Saturday, June 27, 2015

What does the Same-Sex Marriage Case and its "Right to Individual Autonomy" Mean for Abortion Rights?

The Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges contains some interesting language about personal choice that arguably could be relevant in abortion cases. Kennedy very carefully describes the fundamental right as one of personal choice and autonomy.  

  • "In addition these liberties extend to certain personal choices central to individual dignity and autonomy, including intimate choices that define personal identity and beliefs." Obergefell, 10.                                                                                                                                                               
  • "A first premise of the Court’s relevant precedents is that the right to personal choice regarding marriage is inherent in the concept of individual autonomy. This abiding connection between marriage and liberty is why Loving invalidated interracial marriage bans under the Due Process Clause. See 388 U. S., at 12; see also Zablocki, supra, at 384 (observing Loving held “the right to marry is of fundamental importance for all individuals”). Like choices concerning contraception, family relationships, procreation, and childrearing, all of which are protected by the Constitution, decisions concerning marriage are among the most intimate that an individual can makeObergefell, 12.                                                                                                                                     
  • "There is dignity in the bond between two men or two women who seek to marry and in their autonomy to make such profound choices. Cf. Loving, supra, at 12 (“[T]he freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State”). Obergefell, 13.                                                                                                               
  • The opinion relies on the birth control cases of Eisenstadt, Griswold, and Poe, and the maternity rights of LaFleur.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
  • And Justice Roberts in dissent rejects "this freewheeling notion of individual autonomy." 

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/gender_law/2015/06/what-does-the-same-sex-marriage-case-mean-for-abortion-rights.html

Abortion, Constitutional | Permalink

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