Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has canceled his first appearance scheduled since the draft of his majority opinion overturning Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey was leaked Monday night. He was supposed to appear at a judicial conference starting tonight but has suddenly decided he can’t actually make it. Hmm, I wonder why.
Speaking to Reuters, which first reported the news, a spokesperson for Alito didn’t give a reason for the cancelation, but I think we can guess! I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that he wasn’t too excited by the idea of having to appear in a room full of judges (or anyone, really) and be forced to explain the things he wrote in the leaked document.
I know I sure wouldn’t want to have to explain publicly why I wrote about how great it’ll be to rob half the population of their basic rights and bodily autonomy, how anyone who didn’t have rights when the Constitution was drafted (i.e. women, POC, basically anyone who isn’t a land-owning white man) can’t be guaranteed rights now, or why I chose to lay the groundwork for the reversal of so many civil rights, from gay marriage to childhood education to so, so much more.
Roe v. Wade is based on the ‘right to privacy.’ If the majority opinion by SCOTUS suggests that the constitution does not protect the right to privacy… that affects a WHOLE lot of other decisions. Buckle up – this is the beginning of a lot of potential ugliness.
— A. H. (@a_h_reaume) May 3, 2022
A thread.
Currently about 15 states still have criminal sodomy bans on their books. Think about that fact when you re-read Alito’s draft opinion overturning Roe and gunning for Obergefell
— Jessica Mason Pieklo (@Hegemommy) May 3, 2022
Abbott said Wednesday that Texas would consider challenging a 1982 Supreme Court decision requiring states to offer free public education to all children, including those of undocumented immigrants. https://t.co/mkp3oMbw4g
— Austin Statesman (@statesman) May 5, 2022
Love the argument that we can’t have rights because we have a deeply rooted history of not having rights.
— Robyn (@hmntre) May 3, 2022
It is truly amazing that the event Alito is avoiding is a conference with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is generally agreed upon as being the most conservative court in the country, to the point of being unabashedly extremist in its rulings. Alito doesn’t even want to face his like-minded peers right now.
Or perhaps Alito doesn’t want to face the chance of protestors at the event. The court has been taking precautions to put distance between itself and the public lately. I’m all for whatever the justices need to do to protect their physical safety (even Alito) but at the same time:
Must be nice to have control over who’s inside you https://t.co/yFuHml7QEY
— Jess Dweck (@TheDweck) May 5, 2022
(image: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
