The ruling on SB 8, the new Texas anti-abortion legislation further polarized the US after it was "reviewed" by the Supreme Court last week. Not only are advocates on the left speaking out about the unconstitutionality of allowing such a law to pass, but criticism has also arisen from the seeming lack of contemplation from The Supreme Court.
To back up, we already know that the Trump presidency empowered far-right voices and continues to have lasting effects and threats on democracy even after his failure at re-election. There are certain issues where this right-wing mobilization and empowerment have proven especially threatening: abortion, gun legislation, and racial injustice. As a country, we will continue to feel the legal implications of outdated and hegemonic ideology through Amy Coney Barrett's rushed replacement of RBG in the US Supreme Court in the 46 days before Election Day (after the Senate blocked the Obama Administration's nomination of Judge Garland for the last 10 months of his presidency). The viable threat of a Roe v. Wade overturn serves to prove that the hysterical and personal response to the 2016 election was not "dramatic," as the presidency would in fact matter and deeply affect citizens' lives and well-beings for decades after the leadership was over.
This dominance of this ideology and group is especially dangerous because there is a specific breed of hypocritical American voter/politician that has gained momentum since 2016. This hypocrisy is rooted in a lack of consistency between what is deemed a violation of individual rights and what is not. What is thought of as a "right-wing" foundational principle is a lack of government or legislative intervention or regulation on people's lives and decisions, whether that be through less taxation, minimal gun regulation, or prohibition of mask or vaccine mandates. Anti-abortion/Pro-life sentiment is a contradictory, hypocritical issue that conservative America has mobilized around as a central principle, but as many have noticed, this completely undermines principles of individual rights and agency for US citizens. I can even go further to speculate that this hypocrisy is due to a shared (conscious or unconscious) notion of women as second-class citizens who's individual medical rights simply "don't count" as part of a democratic, less regulatory government. Unfortunately, this is not news, as the partisan lines of American politics have failed to recognize women and people of color as entitled to the same democratic rights as the white males present and represented at the founding.
Ok, but why is this relevant to the decision to allow for Texas to pass SB 8? First, it's important to outline the facts of this legislation. According to Vox, this legislation was passed due to a "highly unusual enforcement mechanism" which includes employing citizens as agents of enforcement against abortion clinics and doctors performing such procedures. This is because the current standing of Roe v. Wade bans government officials or official state-sponsored enforcement bodies to prosecute on the issue of abortion. This furthers another problem of "policing" which is increasingly threatening to our democracy. Because of citizens' legislative entitlement to possess deadly weapons, employing them as an enforcement body for the law moves the country toward a chaotic and potentially anarchist way of living where the enforcement body contains the same people who have been represented in government all along and continues to put underrepresented groups in danger. If the power of these citizens is not "checked" under law, it perpetuates the existing power imbalance, and this law encourages policing, with bounty rewards ranging from $10,000 to $18 million depending on the particular judge's stance on abortion.
While there are opportunities for reversal or loopholes around this legislation, the threats of mass litigation against clinics serves it's main purpose: many clinics are being forced to close or refuse such procedures. Even with a fight, SB 8's success in the Supreme Court has already inspired and allowed for similar movements to become effective in others states such as Florida, Idaho, and Louisiana. Also, the use of citizens as agents of enforcement is certainly a trend that we can expect to see for unconstitutional conservative legislation in the future. We should remain aware of Roe v. Wade updates in the coming months and continue to be attentive to the threat of violent police presence of other citizens who believe in similar, oppressive legislation.
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