A leaked draft Supreme Court opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Many of us have serious questions about the future of reproductive freedom in the United States. This opinion, if formally held, would nullify Roe v. Wade and the right to abortion under the United States Constitution. This reality made people wonder: Is abortion still legal today? (Yes.) Should I store Plan B? (It’s not necessary to buy your own at the drugstore, but maybe bring a box or two.) Will the ruling affect my access to contraceptives? The answer is no, not directly. Roe and Dobbs have nothing to do with contraception, and no one’s access will be immediately affected. But there may still be cause for concern.
The issue lies in the inference of Judge Samuel Alito’s draft opinion. The project aims at the right to privacy, which is the basis for many other rights that have been recognized by the court over the years, including same-sex and interracial marriage as well as the right to contraception.
For context, the right to privacy is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, but is instead implied based on the Supreme Court’s interpretation of several amendments that “protect our freedom to make certain decisions about our bodies and our private lives without interference from government,” according to the ACLU. (ACLU). Notably, the Supreme Court first affirmed the right to privacy in a ruling on birth control – Griswold v. Connecticut, which repealed a state law banning the sale of contraceptives to couples in 1965. It has since been used in cases like Roe v. Wade and Obergevel v. Hodges, the 2015 issue that established the right to same-sex marriage.
“This decision [on Dobbs and Roe] It tries to prepare a lot of other cases to contest, which might include things like access to contraceptives. . . and Marriage Equality Rights,” Gabriella Aguilar, MD, MPH, a New York-based gynecologist and fellow reproductive health clinicians. If we are challenging the right to privacy, this is a setting that will potentially challenge future contraceptive access.
In other words, if that decision becomes official, it could serve as a “roadmap to repeal Griswold, as it calls into question the right to privacy,” Georgetown law professor Neil Katial wrote in an opinion piece for the Washington Post. “This paves the way for states to ban the use of contraceptives.” He goes on to explain how a similar scenario could occur in same-sex marriage.
Not everyone agrees that access to contraceptives is at risk here. “Nothing in this view should be understood to question non-abortion antecedents,” Alito wrote in the draft, making abortion a unique issue because it involved a “critical ethical question.” Therefore, some experts say that issues such as contraception are safe to reconsider. But others contend that the logic used in the draft opens some dangerous doors. In response to questions about the draft, President Joe Biden said Tuesday that it would “mean that every other decision regarding the concept of privacy is called into question.” He later asked, “Does this mean that in Florida they can decide that they are going to pass a law that says same-sex marriage is not allowed, and that it’s against the law in Florida?”
These are frightening scenarios to consider, to say the least. Regarding birth control specifically, Dr. Aguilar says there is no need to panic at the moment and stresses that the final decision on Roe and Dobbs will not affect the right to birth control directly. Don’t feel pressured into making any decision about birth control — such as rushing to get a long-acting, reversible contraceptive such as an IUD or implant — just because of the potential consequences of a Roe v. Wade reversal. “We don’t want to force people to use long-acting, reversible contraceptives out of political fear,” Dr. Aguilar told PopSugar. These types of contraception are effective, but they “are not the right answer for everyone,” she explains, “and contraception should always be evaluated by the individual and the health care provider on a very personal basis.”
The only measure related to your personal health that Dr. Aguilar recommends you take now is an assessment of your reproductive needs and goals. “This would be a good time to think about important questions about whether or not you want to start a family or in what time frame that will be.” Consider having a conversation with your provider (and any other partners or family members you choose to include) to discuss your priorities and options for birth control and family planning.
It’s worth repeating: Whatever formal decision the court makes in Roe v. Wade, it will have no direct impact on contraceptive access or legality. The problem is that this draft opinion, if formally conducted, could set a precedent for future challenges to contraceptive access – as well as marriage equality. “While Roe’s issue specifically has nothing to do with contraception, basically what these people are trying to do is remove physical independence,” says Dr. Aguilar.
Image source: POPSUGAR Photography / Chaunté Vaughn
