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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has once again become the focus of controversy after publicly suggesting that the Court should revisit several major rulings tied to Americans’ personal privacy rights: including those protecting same-sex marriage and access to birth control.
The comments stem from Thomas’s 2022 concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade. In his written statement, Thomas argued that the Court should “reconsider” previous decisions based on what’s known as substantive due process, a legal theory that protects certain personal freedoms not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.
Among those cases are:
•Griswold v. Connecticut (1965): which established the right for married couples to use birth control.
•Lawrence v. Texas (2003): which struck down laws criminalizing same-sex relationships.
•Obergefell v. Hodges (2015): which guaranteed the right to same-sex marriage nationwide.
Legal experts note that Thomas’s comments don’t automatically threaten these rights. His opinion reflects his personal judicial philosophy, not an immediate legal change. However, it signals what could happen if similar cases make their way to the Court in the future; especially given the Court’s current conservative majority.
Critics argue that his remarks open the door for challenges to decades of legal progress, while supporters claim Thomas is simply being consistent in his interpretation of the Constitution. Still, his comments have stirred concern among advocates who fear that personal freedoms could soon be revisited in the same way abortion rights were.
For now, marriage equality and contraception access remain protected under federal law. But Thomas’s words have sparked a new wave of political and public debate over how secure those rights truly are.
