Black men were only considered to be equal to three fifths of white men at that time and interracial marriage was of course illegal, which should make Justice Thomas pretty uncomfortable.
The ameliorating comments by Kavanaugh-This is not meant to throw out all constitutional amendments, yet Thomas is clear in his opinion that ALL decisions made under the precedent must be reviewed. This is unambiguous and applies to whom you can marry, with whom and how you may have sexual relations, your right to privacy, and many other equal protections.
The framers of the constitution, many wealthy slave-owners, did not give a thought to unborn or living children, which is why there is no mention of protections for them, especially when it came to child labor. Children were seen as a utility or something with which to trade. Only as the country became wealthier and developed a middleclass did the church(es) try to assert their dominion over this issue.
Mystal adroitly asserts that the constitution
misses one important point, “Women are people. Full equal people.”
The right to privacy was first recognized by the court in 1965 with Griswold v Connecticut, a case which concluded that handing out condoms and spermicide was protected, and thus a form of birth control sanctioned by the courts.
Remedies are available to restore full representation for the citizens of this country and here is my short list, informed by the brilliant and acerbic-witted Mystal.
1. The power of our Supreme Court to unilaterally abolish the laws of the land is uncommon in democracies. Restructuring and reforming the court is possible and includes; Article III of the Constitution which leaves the structure of the federal judiciary to Congress. This may include adding more members to the court, for example, there are 13 federal districts so this has been discussed.
2. It is possible to limit the terms of the members of the court administratively by forcing them to take senior status after eighteen years on the bench. This means the court members are still in service, hence meeting the constitutional requirements, no longer writing opinions for the high court, but are rotated down to the lower court, available to serve the higher court as pinch-hitters.
3. The Supreme Court needs to be treated as a subservient branch that can be corrected by our elected Congress.
References
Mystal, E. (2022). Allow Me To Retort-A Black
Guys Guide To The Constitution. The New Press. Retrieved January 2022
The New York Times. (2022, June 24). The Dobbs v
Jackson Decision, Annotated. The New York Times. Retrieved June 25,
2022, from
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/06/24/us/politics/supreme-court-dobbs-jackson-analysis-roe-wade.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article
