(New York) A devout Catholic and Republican candidate for the Arizona senatorial election, Blake Masters swears on the heads of his three children that he is not opposed to contraception, and even less to the use of condoms.
Posted at 8:15 p.m.
After the publication of an article attributing this position to him, this protege of tech billionaire Peter Thiel still admits to being in favor of the cancellation of the Griswold v. Connecticut. In 1965, this famous decision of the Supreme Court legalized the use of means of contraception, including the condom.
PHOTO FROM BLAKE MASTERS FACEBOOK PAGE
Blake Masters, Republican candidate for the Arizona Senate election
In the Griswold case, the judges basically “invented a constitutional right” to achieve a political result. I am opposed to judges making the law. It is the job of the legislature to create laws, not courts.
Blake Masters, in a tweet, last weekend
The constitutional right to which the Republican candidate was referring is the one that protects privacy. It is the same law that contributed to Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion in 1973. And it’s the same concept that Judge Samuel Alito denigrated in the draft of a ruling stripping women of their constitutional right to abortion.
Whether or not he is in favor of contraception, Blake Masters is far from the only conservative who wants the repeal of Griswold v. Connecticut. Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee recently called the ruling “unconstitutional,” a view shared by several of her colleagues.
Abortion redefined?
But condom users need not worry, right? Republicans won’t attack that good old method of contraception, will they?
“It’s too much to say,” replies Mary Ziegler, a law professor at Florida State University and a specialist in the history of reproductive rights. “If that happened, it would most likely be through redefinitions of abortion. »
The religious right is already engaged in this effort. Anticipating the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the organization Heartbeat International recently devoted part of its annual conference to a discussion on “expanding the definition of abortion itself to include contraception,” according to a report from the magazine. mother jones.
“Some have accepted barrier contraceptive methods such as condoms […]. But others seemed to oppose this idea – they considered anything that prevented sperm and egg from meeting to be unchristian,” the magazine wrote.
Wendy Parmet, a law professor at Northeastern University, said she was unable to immediately reject a scenario where the use of a means of contraception such as a condom would be prohibited in certain conservative states.
“Will there be states that will go so far as to say, ‘We’re going to ban condoms and go back to the 1950s’?” You know, nothing surprises me anymore,” said the professor, who is also director of the Center for Health Policy and Law at Northeastern University.
I think it’s more likely that we’ll see efforts to quit [la pilule du lendemain]the IUD and possibly other oral contraceptives.
Wendy Parmet, director of the Center for Health Policy and Law at Northeastern University
At least three states – Louisiana, Missouri and Idaho – are considering bills these days that could lead to new restrictions on contraception.
A person “from fertilization”
The Louisiana text, which reached a preliminary stage last week, would be the toughest in the United States after an eventual reversal of Roe v. Wade. In particular, it would allow the indictment for homicide of a woman who has an abortion – and not only of the doctor who performs the abortion or of those who facilitate this act.
Experts say the bill could also restrict in vitro fertilization and emergency contraception, as it would grant constitutional rights to a person “from the moment of fertilization.”
So while states may not declare war on contraception next year, conservative lawmakers may well incorporate contraceptives into their abortion bans.
Mary Ziegler, professor of law at Florida State University
The Republican Governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, did not want to reveal his intentions on this subject during interviews granted Sunday to national television networks.
PHOTO ROGELIO V. SOLIS, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Tate Reeves, Republican Governor of Mississippi
“You believe that life begins at the moment of conception. If there is a bill to ban contraception, will you sign it? “asked the host of the show Meet the PressChuck Todd.
“I don’t think that will happen in Mississippi,” responded the state governor whose law banning abortion after 15 weeks may have paved the way for the overthrow of Roe v. Wade.
His word is probably worth as much as that of Blake Masters, the Republican candidate for the senatorial election of Arizona.