Justice Alito Should Use COVID Mandate Case to Expose Liberal Hypocrisy on Bodily Autonomy
Source: Scott J. Street. "Covid Case Lets Alito Prove Leftist Hypocrisy On Bodily Autonomy." May 7, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that Justice Alito should take a case about COVID vaccine mandates to show that liberals are hypocrites. He claims they supported bodily autonomy when defending abortion rights but abandon it when people don't want COVID shots, proving they only care about rights when it fits their politics.
Conclusion
Justice Alito should use the Carvalho case to demonstrate that liberals hypocritically support bodily autonomy only when it aligns with their political agenda (abortion) but not when it conflicts with it (COVID vaccine mandates)
Premises
- The Carvalho case involves school employees who objected to COVID-19 vaccine mandates based on substantive due process rights to bodily autonomy
- Liberals strongly defended bodily autonomy and privacy rights when criticizing the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade
- The same liberals who championed bodily autonomy in abortion cases do not support it for those objecting to COVID vaccine mandates
- Constitutional precedents like Cruzan and Sell establish that competent persons have liberty interests in refusing unwanted medical treatment
- Alito's reasoning in Dobbs was legally sound and grounded in historical analysis rather than politics
- The COVID shots were experimental treatments that did not prevent infection or transmission, making mandates constitutionally questionable
- Taking the Carvalho case would allow Alito to prove that Dobbs was based on consistent legal principles, not political bias
Assumptions
- Bodily autonomy principles should be applied consistently regardless of political preferences
- COVID-19 vaccines should be classified as medical treatments rather than traditional vaccines
- Liberal opposition to vaccine mandate challenges proves their hypocrisy
- The Supreme Court should prioritize legal consistency over political considerations
- Alito's judicial philosophy represents principled constitutional interpretation