Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy Is Officially Retiring. So Why Is Everyone Tweeting About IUDs?

With a simple press release, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, 81, has officially announced he will be retiring. In the release, he said, “It has been the greatest honor and privilege to serve our nation in the federal judiciary for 43 years, 30 of those years on the Supreme Court.”

So, why exactly are people on your Twitter feed freaking out? Kennedy has gained significant power over the years, as he has regularly been a swing vote on decisions such as legalizing same-sex marriage and keeping Roe v. Wade. He’s been the one responsible for those 5-4 votes, and now with him gone—and potentially a right-wing, anti-choice justice taking his place—people are worried about those very decisions.

As Vox reports, a Court without Kennedy is more likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, which would allow states to ban most, or all, abortions. The Court would also be more likely to “reject challenges to capital punishment and solitary confinement” and “bar government actors from engaging in explicit race-based affirmative action.”

The news has led many to tweet about the need to go run and get an IUD as soon as possible, in order to have reliable birth control if abortions were to, in the coming years, be ruled illegal in certain states. Already, states have been slowly chipping away at abortion rights, and for anti-abortion activists, this open seat is a crucial moment.

But it’s also essential to note that while the overturning of Roe v. Wade would affect millions of people across the country, it would especially affect those who are poor or living in rural communities with already limited access to birth control and abortion clinics. There are already six states with a single abortion provider, causing people to have to travel miles just to receive care.

In a statement provided to ELLE.com, Dawn Laguens, Executive Vice President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said, “The significance of today’s news cannot be overstated: The right to access abortion in this country is on the line. For more than 40 years, access to safe and legal abortion has been the law of the land and the right to control your body is an essential American liberty. With this vacancy, Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell hold the balance of the court in their hands—and with it, the legal right to access abortion in this country.”