The 49-Page Supreme Court Hobby Lobby Ruling Mentioned Women Just 13 Times
The difference between the majority opinion of five of the court’s men and the dissent of its three women (plus Justice Stephen Breyer) is instructive. The majority opinion is largely about the rights of corporations, employers and those with religious beliefs; the dissent is very much about women — about their health, the sums they spend to access care and the costs they pay when none is available.
The 49-page majority opinion mentions “women” or “woman” a mere 13 times (I’ve excluded footnotes and URLs here). It does not mention women’s well-being once.
Ginsburg’s dissent, at 35 pages, mentions women (singular or plural) 43 times, their well-being four times.
An opinion on this case, in short, looks very different when it’s written by a woman. Of course, all three of the court’s sitting female justices were appointed by Democratic presidents, and so their gender is not the only thing that unites them. But what’s so compelling about Ginsburg’s dissent is not merely the legal interpretations she reaches, but the facts she brings on board to get there.
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