Tim Mannello

Williamsport

On Feb. 20, 2024 the Supreme Court of Alabama issued a ruling that effectively outlawed in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the state of Alabama. Legal experts say that 11 other states including Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina could follow suit. What’s next?

Well, on July 20, 2022, we may have gotten an early warning sign of what is coming down the pike. On that day, The Right to Contraception Act (H.R. 8373) was introduced in the United States House of Representatives. The purpose of the bill is to “protect the right to access, use and distribute contraceptives.” The bill was not brought to the Senate floor for a vote. The voting breakdown in the House by party was:

— Democrats: 222 in favor, 0 against

— Republicans: 6 in favor, 195 against

In the absence of such a law, what would happen if a state made the access, use and sale of contraceptives illegal? Ask Congressmen Dan Meuser and Glenn Thompson. They voted against the Right to Contraception Act.

In oral arguments on Dobbs versus Jackson, Justice Clarence Thomas upped the ante. He suggested that the Court should consider overturning previous decisions, namely Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), which struck down a state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives by married couples, Lawrence v. Texas (2003), which invalidated state laws criminalizing sodomy and Obergefell (2015) which legalized same-sex marriage. Whatever one one may think of the morality of the behaviors covered in these laws, the enforcement of these new laws would further restrict all Americans limited right to privacy.

Stay tuned. There is much more in the offing. They’ve only just begun.