Over the past weeks, I’ve watched in dismay as several states have moved yet again to restrict our rights. And I get it, my position on this is unpopular with a good part of the American public, but it’s pretty disheartening to see such clear evidence that so many people want this right gone. Of course some of these states have been a battleground for awhile, but others have been a, well, surprise isn’t the right word, but disappointment is.
The Supreme Court, in a series of cases, has made it clear that this right is protected by the Bill of Rights. It’s one of the numerous “penumbra” rights – those adopted bit by bit by the Court because “specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have penumbras, formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give them life and substance.” Griswold v. Conn., 381 U.S. 479 (1965).
There’s this idea that the right is well established, that no one is seriously trying to take it away from us, that these cases have been over for years. Yet the past few weeks and months have shown that this simply isn’t true. Of course, there have been attacks over the past several years and well funded antis have been working to whittle away at it for ages, but nothing this blatant on so many fronts. Yes, there have been a few victories at lower courts, sometimes in states we weren’t expecting them. Yet we know that if we stop fighting, even for a minute, we are going to lose our rights and they won’t be coming back.
Now, you’ve probably assumed I’m talking about the Second Amendment and the bills pending in Oregon, Washington, California, Minnesota and others . Or maybe you assume I’m talking about the anti-abortion heartbeat bills in Georgia, Ohio, Alabama and Tennessee, among others. Are you sure? Can you tell? This is why I fight to preserve every single civil right for every single person. Because the right you lose next may be the one you hold most dear and I don’t want that to happen to you.