How long has Clarence Thomas been on the Supreme Court? Calls for impeachment rage online as Roe v Wade concurring opinion sparks backlash 

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas recently landed in hot waters after publishing a concurrent opinion about the Roe v Wade overturn, stating that the court should also reconsider the rulings that protect birth control, same-gender relationships, and same-gender marriage.

On June 24, the US Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade ruling and announced that "the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion," giving individual states the right to regulate abortion laws.

Shortly after, Justice Thomas issued a solo concurrent opinion that partly read:

“In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Because any substantive due process decision is ‘demonstrably erroneous,’... we have a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those precedents.”

The three cases mentioned in the concurrent opinion refer to past landmark rulings related to Griswold v. Connecticut, Lawrence v. Texas, and Obergefell v. Hodges. Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 saw the court rule that the US Constitution protects the right of married couples to purchase and use contraception without any restrictions from the government.

Meanwhile, the Lawrence v. Texas decision in 2003 declared the criminalization of sodomy unconstitutional and legalized same-gender relationships and activities across the country. Lastly, the Obergefell v. Hodges decision established the rights of same-gender marriage in the U.S.

Experts and legal authorities have long feared that overturning Roe v. Wade may also threaten the other three historic rulings. However, in Justice Samuel Alito's majority opinion, court officials repeatedly mentioned that the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would not bring a threat to other rulings:

“Our decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right. Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.”

In response, the liberal wing of the court claimed that the assurance was "unsatisfactory,", especially after Clarence Thomas' concurring opinion:

“The first problem with the majority’s account comes from [Thomas’] concurrence — which makes clear he is not with the program. At least one Justice is planning to use the ticket of today’s decision again and again and again.”

As of now, no other justice has joined Clarence Thomas' concurring opinion. Meanwhile, the opinion has led to several people demanding his impeachment from his position.

Thomas was first nominated to his role by President George H. W. Bush as a successor to Thurgood Marshall and has served as the Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for nearly 30 years since 1991.

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Netizens demand Clarence Thomas' impeachment from the U.S. Supreme Court

Social media users are calling for the impeachment of Clarence Thomas from the U.S. Supreme Court (Image via Getty Images)

The U.S. Supreme Court's historic decision to overturn Roe v. Wade came as a success to Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, who has long advocated for the anti-abortion decision.

As the longest-serving member of the court, Thomas is the only remaining individual present in court during the historic Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling in 1992. The court reaffirmed the "essential holding" in Roe v. Wade during the case.

At the time, Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, and David Souter wrote the opinion, and Justices Harry Blackmun and John Paul Stevens wrote their concurring opinions while joining the official opinion.

Meanwhile, Clarence Thomas joined the minority with Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Byron White to oppose the opinion. Over the years, he has continued to challenge the Roe v. Wade ruling in his writings as a justice.

As the U.S. Supreme Court finally overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling, Thomas started taking a dig at landmark rulings like birth control, same-gender relationships, and same-gender marriage.

In response, several people flocked to social media to call for the impeachment of Thomas from the Supreme Court:

A petition to consider the impeachment of Clarence Thomas surfaced online even before the controversy surrounding his Roe v. Wade concurring opinion.

The interest related to his impeachment gained traction after the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack reported that it came across several email exchanges between Thomas's wife, Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, and conservative lawyer John Eastman.

Eastman is reportedly considered to be the "architect" of the plan involving the attempt to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential elections. Following the revelation, the petition further pushed the idea of impeachment or the resignation of Clarence Thomas from the highest court in America.

As the demands surrounding Thomas' impeachment continue to make the rounds online, it remains to be seen if the Associate Justice will address the ongoing situation and controversy in the coming days.