American Constitution Society, May 3, 2022, Washington, D.C. – “Today, Roe remains the law of the land and until a final decision is handed down by the Supreme Court, those seeking abortion care should not be deterred from accessing the healthcare they need. If the draft opinion published last night by Politico is ultimately issued by the Supreme Court in Dobbs, the conservative supermajority will wipe out the Court’s remaining legitimacy and prove its members to be the most callous of ideologues in robes. Such a decision will cause unprecedented harm on millions of people suddenly denied their constitutional right to abortion, with disproportionate harm inflicted on people of color and low-income people. Moreover, such a decision will inflict irrevocable and unprecedented damage to the Supreme Court as an institution, the federal judiciary, and our legal system. If our highest Court can eliminate a constitutional right and nearly fifty-year precedent, there is no limit to the conservative supermajority’s naked pursuit of purely partisan ends – with complete disregard for the human toll. And this draft opinion indicates that the majority has no interest in stopping there. Long-standing precedents that Americans have built their lives around – Obergefell, Lawrence, Griswold, even Loving – will be next.  Put simply, this decision will send an earthquake through a legal system built on precedent, judicial restraint, and respect for constitutional principles. If the reporting from Politico proves correct, and there are five votes on this Court to overrule Roe, the result will have been achieved exclusively by the Right’s packing of the Court – with this very outcome in mind. There can be no delay in urgently reforming this seriously compromised Court that will have solidified its hostility to the legal system on top of which it sits.

ACS believes that the Constitution is “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” We interpret the Constitution based on its text and against the backdrop of history and lived experience. Through a diverse nationwide network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, and many others, we work to uphold the Constitution in the 21st Century by ensuring that law is a force for protecting our democracy and the public interest and for improving people’s lives.”