Dr. Sara Warner
An initial draft of a majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito and circulated within the court was obtained and published by Politico. An article in Politico explained that if the draft becomes final, the ruling would strike down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights and a subsequent 1992 decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which maintained that right in large part.
Dr. Sara Warner, director of LGBT Studies at Cornell University and associate professor of performing and media arts, says the leaked opinion “whether it is enacted or modified will fuel the war already underway in this country against LGBTQ+ citizens, and in particular trans people of color.”
Warner says she is particularly concerned about the trans community of color because of recently passed and proposed laws. “More than 20 anti-trans bills have become law in the past three years, and in the first few months of 2022, over 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced into state legislatures, with more on the horizon,” Warner tells Diverse.
Several colleges and universities issued statements from faculty members denouncing the implications of the draft and expressing concerns about its impact on LGBTQ+ rights.
One of Warner’s colleagues at Cornell, Dr. Katherine Sender, a professor of communication and feminist, gender, and sexuality studies, says in a statement posted on the university’s website in May, “I see a direct link between the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade and the risk of pushback on LGBTQ civil rights. We are already seeing parallel conservatism with Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. But the Roe v. Wade issue is a little different because it puts in question the right to privacy that also underlies the overturning of anti-sodomy laws, and thus marriage equality.”
Sender adds that she views the leaked opinion as the latest step in a long-term strategy.
