What we’re up against
Since the Alito draft opinion to overturn Roe v Wade leaked, many have felt paralyzed with dread. Granted, we all expected this SCOTUS ruling on the Mississippi law to come out in late June. But we did not know that notoriously antagonistic troll Samuel Alito would draft the opinion. The Court hears oral arguments, the justices cast initial votes, then the most senior justice in the majority selects a colleague to author the opinion, in this case, corrupt justice Clarence Thomas chose Alito.
Republican firebrands know how to weaponized certain issues to drive their base to the polls and hang onto power. Weaponizing the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear Arms has been effective in getting their base to fiercely fight for guns. While weaponizing Roe v Wade has been very effective in getting them to fiercely fight against the 14th Amendment right to privacy when it comes to a woman’s choice to have an ordinary medical procedure. Ironically the passage of the 14th Amendment at the time was intended to professionalize medicine to make abortions safer by having the procedure done by doctors instead of midwives. But I digress.
It’s important to note that, although Roberts is one of the six Republican justices, he did not vote to overturn Roe v Wade, indicating only five of the six voted to go that far. If only one other conservative justice breaks ranks, Alito could lose his majority. Of course, with the conservative justices having already allowed the harsh Texas anti-abortion law to stand, it’s not looking good for Roe. But Alito has now become a firebrand for women’s right to choose, inciting massive rallies with no sign of ending any time soon. It’s a long shot, but we must keep the pressure on.
The silver lining is that the outrage over this leaked opinion has already caused a significant poll swing in favor of democrats in the Midterms. We can and must hold the House and pick up two more seats in the Senate so Democrats can end the filibuster and codify abortion rights.
Chicago native Lorraine Evanoff earned her degree in French from DePaul University then became a Certified Financial Manager. She worked as a finance exec in film production for seven years in Paris, then in Silicon Valley during the dot-com era, and later for various Hollywood production companies, notably as CFO of National Lampoon. She is currently living in Los Angeles with her husband.