Getting Started

Now that you have a basic idea of just a few interconnected cases related to sex, gender, and sexuality, it's time explore media stories that have blown up after the Dobbsdecision was made public. Possibly the biggest collection of articles related to this weeks topics of gender, sexuality, and inequality have focused on these passages on page 118-120 of Dobbs, written by Justice Clarence Thomas. People who lean right tend to emphasize the second paragraph; people who lean left emphasize the third paragraph.

The resolution of this case is thus straightforward. Because the Due Process Clause does not secure any substantive rights, it does not secure a right to abortion.

The Court today declines to disturb substantive due process jurisprudence generally or the doctrine's application in other, specific contexts. Cases like Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) (right of married persons to obtain contraceptives)*; Lawrence v. Texas(2003) (right to engage in private, consensual sexual acts); and Obergefell v. Hodges(2015) (right to same-sex marriage), are not at issue. The Court's abortion cases are unique, and no party has asked us to decide "whether our entire Fourteenth Amendment jurisprudence must be preserved or revised". Thus, I agree that "[n]othing in [the Court's] opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion."

For that reason, in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Because any substantive due process decision is "demonstrably erroneous," Ramos v. Louisiana, we have a duty to "correct the error" established in those precedents, Gamble v. United States. After overruling these demonstrably erroneous decisions, the question would remain whether other constitutional provisions guarantee the myriad rights that our substantive due process cases have generated. For example, we could consider whether any of the rights announced in this Court's substantive due process cases are "privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States" protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. To answer that question, we would need to decide important antecedent questions, including whether the Privileges or Immunities Clause protects any rights that are not enumerated in the Constitution and, if so, how to identify those rights. That said, even if the Clause does protect unenumerated rights, the Court conclusively demonstrates that abortion is not one of them under any plausible interpretive approach.

The Discussion

For this discussion, you'll read three recent news articles published by sources that have different media bias ratings. Because we tend to gravitate to sources that reflect and reinforce our own bias, it's important to look at more than one perspective. I used AllSides Media Bias RatingsLinks to an external site.to check these sources' political leanings:

• Center bias rating: "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says gay rights, contraception rulings should be reconsidered after Roe is overturnedLinks to an external site.". Link is: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/06/never-repealed-laws-banning-sex-marriage-sodomy-now-ticking-time-bomb/ (CNBC Politics)
• Left-leaning bias rating: "The never-repealed laws banning same-sex marriage and sodomy are now a ticking time bombLinks to an external site." (LGBTQ Nation). Link is https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/06/never-repealed-laws-banning-sex-marriage-sodomy-now-ticking-time-bomb/
• Right bias rating: "No, contraception and same-sex marriage are not on the chopping blockLinks to an external site." (Washington Examiner, opinion). Link is https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2878105/no-contraception-and-same-sex-marriage-are-not-on-the-chopping-block/

After carefully reading the passage above and all three articles, write at least a 175-word initial post in which you

1. Identify the immediate effects of the Dobbs decision today
2. Discuss the potential effects of the Dobbs decision on the LGBTQ+ community
3. Predict and explain your thoughts about whether the Dobbs decision might have long-term effects on society at large regarding future privacy rights and interpretations of the 9th AmendmentLinks to an external site., due process clauseLinks to an external site., and equal protection clauseLinks to an external site..
4. Close your post with an open-ended question that invites your colleagues to share their perspectives.
5. For comparison, the last paragraph in the Dobbs quote above is about 170 words.