3 ms·

When the constitution was written, some states allowed abortion and some banned it. It makes sense therefore that there was no non-enumerated right to abortion

When the constitution was written, some states allowed abortion and some banned it. It makes sense therefore that there was no non-enumerated right to abortion, and states did have the right to ban it. The 1973 decision was most definitively legislating from behind the bench. It will probably only be banned after both the right and the left get burned by this type of legislating enough times.

defrost 3y ago
Which US state(s) that ratified the US Consitution in 1790 made abortion (particularly pre quickening (~24 weeks)) illegal? Most sources I can find suggest none. Eg: Abortion has existed in North America since the European colonization of the Americas, was a fairly common practice, and was not always illegal or controversial. Until the 19th century, abortion was legal under common law, and only after quickening it was not allowed. and Though it is considered taboo in Christian traditions, until the mid-19th century, “the Catholic Church implicitly accepted early abortions prior to ensoulment,” she explained. “Not until 1869, at about the same time that abortion became politicized in this country, did the church condemn abortion; in 1895, it condemned therapeutic abortion,” meaning procedures to save a woman’s life. and Legal scholar Sheldon Gelman has argued that the U.S. Constitution (1789) imported the tenets of the English Magna Carta (1215), which includes the basis of the right to bodily integrity including abortion. Connecticut was the first state to regulate abortion in 1821; it outlawed abortion after quickening and forbade the use of poisons to induce one post-quickening. etc.
nunuvit 3y ago
I don't want to debate this particular decision, but I do want to point out that you're taking some dubious legal concepts for granted. There are opposing legal philosophies on how to interpret amendments 9 and 10, which say that people have rights and the government has powers. The question is always how to resolve when the two are in conflict. Current SCOTUS majority holds an extremist view that when government exercises an unenumerated power, it essentially cancels the existence of an unenumerated right. That's why they look for historical laws that support their desired outcomes. Until recently, this was a fringe idea because it means the state governments get dibs on your unenumerated rights. You're entitled to your opinion on this approach, but don't expect everyone to take that reasoning seriously.

defrost 3y ago

Which US state(s) that ratified the US Consitution in 1790 made abortion (particularly pre quickening (~24 weeks)) illegal? Most sources I can find suggest none. Eg: Abortion has existed in North America since the European colonization of the Americas, was a fairly common practice, and was not always illegal or controversial. Until the 19th century, abortion was legal under common law, and only after quickening it was not allowed. and Though it is considered taboo in Christian traditions, until the mid-19th century, “the Catholic Church implicitly accepted early abortions prior to ensoulment,” she explained. “Not until 1869, at about the same time that abortion became politicized in this country, did the church condemn abortion; in 1895, it condemned therapeutic abortion,” meaning procedures to save a woman’s life. and Legal scholar Sheldon Gelman has argued that the U.S. Constitution (1789) imported the tenets of the English Magna Carta (1215), which includes the basis of the right to bodily integrity including abortion. Connecticut was the first state to regulate abortion in 1821; it outlawed abortion after quickening and forbade the use of poisons to induce one post-quickening. etc.

nunuvit 3y ago

I don't want to debate this particular decision, but I do want to point out that you're taking some dubious legal concepts for granted. There are opposing legal philosophies on how to interpret amendments 9 and 10, which say that people have rights and the government has powers. The question is always how to resolve when the two are in conflict. Current SCOTUS majority holds an extremist view that when government exercises an unenumerated power, it essentially cancels the existence of an unenumerated right. That's why they look for historical laws that support their desired outcomes. Until recently, this was a fringe idea because it means the state governments get dibs on your unenumerated rights. You're entitled to your opinion on this approach, but don't expect everyone to take that reasoning seriously.