SCOTUS: What Horror Is Next?
Government's long arm now controls us all
The explicit result of striking down Roe is horrifying enough — women forced to bear children, even children of incest and rape! Could anything be more horrifying. But there is more. Justice Thomas stated the court should revisit other decisions that don't meet the extreme religious right's views of "morality," such as the right to contraception and same-sex marriage. Such a statement highlights two serious problems.
The first problem is the court is enforcing a particular religious point of view — in effect, establishing a state religion, which is prohibited by the First Amendment. How do we know this is what they are doing? The pattern of Thomas's thinking is plain simply by the fact that three out of three of the issues he is concerned about are hallmarks of conservative Christian morality. And the other obvious pattern is that the other justices involved in the reversal of women's rights are all Catholic, their church being famous for its opposition to abortion, contraception, and gay rights. Welcome to the Church of America Rightwing Unreformed, which coerces your adherence to its values whether they are your values or not!
The second problem is just how far will the court go in looking at other privacy-related "moral" issues? Thomas specifically mentioned contraception and gay marriage. Both are nobody's business but the two people engaging in contraception or marriage, but if Thomas wants to extend government interference that far, nothing is beyond the government's reach: Outlawing sexual activity between consenting adults, married or unmarried, gay or straight? Preventing any public expression of gender identities other than CIS gender heterosexuals? Prohibiting an unmarried partner's right to enroll in their partner's health insurance plan? Rescinding unmarried partners' hospital or incarceration visitation rights? Preventing other kinds of healthcare and prescription access, such as your choice to pursue an unconventional disease treatment? You can see how far this could extend — far beyond anything having to do with abortion. This is why the current decision potentially affects every American, not just those of reproductive age.
If the court denies a Constitutional right to privacy, there is no limit to possible government interference and control in our lives. I think, for example, of the novel, 1984, in which government cameras monitor the activities in every home. It still sounds extreme, even in the new Religious Right America, but don’t forget, you are already on camera in many public places. What a small leap it is for a moralistic interfering government to assert its right to monitor you at all times to make sure you are not violating any of its state religious dictums. After all, there is no right to privacy anymore.
