College Voices
How Roe v. Wade Protects LGBTQ Rights
Roe v. Wade is a controversial and divisive landmark decision made by the Supreme Court. At the peak of the feminist movement, Roe v. Wade exemplified the struggle for women’s rights.
Justice Blackmun declared that the court understands “the sensitive and emotional nature of the abortion controversy” and that “one’s philosophy, one’s experiences, one’s exposure to the raw edges of human existence… are all likely to influence and to color one’s thinking and conclusions about abortion.”
Protected under the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment, abortion became legal and accessible for women all over the United States. Yet, Roe v. Wade is much more than abortion.
The deep cultural divide induced by Roe v. Wade reflects on the same issue—abortion. When society simply focuses an abortion as the fundamental issue protected by Roe v. Wade, there is carelessness about how the landmark case protects most of our intrinsic rights.
For the LGBTQ community, Roe v. Wade opened the door for gay liberation. The ACLU launched their National Gay Task Force and Sexual Privacy Project.
The ACLU argued that under Roe v. Wade, the right to choose not only protected abortion but also sexuality. Furthermore, the ACLU used the privacy rights emphasized in Roe v. Wade to protect the LGBTQ community.
Despite some claiming that social acceptance of the gay community is growing, there are still many primitive issues that are being dismissed and ignored.
With discrimination and hate crimes being on the rise, conversion therapy still existing, and a lack of acceptance for many in the LGBTQ community, progressive judicial activism is essential.
These issues need to be addressed. States attempt to withhold on the progress for lgbtq rights, which is why the Supreme Court is important for continued progress. Without a unified federal law, lgbtq rights will continue to wither away.
Under Roe v. Wade, gay liberation can continue. The privacy rights protected under this case progressed the discourse involving self-determination and freedom from the government to provide moral interference.
Sodomy laws (which are clearly anti-LGBTQ) were deemed unconstitutional because of Roe v. Wade. Protected under the same Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment, “deviant sexual intercourse” was protected by rights to privacy.
Gay consensual sex is no longer criminalized. Yet, a dystopian future where gay sex is once again criminalized could become a reality if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Roe v. Wade is not only imperative for women’s liberation but also for gay liberation. Both women and the gay community are held down by the heteronormative patriarchy.
This case, with its long and hostile history, modernized America. It recognized women and the LGBTQ community as people with rights, autonomy, and as deserving to live their lives without unsolicited government or public scrutiny.
Roe v. Wade is the case the LGBTQ community needs to protect their ability to continue to live their true selves.