If the Court Reverses Roe, Its Very Legitimacy May Be at Risk

Ordinarily, when the Supreme Court docket reverses itself in a liberty-related case, it creates or extends new rights that didn’t exist earlier than. That’s what occurred in 2003 in Lawrence v. Texas, when the court docket reversed Bowers v. Hardwick and established a proper to have intercourse with a associate of 1’s alternative no matter intercourse. It’s what occurred in 2014 in Obergefell v. Hodges, when the court docket established a constitutional proper to same-sex marriage. The essential thought behind this mannequin of gradual rights-extension is that we’re getting freer on a regular basis, no more restricted.