Expert: Legal battles possible against same-sex marriage, contraception
KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) - The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade is, according to experts, expected to lead to a series of legal battles over the coming months.
On Monday, a Louisiana judge blocked enforcement of an abortion trigger law there.
The same day, Texas abortion providers announced they are suing the state over pre-Roe laws, which they hope will allow abortion services to continues until the state’s own abortion trigger law goes into effect in less than a month.
Those are currently court battles, but there are also questions around what other legal challenges could emerge because of Friday’s ruling.
“Justice Thomas’ concurrence in the abortion explicitly called into question precedence about, not just birth control, but also about same-sex marriage,” said Jeffrey Dixon, associate professor of political science at Texas A&M University Central Texas.
Justice Clarence Thomas’ opinion in Friday’s ruling opened up the possibility of legal challenges when it comes to the right to privacy. That is what rulings related to contraception and same-sex marriage are centered around.
“That’s an invitation to anybody who wants to, or any state that wants to, to try regulating this stuff and see if they can get away with it now that the court has a new majority,” said Dixon.
Though an invitation, public opinion also weighs heavily on how likely any action is in the future.
Pew Research polls show over time, the public has been less-opposed to same sex marriage and even more people have favorable views of contraceptives.
“Fewer states have an incentive to challenge that status quo,” said Dixon. “Having said that, I would not be that there are zero states willing to challenge the status quo.”
But, at least in terms of Friday’s ruling, many people are still focused on the topic of abortion.
“Now we know that we’re going to have to fight with the Planned Parenthood in New Mexico, even,” said a pro-life rally-goer during a Friday event in Waco.
“And state, by state, by state, we have to see the end of abortions – state, by state, by state,” she said.
But as to whether-or-not the topics can resurface, Dixon said anything is still possible.
“The lesson that I teach my students is that the court is a political institution ... So, law is in fact political and not just calling balls and strike,” said Dixon.
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