Overturning Roe v. Wade is only the beginning. Republicans have worse plans.
Yesterday, Louisiana advanced a bill in their state legislature which would classify abortion as a homicide. But they are far from the first state to do this. Ohio did it in 2019, Arizona did it last year, and even Texas proposed this during the 87th Legislature. The proposed bill in Texas would have given women who have an abortion the death penalty.
Earlier this year in South Texas a woman who had a miscarriage was arrested and charged with murder. Although charges were later dropped because there is no state law regarding such circumstances, it’s only a sign of things to come.
The incident in South Texas was not a stand-alone occurrence. Last year in Oklahoma, a 21-year-old woman was arrested and charged with manslaughter after a miscarriage. In 2015 a woman in Indiana was charged with manslaughter after losing a pregnancy in a car accident.
Republicans not only want to take away your right to choose, but they are also willing to jail you, charge you with murder, and give you the death penalty if your pregnancy is miscarried or you give birth to a stillborn.
It doesn’t end there.
Griswold v. Connecticut is the 1965 landmark case that protects the liberty of married couples to buy and use contraceptives without government restriction.
GOP hopefuls in Michigan’s Attorney General primary agreed that Griswold v. Connecticut should be overturned earlier this year.
Senator Marsha Blackburn also made headlines recently for criticizing Griswold v. Connecticut. Senator Josh Hawley called it anti-Catholic. Senator Mitt Romney called it a mistake. And Senator Mike Braun of Indiana not only attacked Griswold v. Connecticut but also had harsh words for Loving v. Virginia.
Make no mistake; Republicans will come for contraceptives next, banning birth control in red states.
They also will be coming after marriage rights.
Last year Representative James White wrote a letter to Ken Paxton about gay marriage in Texas since legislators never removed a state law from the books defining marriage between a man and a woman. White asserted that legalized gay marriage shouldn’t be permitted in the Lone Star State because he feels state law trumped the SCOTUS ruling in Obergefell v Hodges.
Virginia recently voted to keep a same-sex marriage ban in place, even though it’s legal at the federal level. This is a trigger law, meaning if SCOTUS overturns LGBTQ rights to marriage, it will be automatically banned in Virginia. Questions that came up during Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing indicate that the right is gearing up for a push to overturn gay marriage. Republicans have publicly stated they believe gay marriage is wrong.
It isn’t only gay marriage we should be worried about. As Indiana Senator Mike Braun expressed his disdain for Loving v. Virginia, you have to know he isn’t the only one. Justice Alito, who wrote the opinion in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, has also dissented against interracial marriage. Interracial marriage will be on the chopping block. Even if the corrupt Justice Clarence Thomas votes against overturning Loving v. Virginia, the makeup of Conservatives on SCOTUS is six. They only need five votes.
What comes after that?
During the Trump regime, Republicans advanced several federal judges who disagreed with Brown v. Board of Education (almost 30 of them). That’s right, school integration will also be at risk.
Why do you think Republicans are now banning books related to civil rights and stopping teachers from teaching about Black history in schools? And why do you think Republicans are pushing so hard for school vouchers?
School vouchers are 100% about segregation. Segregation by race and by class.
Book banning, anti-CRT, and school vouchers are all examples of white backlash to perceived progress, upward mobility, and equality for Black people. Conservatives have spent nearly a century galvanizing white voters around racial equality’s “dangerous” idea. White parents are reacting en masse to fears that their children will be taught about white privilege and white supremacy, even as conservative pundits and politicians rely on tried-and-true anxieties over Communism to paint anti-racism efforts as a threat to capitalism and America as a whole.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is kicking off the new segregation fight surely to come.
This week Abbott commented how he wants to “resurrect” the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe, which guaranteed that public schools would educate all students regardless of citizenship status.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh recently said regarding Brown v. Board of Education was a case where the high court overturned precedent. If they had not, “the country would be a much different place.”
The former editor of the far-right publication, the National Review, is putting out calls for Brown v. Board to be overturned.
How much worse can it get?
First, they overturn Roe v. Wade, then overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, then Loving v. Virginia, then Brown v. Board. After that, nothing is off of the table. Republicans aim to turn the clock back as far as they can.
Browder v. Gayle, segregation on public buses. The 1964 Civil Rights Act. The Fair Housing Act. The 15th Amendment. The 14th Amendment. The 13th Amendment.
If you aren’t worried, you haven’t been paying enough attention. We don’t have until 2024. If we don’t win the midterms, America is over. We will never recover.
Remember this and VOTE!
You can now read an ad-free version of Living Blue in Texas and help support our mission to turn Texas blue. Sign up now.
You agree to receive updates from Living Blue in Texas by clicking submit. We will not sell or share your information. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt-out at any time.