The Dobbs Decision and its Impact on Human Rights
By: Noora Samadi
In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that states are permitted to restrict or ban abortion, imperiling the rights of people who can become pregnant in the United States. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the constitutionally protected right to access abortion established in Roe v. Wade and returned the decision of how to regulate abortion up to individual states. As of January 2023, 14 states have banned abortion, and the Center for Reproductive Rights estimates that 26 out of the 50 states will eventually do so.
Writing for the majority decision, Justice Alito asserted, “Procuring an abortion is not a fundamental constitutional right because such a right has no basis in the Constitution’s text or in our Nation’s history.” In their dissent, Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan stated, “Whatever the exact scope of the coming laws, one result of today’s decision is certain: the curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens.”
Approximately 22 million women and girls of reproductive age in the U.S. now live in states that heavily restrict access to abortion. Restrictions to access reproductive healthcare endanger women’s lives and place their health at risk, which can lead to increased mortality and morbidity. Moreover, the decision also enables the potential criminalization and penalization of healthcare, as providers, patients, and third parties may face prosecution or civil suit for their engagement in private healthcare.
With the Dobbs decision came expanded surveillance to detect violations of the new regulations that can infringe on the privacy rights of individuals. The bans can violate the freedom of conscience, limiting the ability of physicians and clergy to guide their patients and congregants. Dobbs can also disadvantage marginalized groups including people with disabilities, impoverished, LGBTQ+, immigrant, and minority communities— by infringing on the principles of equality and non-discrimination.
The Human Rights Watch indicates that the U.S. violated its international law obligations by overturning the constitutional protection for abortion access and enabling restrictive state laws. There are codified obligations in human rights treaties to which the U.S. is a party or signatory. Namely, these human rights responsibilities include the rights to: life, health, privacy, liberty, freedom of thought, equality, and non-discrimination. As of 2023, action has been requested from UN mandate holders to review the situation and call on the U.S. to uphold its human rights responsibilities.
Ultimately, the Dobbs decision cultivates an unforeseen future, as the U.S. has taken a step backward by no longer guaranteeing national safeguards for the equality, health, autonomy, and privacy of individuals who can become pregnant. These implications make civic engagement and participation paramount for Americans in the post-Dobbs era.
References
Chappell, B., & Clark, N. (2022, June 24). The Supreme Court’s Majority and Dissent Opinions on Dobbs Reveal a Massive Schism. NPR. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1107445443/supreme-court-majority-and-dissent-opinions-dobbs-reveal-schism
Human Rights Watch. (2023, June 16). Human Rights Crisis: Abortion in The United States After Dobbs. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/18/human-rights-crisis-abortion-united-states-after-dobbs?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiApaarBhB7EiwAYiMwqrLFbPvIKgyJzJHoEb_y_mgg5rb57MlkZcrPcfap3HhEPnj8EUStjxoCXdwQAvD_BwE
Kaufman, R., Brown, R., Martínez Coral, C., Jacob, J., Onyango, M., & Thomasen, K. (2022, November 16). Global Impacts of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and Abortion Regression in The United States. NCBI. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9673802/
United Nations Human Rights. (2023, June 2). United States: Abortion Bans Put Millions of Women and Girls at Risk. OHCHR. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/06/united-states-abortion-bans-put-millions-women-and-girls-risk-un-experts-say