Justice Clarence Thomas says the Supreme Court should reconsider rulings that currently protect contraception, same-sex relationships, and same-sex marriage.
Thomas expressed his thoughts in a concurring opinion with Friday's decision overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Health Organization.
In agreeing with the majority that there was "no constitutional right to abortion" and that "the purported right to abortion is not a form of 'liberty' protected by the Due Process Clause," Thomas wrote, "to emphasize a second, more fundamental reason why there is no abortion guarantee lurking" in the 14th Amendment.
"The Due Process Clause at most guarantees process. It does not, as the Court’s substantive due process cases suppose, 'forbi[d] the government to infringe certain 'fundamental' liberty interests at all, no matter what process is provided,'" Thomas wrote.
Thus, Thomas said, the court should examine other landmark cases that fall under the court's previous due process precedents, "including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell."
The Griswold v. Connecticut decision in 1965 said people had the right to privacy granted by the Bill of Rights that protects against state restrictions on contraception. If overturned, states would be granted the ability to outlaw various forms of birth control.
The Lawrence v. Texas ruling in 2003 said that making it a crime for members of the same sex from having intimate sexual relations violated the due process clause.
The Obergefell v. Hodges decision in 2015 said the due process clause protected the rights of same-sex couples to get married in the same ways as opposite-sex couples.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.