Within a matter of months, women in about half of the United States may be breaking the law if they decide to end a pregnancy. This will be, in large part, because Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is surprised that there is so little written about abortion in a four-thousand-word document crafted by fifty-five men in 1787. As it happens, there is also nothing at all in that document, which sets out fundamental law, about pregnancy, uteruses, vaginas, fetuses, placentas, menstrual blood, breasts, or breast milk. There is nothing in that document about women at all. Most consequentially, there is nothing in that document—or in the circumstances under which it was written—that suggests its authors imagined women as part of the political community embraced by the phrase “We the People.” —Jill Lepore, from “Why There Are No Women in the Constitution” (New Yorker)
***
The elephant in the room given Samuel Alito’s draft decision is everything we’ve accomplished during the 235 years since the Constitution, imperfect as it was, was written.
Because in the immortal words of the great Loretta Lynn, “a lot of things have changed since way back then.”
The problem with Alito’s draft is it is worded so broadly that it could reach into corners of our personal lives far beyond the right of a woman to choose whether to have an abortion.
Basically what’s at stake here, to be only mildly hyperbolic, is the entire scope of the social progress that we in the U.S. have made since the nation’s founding — or at least the past fifty years. It has taken sustained, committed efforts by many activists — labor, civil rights, feminist, environmental justice, LBGTQ, disabled and many others — to achieve a more humane and inclusive society for all of us.
But now those cherished rights are threatened by the reactionary backlash of angry, frightened white supremacists who are the driving force behind the agendas of the Supreme Court, too many red-state governments and the entire pro-Trump faction of the Republican Party.
So the question is will it only be Democrats, liberals, progressives who will stand up and oppose this blatant attempt to send us backward in time? Back to before marriage equality? Back before poor black people could vote in the South? Or will Republicans and conservatives wake up to the dangers and speak out against this slide toward authoritarianism before it’s too late.
The path toward a more democratic future was already cloudy given the depredations of Trump and the January 6th mob. But the lessons of the past are clear. We have to fight for our rights once again if the forces of ignorance, discrimination, hate and violence are not to prevail.
Today’s Headlines (53):
Poll reveals US supreme court’s abortion position is vastly at odds with public opinion (Guardian)
The Supreme Court’s draft opinion on overturning Roe v. Wade, annotated (WP)
Leaked draft of Supreme Court ruling signals a seismic shift in American politics and law. (NYT)
Kamala Harris Speaks Out On Supreme Court Draft Opinion At Abortion Rights Group Event (NBC)
Abortion has long been complicated for Biden. Now, he leads the fight. (WP)
Leaked Threat to Roe v. Wade Stuns, Then Energizes Americans (NYT)
These companies will help staff in red states bypass abortion bans (CNN)
Abortion draft spurs speculation about future of same-sex marriage (WP)
A Supreme Court in Disarray After an Extraordinary Breach (NYT)
8 legal reasons to dislike Justice Alito's draft opinion on abortion (NBC)
A decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would upend midterms (WP)
Overnight, Midterms Get a White-Hot New Focus: Abortion (NYT)
The court might never recover from overturning Roe (Edit Bd/WP)
As US poised to restrict abortion, other nations ease access (AP)
A Canadian official says Americans can get abortions there if Roe is overturned (NPR)
If Roe falls, LGBTQ people worry, ‘They’re coming for us next’ (SFC)
It's impossible to wall off reversing Roe from landmark marriage and contraception rulings (CNN)
Erosion of abortion rights gathers pace around the world as US signals new era (Guardian)
Backlash over Supreme Court’s draft abortion ruling offers opportunity for Democrats (Financial Times)
The GOP’s Strange Turn Against Rape Exceptions — If Roe v. Wade is overturned, 22 states have abortion bans that would quickly become law. Many of those bans contain no exemptions for rape or incest. (Atlantic)
While the main story is that the Supreme Court now has five votes to overturn women’s reproductive rights, the provenance of the leak — of the draft majority opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito — still matters, as it could affect the ultimate outcome of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. There are a very limited number of people who could leak a draft opinion to the press from inside the court: the nine justices themselves, their law clerks and their support staff. Here are the current theories and why they may or may not affect the outcome. [HuffPost]
California Republicans turn to 'ostrich strategy' after abortion news (Politico)
E.U. proposes ban on Russian oil imports by end of year (WP)
Russia’s War Has Been Brutal, but Putin Has Shown Some Restraint. Why? (NYT)
Russia attempts to stymie supply of western arms (NHK)
The EU proposed its toughest sanctions yet against Russia, including a phased oil embargo, as Ukraine came under further heavy Russian bombardment and nervously monitored large-scale army drills in neighboring Belarus, a close Moscow ally. (Reuters)
600 civilians died in March theater bombing in Mariupol; Zelenskyy says Russian advance halted (USA Today)
Evacuees From Mariupol’s Steel Plant Tell of Horrors and Survival (NYT)
Ukrainian officials and the U.N. held out hope for more evacuations from the bombed-out steel mill in Mariupol as scores of civilians reached relative safety after enduring weeks of shelling that targeted city’s last pocket of resistance. But Russian forces began storming the plant, where some Ukrainian fighters were still holed up. Meanwhile, the European Union’s top official on Wednesday called on the 27-nation bloc to ban all oil imports from Russia. [AP]
Russia said it had fired two Kalibr cruise missiles at Ukrainian targets from a submarine in the Black Sea and reiterated a warning that it would seek to hit shipments of NATO weapons to Ukraine. (Reuters)
Pope Francis warns pro-war Russian patriarch not to be 'Putin's altar boy' (CNN)
Russian TV shows simulation of Britain and Ireland wiped out by a nuke (WP)
Russian mercenaries linked to civilian massacres in Mali (Guardian)
Covid Omicron Variant BA.2.12.1 Spreading Quickly Across United States; Related Cases Up Nearly 100% In Past Two Weeks (Yahoo)
Cognitive Impact of Severe COVID Is Equivalent to 20 Years of Aging, Study Finds (ScienceAlert)
The Chinese capital Beijing shut dozens of metro stations and bus routes in its campaign to stop the spread of COVID-19 and avoid the fate of Shanghai where millions of residents have been under strict lockdown for more than a month. (Reuters)
Pfizer now hopes to tell U.S. regulators how well its COVID-19 vaccine works in the littlest kids by late May or early June. The company is testing three extra-small doses of its vaccine in children under 5 after two shots didn’t prove quite strong enough. Rival Moderna hopes to be the first to offer vaccinations for the youngest children. [AP]
NASA is bringing rocks back from Mars, but what if those samples contain alien life? (NPR)
Sun fires off huge solar flare from new sunspot coming into view (Space.com)
Several 'Echoing' Black Holes Have Just Been Discovered in The Milky Way (ScienceAlert)
Trump flexes and the center shrinks: 5 takeaways from a key primary night (Politico)
Biden to sign executive order, national security memo to advance quantum technologies (Fox)
Biden: MAGA is the ‘most extreme political organization’ in recent U.S. history (Politico)
Gene Therapy Reverses Effects of Autism-Linked Mutation in Human Brain Organoids (SciTechDaily)
TurboTax to pay customers $141 million after allegedly steering them away from free services (CNN)
Uber’s Revenue Doubles, but Stock Falls After Lyft Warns of Higher Driver Costs (WSJ)
Lyft stock plunged 26% after the ride hail company said it would have to spend more heavily to attract drivers and forecast operating earnings less than a quarter of Wall Street targets, reflecting the added costs. (Reuters)
Jamestown: America's first English settlement now endangered (BBC)
Deaths from Covid. Aging baby boomers. Fewer children. Restrictions on immigration. These factors, not to mention the soaring cost of living, are forcing California — long associated in the public imagination as a destination and place of growth — to confront the fact that it is a shrinking state. For the second time in two years, the California Department of Finance has reported a drop in the state’s population. (Cal Today)
Dolly Parton, Eminem and Duran Duran join Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (BBC)
Ukraine War, Wordle Help New York Times Draw More Subscribers (WSJ)
Study: ‘Hangin’ In There’ Best One Can Now Feel (The Onion)
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