AFJ Action Calls For Court Expansion and Filibuster Abolition In Wake of Abortion Decision Leak

WASHINGTON, D.C. May 3, 2022 – Last night, Politico published a draft opinion showing that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority is planning to formally overturn people’s constitutional right to an abortion as established Roe v. Wade and affirmed in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The draft decision opens the door for the Supreme Court to overturn other important decisions such as Griswold v. Connecticut, which established a constitutional right to access to birth control, Obergefell v. Hodges, which established the constitutional right to marriage equality, and Lawrence v. Texas, which established the constitutional right to consensual same-sex relationships.   

The decision is not final, and Roe remains the law of the land, but the time to act is now. Lawmakers must be prepared to take extraordinary steps to correct for this lawless and increasingly partisan Supreme Court to protect people’s constitutional right to abortion, marriage equality, access to birth control, and interracial marriage. 

Alliance for Justice Action Campaign President Rakim H.D. Brooks issued the following statement: 

“This draft decision is the product of Republicans’ decades-long campaign to stack the Court with hyper-partisan extremists. The Republican senators who helped seat the Court’s extremists must be held accountable and not allowed to return to office.  

“Alliance for Justice Action Campaign is redoubling its efforts to educate the public on the disastrous decision, and to hold Republican officials accountable for their ongoing attacks on reproductive freedom. This year’s election could not be more pivotal. If the current Democratic majority in Congress is unable to accomplish these goals, that majority must not only be preserved, but expanded. Fighting to preserve access to abortion and the other rights clearly under threat is essential.  

“The words ‘Expand the Court’ and ‘Abolish the Filibuster’ must be on the lips of every politician who purports to support access to abortion.  Dismantling the anti-democratic Jim Crow filibuster is the only path forward to protecting our rights. Access to abortion, a fundamental aspect of reproductive health care, now depends on passing the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) and ensuring the Court’s conservative majority cannot simply overturn it in a future decision.  

“It is also more important than ever that voters pay attention to their state court races. Until abortion access can be restored at the federal level, state supreme courts will have the final say on abortion restrictions across the country. In many states, the judges and justices on these courts are elected, and voters have a unique opportunity to weigh in directly in a way that is not available at the federal level. 

“We can prevail, but we must act now. We know where this Supreme Court wants to take our nation and we can’t afford to fail.”