Ban the filibuster, not abortions. Photo: Sergio Flores For The Washington Post via Getty Images In the U.S., constitutional law guarantees pregnant people the right to have an abortion without “interference from the state.” Judicial precedent also empowers Americans to preempt any state law that flagrantly violates their constitutional rights: Even before an illicit statute takes effect, individuals can seek a court order barring state officers from enforcing it.
This pretext is absurd. As Vox’s Ian Millhiser writes, the tactic “could be used to undermine virtually any constitutional right. Imagine, for example, that New York passed an SB 8–style law allowing private individuals to bring lawsuits seeking a $10,000 bounty against anyone who owns a gun.” Whether these measures will significantly depress turnout or affect election outcomes is unclear. But the intentions of their authors are transparent. The conservative movement no longer makes a secret of its contempt for democracy. Republicans openly argue that voters in rural areas deserve more political power than those in urban ones. Conservative pundits suggest that Democratic majorities are inherently illegitimate because they owe their existence to recent immigrants.
In sum, an openly anti-democratic political movement has secured control of the judiciary and is using it to abet flagrant violations of constitutional rights. It is simultaneously passing voter-restriction laws, and giving partisan actors greater control over election administration, in states across the country.