This Friday the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established the U.S. constitutional right to abortion. And it looks as if almost half of the states are expected to outlaw or severely restrict abortion due to the laws that were deliberately put in place for this occasion. Still as difficult as this ruling may be, even worse may be on its way.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has also called for the future overturning of other constitutional rights, including access to contraceptives and LGBTQ rights. Thomas wrote, “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.” In Griswold v. Connecticut, the court ruled in 1965 that married couples have a right to access contraceptives. In 2003, the court said in Lawrence v. Texas that states could not outlaw consensual gay sex. And the court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Justice Samuel Alito offered assurances that “Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.” The three liberal justices, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, disagree. They believe that the willingness of the court’s majority to overturn this decades-old decision leaves other precedents vulnerable. They assert “And no one should be confident that this majority is done with its work.” Their reasoning goes “… most obviously, the right to terminate a pregnancy arose straight out of the right to purchase and use contraception. In turn, those rights led, more recently, to rights of same-sex intimacy and marriage. They are all part of the same constitutional fabric, protecting autonomous decision making over the most personal of life decisions.”

If this presentation seems way too legal for you, the situation can be examined by the standard of Who Is Harmed by the repeal of Roe v: Wade. First of all, no consideration is being taken for victims of rape or incest. It is not clear how dangers related to maternal health are to be handled. And it provides no options for women who have no means to travel and obtain legal abortions. Who Benefits? This ruling satisfies the promises that the Republican party has made to its voting base and maintains the dream of reinstating the social inequalities of the past.

Where do we go from here? An overwhelming segment of the population does not approve of the direction in which things are headed. We must exercise our freedoms by staying informed, protesting peacefully and voting in elections. There is also something that each of us can do. It comes from open hearts and clear minds. For instance, last January two extraordinary women addressed the intersecting issues of reproductive freedom and racism at the 21st Reverend Martin L. King Jr. in Social Justice online conference. Alexis McGill Johnson and Dorothy E. Roberts were anticipating the Roe v. Wade reversal. In their interview they presented aspects of the ugly political reality in which we live and the necessity of social justice.

So what is social justice? It is fairness under the law in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. The four interrelated principles of social justice are equity, access, participation and rights. As our freedoms continue to be eroded by political expediency, we find ourselves more concerned with preserving these basic rights.

#58 THU CAP 1/1/1970 Alexis McGill Johnson	#60 THU PIS 3/8/1956 Dorothy E. Roberts

Alexis McGill Johnson was born on a Thursday in the zodiac sign of Capricorn. Jupiter is the ruler of her INNER Self and Saturn governs her OUTER Self. Individuals with the #58 THU CAP Dayology Signature are good administrators and managers due to the balance of Jupiter and Saturn energies in their personal natures. Jupiter is expansive and Saturn is contractive.

Johnson is the current president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Her background includes teaching political science and  African-American studies at Yale University. She has served as a member of the Planned Parenthood board since 2015. Check out her Wikipedia entry.

Dorothy E. Roberts was born on a Thursday in the zodiac sign of Pisces. Jupiter is the ruler of both her INNER and OUTER Selves. Those with the #60 THU PIS have a sympathetic nature and their self-expression is spiced with an imaginative sense of humor. These folks identify with people from every station of life and they do best by viewing things positively.

Roberts teaches law at the University of Pennsylvania. She also writes and lectures on gender, race, and class in legal issues. More of her life is presented on History Makers.

These two very educated women were born on Thursday and they exemplify the nature of Jupiter, the ruler of this day of the week. Both are very worldly and know what is going on. Each is doing her best to reinforce the good in society and reduce the injury to the weak. Johnson’s SUN is placed in the sign of Capricorn adding “steel” and “determination” to her character. Roberts has Jupiter ruling both her Day Ray and Sun Sign. Needless to say she is a Jupiter type inside and out. She teaches to extend the wisdom of social justice to upcoming generations.

Strong Females

They get the job done!