It seems too perfectly poignant that Coretta Scott King should die the same day that Judge Samuel A. Alito is confirmed to the Supreme Court by a vote of 58-42. In Coretta Scott King’s death, we see the end of an era of moving towards increased freedom and civil liberties, and now, with Alito on the bench, I’m sure we’ll be seeing the start of a new era determined to limit personal freedoms and civil liberties, especially in the realm of women’s reproductive choices. I’m not sure if the Court will actually overturn Roe v. Wade, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they made rulings that give individual states a lot more freedom in terms of restricting abortion, or put other restrictions in place that substantially hamper and hog-tie Roe.
I’m sure there’s a bright side to all of this somewhere, but today, it’s pouring rain (literally and figuratively), and I don’t have the heart or the energy to find it right now. Things are going to change—they’re already changing, and have been changing for quite some time. I guess all we can do is vow to continue to fight for what we believe in, and then DO EXACTLY THAT. To quote Senator Barack Obama of Illinois: “There’s one way to guarantee that the judges who are appointed to the Supreme Court are judges that reflect our values. And that’s to win elections.” November, 2006.
