The bait and the switch

Among many possible candidates, Alito’s quick dismissal of the idea that women had a material reliance interest in the maintenance of access to legal abortion is perhaps the least persuasive argument made by the Dobbs majority opinion:

That form of reliance depends on an empirical question that is hard for anyone—and in particular, for a court—to assess, namely, the effect of the abortion right on society and in particular on the lives of women.

The idea that it’s impossible to evaluate whether women have a concrete material interest in reproductive autonomy is absurd:

“Rely on my charity” means “become subject to my whims and my control.”— Moira Donegan (@MoiraDonegan) August 6, 2022

This argument is even more ridiculous coming from chambers that asserted that people have a major liberty interest in having an incentive to carry medical insurance structured as a “tax” rather than a “penalty.”

Although, as Amy Coney Barrett suggested (and Alito reiterated), you can just drop your newborn off at the Greyhound station, so no harm no foul (if we ignore the preceding nine months!):

Before birth, you have rights that supersede the rights of anyone around you.
Immediately after birth, you are an overdue rented video cassette. https://t.co/aWlwHagjK5— Seth Masket (@smotus) August 6, 2022