For Immediate Release
Contact: Matt Lehrich, Marie Aberger
NEW STUDY: THE SUPREME COURT HAS UNDERMINED IOWA’S SMALL FARMS AND
RURAL COMMUNITIES
The study, co-authored by Former Iowa Lt. Governor Patty Judge, analyzes how court decisions consistently favor corporate interests over those of small farmers
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 18, 2019) —
Women’s rights are in danger. It is well understood that the Supreme Court may overturn—or at least severely curtail—a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion under Roe v. Wade, with the Supreme Court scheduled to hear oral arguments on a major case March 4th. But a new study released today by Take Back the Court shows that the risk goes even further: all of the statutory and constitutional protections that activists have spent decades building in the name of ensuring that women can lead lives free from restrictions on their bodies, their career choices, and their family lives are at stake.
The Supreme Court has already done considerable damage to women’s rights in three important areas of law and policy—reproductive justice, health care access, and sexual harassment. And this new report highlights that, going forward, the Court is poised to do considerably more damage in eight areas: (1) reproductive justice; (2) health care access; (3) child care; (4) paid family leave; (5) sexual harassment; (6) workplace discrimination; (7) pregnancy discrimination; and (8) sexual assault prevention. Pay equity, family leave, health care, gender discrimination, sexual assault, child care are all at risk under the current makeup of McConnell’s Stolen Supreme Court.
Take Back the Court Executive Director Aaron Belkin said, “The threat that the Court poses to women is so extreme that structural reform of the judiciary may be the only option for ensuring that women can lead lives free from restrictions on their bodies, careers, and family lives. Legislatures are increasingly attacking women’s rights, and the Court can no longer be trusted to correct them. We need to expand the Court before it’s too late.”
The makeup of the Court has emboldened legislatures to pass draconian policies in the hopes that it will hear cases challenging those policies and issue decisions that restrict women’s rights.
Chief Justice John Roberts has been a staunch opponent of women’s reproductive rights throughout his career. Since he became Chief Justice in 2005, the Court ruled in six cases involving reproductive rights, and Roberts voted in opposition each time (100%). Now Justice Roberts is joined by President Trump’s two appointees to the Supreme Court, Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, who both have incredibly problematic records on women’s rights. Their past decisions on women’s rights offer a disconcerting picture of what could happen next if the next president does not have a plan to unpack the Court.
Learn more: https://www.takebackthecourt.today/scotus-dismantling-womens-rights-roe
About Take Back the Court
Take Back the Court raises awareness about the urgent need to expand the number of seats on the Supreme Court to address the theft of the court by Senator Mitch McConnell during the Obama Administration. Without adding seats, Congress will not be able to restore the right to vote, ensure reproductive freedom, protect workers, halt our climate emergency, or pass new legislation. Court expansion, which can be accomplished without a constitutional amendment, is the only reform that enables the un-rigging of the system and the restoration of democracy. Learn more at https://www.takebackthecourt.today.