The Supreme Court's evisceration of Roe went farther than anyone's worst fears. Justice Thomas explicitly calls into question the privacy rights that emanated from Roe.  The impact of this sickening ruling will impact women in America and force them into second class status, with the state being able to wield power over human bodies. 

Pursuant to The 14th Amendment Section 5, Congress can pass legislation to codify Constitutional rights that are at risk of being abridged by state governments.  This Amendment was passed during reconstruction and its authority needs to be wielded now.

With the evisceration of Roe and decades of precedent, this extremist Supreme Court has put in danger a number of rights that form the foundation of modern America’s conception of liberty.  Those include Roe (abortion) & other decisions that emanate from the right to privacy such as Griswold (contraception), Obergefell (gay marriage), Loving (interracial marriage) and others. 

Congress needs to immediately move to a vote to codify those decisions.  If Republicans filibuster them, Congress needs to make them stand and talk forever.  If Griswold cannot get to 60 votes, then put them on record as opposing it.  If Obergefell does not get to 60 votes, then note who was on the side of bigotry.  If Loving does not get to 60 votes, then we will know in public what many of us know already about many Senators in America and where their values lie.

In order to protect a woman’s right to choose, Congress must also immediately pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would secure a federal right to an abortion regardless of what the Supreme Court thinks. It must pass the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act, which would repeal the Hyde Amendment and end the discriminatory treatment of low-income Medicaid patients. 

This is not a time to shrink, it is a time to play offense, to anticipate, and be active.  Without action when we have the majority, the fierce anger of the electorate will have nowhere to turn. The project to erode Roe has gone on for 50 years, we did nothing to codify it.  We cannot afford to make the same mistake again.