Clarence Thomas won’t be teaching GW law classes amid Roe fallout

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will not teach a constitutional law seminar at George Washington University this fall for the first time in more than a decade amid nationwide backlash over his approval of the Roe v. calf present.

“Justice Thomas has informed me that he will not be available to co-teach the seminary this fall,” co-lecturer Gregory Maggs wrote in an email to enrolled law students obtained by GW’s student newspaper, The Hatchet. “I know this is disappointing. I am very sorry.”

Since 2011, Maggs and Thomas have been conducting the seminar entitled “Leading Cases in Context”. On July 1, Thomas was still listed as a lecturer. according to a screenshot of the quote list displayed by The Post.

“Judge Thomas has advised GW Law that he will not be available to co-teach a constitutional law seminar this fall,” a university spokesman told The Post on Wednesday afternoon. “The students were immediately informed of Judge Thomas’ decision by his co-lecturer, who will also be offering the seminar this fall.”

Thomas’ apparent decision to step down comes after he was the target of criticism from Democrats and pro-choice activists after he and four other justices helped overthrow Roe v. Wade voted and placed the matter in the hands of the state legislature.

Thomas aroused particular anger over his consensus opinion, in which he suggested the court reconsider decisions granting federal protections and access to contraception to same-sex marriage.

On June 26, two days after the verdict was published, a petition was launched to have Thomas removed from his teaching post.

“With the Supreme Court’s recent decision stripping the right to bodily autonomy of those with wombs, and with its express intention to further strip the rights of queer people and deprive people of the ability to have safe sex without fear of pregnancy to practice, it is clear that the appointment of Clarence Thomas to George Washington University is totally unacceptable,” reads the petition, which has more than 11,000 signatures.

“Judge Thomas, while also considering his wife’s part in the January 2021 coup attempt, is actively making life unsafe for thousands of students on our campus (not to mention thousands on campuses across the country),” he continued.

The university stood by Thomas in their response to the petition.

“Debate is an integral part of our university’s academic and educational mission,” GW said in a statement from Politico, which noted that some faculty members at the university also sought Thomas’s dismissal.

“As we affirm our commitment to academic freedom, we affirm the right of all members of our communities to speak their minds,” the statement added.

The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Petitioners pushing for Thomas’ removal celebrated his removal from the list of instructors, saying “we did it.”

“Clarence Thomas will no longer teach at George Washington University Law School. Despite the outward appearance that Thomas was simply unavailable to teach the class this fall semester, we are the reason he is no longer teaching at our school,” they wrote.

“Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences,” wrote a GW alum on Change.org’s petitions page. “The removal is a consequence of his espousal of hatred, his contempt for equal protection and his callous disregard for precedent. He betrayed the trust of the country and the alumni community.”

“He has made his position clear – he sees women and members of the LGBTQ+ community as second-class citizens, if not less. GW cannot claim to side with these groups and continue to put money in their pockets for any reason,” added a new GW newcomer.