Just nine Supreme Court Justices hold the power to say which rights Americans do or do not have.
On June 24, 2022, five of them decided that women don’t have the right to choose what they want to do with their bodies.
Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett made this decision. Alito was nominated by George W. Bush, Thomas by George H.W. Bush and the others by Donald Trump.
The issue with Supreme Court Justices is that they aren’t elected officials, they serve lifetime appointments, they get to interpret the Constitution however they want and they rarely face consequences for their mistakes. Plus, their decisions don’t have to be unanimous, allowing five people to interpret what the Constitution says.
Supreme Court Justices aren’t supposed to have a political agenda. They are supposed to interpret the Constitution and rule based on what it says. These justices did not do so.
They interpreted it based on moral beliefs and conservative values. They overturned almost 50 years of precedent and disguised it as giving rights back to the states.
The opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization states, “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives,” but this just isn’t true. Although it gives each state the ability to make decisions on abortions, it doesn’t give the people the right. Roe allowed individuals to make the choice, but now legislators get to make it instead.
America was founded on the idea of democracy, but the Supreme Court goes directly against that idea. Having a political institution that allows five people to make the rules for 330 million makes no sense. If every justice were voted in by the people and then had to agree on an interpretation of the Constitution, then maybe the idea would work. However, this isn’t how the Supreme Court works, so it’s time for the “highest court in the land” to come crumbling down.
A political institution should not consist of nine people appointed by elected officials, especially if it’s supposed to be unbiased. Their positions also shouldn’t be lifetime appointments.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a crucial member of the Supreme Court, but she shouldn’t have been on the bench until she died. Justice Stephen Breyer was appointed 11 months after Ginsburg and was just pushed into retirement by Democrats. Thomas is 73 years old and is almost in his 31st year on the bench. Alito, 67, and Chief Justice John Roberts, 72, are about to reach their 16th year on the court. It’s likely that none of them would be able to get a regular job based on their age, so they shouldn’t be making decisions that affect everyone in this country.
It’s time for a major change to happen to the Supreme Court. Whether it’s impeaching the justices that overturned Roe after saying it was an “important precedent” during their nomination hearings or overhauling the entire system, something big has to happen.
Roe v. Wade was just the beginning. Thomas made it known that he wants to go after contraceptives and same-sex couples. It is crucial that people attend protests, sign petitions and vote.
Although it’s unlikely that an overhaul of the Supreme Court will ever happen, the American people can vote to try and ensure that the court doesn’t overturn another human right in their attempt to make America a theocracy.
James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected]