Texas may lead post-Roe debate over contraception, gay rights

After the U.S. Supreme Court revoked federal abortion access, advocates and political strategists are preparing for renewed debate on other federal rights, including contraception and same-sex marriage. And Texas could play a central role in new cases challenging those rights, experts say. The Supreme Court’s June 24 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the federal abortion access that had been granted under the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, and gave decision-making power back to the states. The ruling may have also opened the gates for other federally protected rights to be challenged.

In his concurring but solo opinion in the Dobbs case, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas specifically raised the potential for reconsidering federal rights to contraception and same-sex marriage. Political science professors told the Star-Telegram that the Dobbs ruling also has implications for other women’s rights issues and for interstate commerce regulations. “To have a 50-year precedent overturned, it’s reasonable to be concerned that other precedents could be overturned as well,” said Joanne Connor Green, a political science professor at TCU. “How likely that is to happen, we just don’t know.” Texas is one of a number of states that were already curtailing abortion access on the state level, even before the Dobbs decision. Under the conservative leadership of Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott, the political climate in the Lone Star State is ripe for more boundary-pushing. “When we think about legislation, we often think about state legislatures. But one thing that’s quite common is attorneys general making meaningful policy changes through their position,” said Kayla Canelo, a political science professor at UT Arlington. “And I would not be surprised if that’s something that happens going forward.”