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Joe Biden Gets Real About Scary Post-Roe World

Time for some tough truths from the president.

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President Biden Visits Illinois Farm To Discuss Food Supply And Prices

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Last night, President Joe Biden gave a speech at a Democratic National Committee Fundraiser in Chicago. And, as you might imagine, he absolutely talked about the leaked draft Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. Of course we all know by now, the draft opinion penned by Samuel Alito (which is looking ever closer to becoming the law of the land) explicitly overturns Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, gutting reproductive freedom in this country.

In the 10 days since the opinion was leaked, many commentators — including yours truly — have been ringing the alarm bells, because the end of abortion rights is not the end of the conservative mission to remake the country to their liking. Nope, a whole host of other rights will be on the chopping block. And in last night’s speech, Biden got real about the battles ahead:

But it also, if you read the opinion — if it turns out to be the same opinion — basically says there is no such thing as a right to privacy. Mark my words: If that decision holds, it’s not only we’re going to be fighting for a woman’s right to control her own body and the brutality that goes along with having to give birth in a circumstance that is something beyond what — that can be tolerated, but what else is going to happen?

Mark my words: They’re going to go after the right of the — Supreme Court decision on the right of same-sex marriage. They’re going to go after — they’re going to — we’re going to be back to Griswold vs. Connecticut, where there was a time in Connecticut law where it said a married couple, in the privacy of their own bedroom, cannot use contraception; it was a decision — the government can make the decision you can’t do that.

Now, this is far from a plan on how to deal with the incoming attacks on rights (especially after the failed vote to codify reproductive rights is concerned). But, after being gaslit by conservatives, the honesty feels nice.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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