GOP SCOTUS justices gutting Roe v. Wade is only the beginning of the end for our sexual freedoms…

Photo by Manny Becerra on Unsplash.

For those of you complaining about all of the Row v. Wade chatter today, saying, "keep politics out of kink," just remember the following precedents:

• Obergefell v. Hodges, which held that all marriages (including same-sex marriages) are protected by the Constitution.

• Lawrence v. Texas, which held that all intimate sexual activity (including same-sex) is protected by the Constitution.

• Griswold v. Connecticut, which held that the right to access contraception is protected by the Constitution.

If the reasoning of the Row v. Wade draft becomes the majority opinion, then that GOP-led majority opinion is more than likely to trickle down to the above three precedents as well, as well as anything else that GOP justices don’t find "deeply rooted in this nation’s history and tradition."

Legislation like SESTA/FOSTA already gutted the rights of sex workers, and put their lives and livelihood in danger, by making consensual sex-work resources illegal. So it's not too far a leap to assume that GOP-led new or overturned legislation could eventually make its way down the pipeline to deem “perverse,” "obscene," or "immoral" sex acts — including BDSM — illegal (or at least no longer protected by the Constitution).

On July 7, 2020, Attleboro, Massachusetts police raided a BDSM dungeon party and arrested several doms/dommes for assault and battery of their submissives, despite the party goers’ actions having taken place between consenting adults. Almost twenty-two years later, every BDSM flea market and event I've attended in Massachusetts still has strict no-impact rules in place, and impact events have moved over state lines to New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

• Consent as a Defense to Assault Charges: A BDSM Case Study

I fully admit that both the Massachusetts legislation that blocks consent as a defense for impact play (intended to protect battered spouses), and SESTA/FOSTA which is intended to protect trafficking victims, are both bipartisan efforts. But the phrasing that only things "deeply rooted in this nation’s history and tradition" can be upheld by the constitution creates a threatening boilerplate for future conservative legislation.

The Daily Beast, which I fully admit is a left-leaning opinion and analysis source, has a pretty good writeup sounding the alarm:

• Gay Marriage Is Next Up on the SCOTUS Chopping Block — It’s not just abortion. The logic of this draft decision would also apply to the decisions protecting same-sex marriage, contraception, and more.

The Boston Globe has also published a left-leaning opinion piece:

• The new Supreme Court’s iron fist — If the right of a woman to decide whether to have a baby won’t qualify as a guaranteed right, then neither will most of the rights you have long assumed are yours.

And The Guardian has chimed in as well:

• Contraception could come under fire next if Roe v Wade is overturned — A reckoning with what the 14th amendment enshrines could affect consensual sex and even marriage rights

To move a little closer to unbiased fact reporting, rather than opinion and analysis, Insider has another writeup:

• Justice Alito's reasoning for overturning Roe v. Wade could lead to 'Handmaid's Tale'-style anti-feminist laws nationwide, says Rep. Jamie Raskin

So get out and vote like your lives depend on it. Because, if reproductive health freedoms are taken away, your life very well may.

Note: Research your citations and sources. Use resources like the The Media Bias Chart by Ad Fontes Media to check publishers for media bias, reliability, and fact reporting vs. opinion and analysis.