I was on vacation the last 2 weeks, but after looking at all of the abortion memes from the usual suspects, and even the media coverage more broadly, what stands out to me is that none of them attack the SCOTUS decision on merit, or argue why is was legally wrong. There is no attempt at even making a constitutional argument now.

▪️This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine gets into an argument with Poppie over abortion, and he asks here where she gets the right, and she yells “The Supreme Court!” The reality is now apparent that Roe was used as a crutch by the left, and now they can’t walk.

▪️Roe, and later Casey, found a right to abortion implicit in the constitution via the right to privacy and particularly in the 14th amendment’s due process clause. But as SCOTUS just ruled, they never properly explained this and it made no sense legally or historically.

▪️The court pointed out that when the 14th amendment was adopted, the vast majority of states outlawed abortion in ALL stages of pregnancy, and by the early 20th century every single state had laws restricting abortion. Clearly the 14th A wasn’t written with abortion in mind.

▪️Furthermore, there’s no historical context for abortion rights, not only in the constitution, but in state constitutions, federal or state courts, or even in scholarly treatises. Considering the Constitution never mentions or implies abortion, it’s bizarre to say the 14th amendment establishes abortion rights.

▪️Of course, atrocities like Jim Crow and “separate but equal” also happened after the 14th amendment, but these were obviously violations of the equal protection text, and there was plenty of historical and legal precedent arguing against them. There is no such similarity with abortion.

▪️To argue the right to privacy and due process grants constitutional abortion rights (my body, my choice) one would also need to uphold the right to obtain any food and drugs regardless of FDA authorization, prostitution, gambling and a whole host of other activities. Which would be a consistent argument.

▪️But there is no such consistency. Abortion is somehow protected by the constitution, but seeking potential lifesaving medication not approved by the FDA isn’t? In fact, this last week the administration prohibited JUUL from selling their E-cigs, how is there not a similar right to use E-cigs?!

▪️Basically, the left wanted there to be a constitutional right to abortion because they just wanted it. But there’s no consistency or real argument why abortion, and not all other areas of govt interference, are sacred.

▪️The only thing I’ve seen from memes on the actual ruling is that Thomas wants to revisit other cases like same-sex marriage, contraception, etc. But this ignores the rest of the judges who disagree and explicitly wrote why this ruling only applied to abortion. Some quotes:

🔹“And to ensure that our decision is not misunderstood or mischaracterized, we emphasize that our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right. Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion”

🔹“We have also explained why that is so: rights regarding contraception and same-sex relationships are inherently different from the right to abortion because the latter (as we have stressed) uniquely involves what Roe and Casey termed “potential life.””

▪️With the SCOTUS dismantling Roe, there is no rational argument on the left anymore for why abortion rights are protected by the constitution. They can’t even yell like Elaine did in Seinfeld, so they’re ignoring all constitutional/legal arguments, leaving unrelated, emotional memes.

▪️This isn’t to say there aren’t any good arguments for abortion rights, just not constitutional ones (unless you’re willing to have a radical interpretation of the 9th amendment to include all areas of bodily autonomy, but the left prefers to let the state endlessly regulate these areas).

The Dobbs v. Jackson decision:
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf