Roe v. Wade decision's potential impact on other SCOTUS decisions
WICHITA, Ka. (KAKE) - After the Supreme Court's ruling Friday that struck down federal abortion rights, many are wondering what other previous decisions could be overturned.
Over the weekend, hundreds of people took part in Wichita Pride's Unity march. While there was plenty to celebrate, many of the people there also feeling a bit worried after the supreme court struck down Roe v. Wade.
Some in the crowd wondered if their rights are next.
"I can only speak for myself. It's a huge worry for me. I know, that's a huge overstep," Caleb Janssen said. "I don't know if they would go that direction, but it definitely opens up the door for many different things."
In Justice Clarence Thomas's opinion, he wrote that the court should revisit other cases like the ones that created the right to access contraception and the right to same-sex marriage.
"In future cases, we should reconsider all of this court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell," wrote Thomas.
Those cases have to deal with the right to contraception access and same sex marriage.
Friends University Political Science Professor Dr. Russell Arben Fox says that at least in the short term, these topics will probably not be revisited.
"It is probably not very likely in the short term, both because one, it takes a long time for cases to make their way all the way up to the Supreme Court," Dr. Fox said.
Dr. Fox also said that while the Court's decision on Friday was unprecedented, it was also something that had been pushed for years by the Republican Party.
He says these other decisions just don't have the long-term push against it that Roe v. Wade did.
"Every year that goes by more and more people are accepting of same sex marriage," Dr. Fox said. "Where is the constituency to go after access to birth control? I just don't think it exists."
One other point that Dr. Fox made is that many people will want to wait out and see the political ramifications of Friday's decision, including its impact on the "Value Them Both" Amendment here in Kansas before trying to move forward with a case to challenge one of the other previous decisions.