“The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such
right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,”
- Justice Samuel Alito
The word
abortion is truly not mentioned or referenced in the United States
Constitution, but don’t take my word for it, read the document yourself. This
is a good quick link here: https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/. The word abortion originates from
the latin words aboriri and aborto. Aboriri means to
miscarry in English. Aborto in English is to abort. Miscarry is to have
a miscarriage, which is not a premeditated act. Abortion is a deliberate
termination of a human pregnancy. I simply wanted to explain this, but this
post is still about the Constitution.
The United
States Constitution basically establishes the structure to the United States in
writing (a legal formation). There are seven articles in the Constitution, and
without them there is no such thing as the United States, as we know it or have
known it. There are 27 amendments in the Constitution which establish the
rights of the citizens of the United States. For example: the 14th Amendment
reads as follows in section 1:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of
the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;
nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property. . .
(constitution.congress.gov).
The
foregoing is extremely important. Imagine if one did not have the foregoing
Constitutional right? Things could be chaotic! Of course, these Amendments have
been added to the Constitution over time. The Constitution itself provides for
the process, thus making it possible. How is it done?
The Constitution of the United States provides two methods
for making amendments. Only one has ever been used. The United States Congress
can pass a bill setting out a proposed amendment by a vote of two thirds in
each body. Or a constitutional convention can be convened by a vote of two
thirds of the state legislatures, which will propose one or more amendments.
This has never happened and its unclear exactly how such a constitutional
convention would operate. In either case, the amendments to the U.S.
Constitution only become effective after being ratified by 3/4 of the states (www.u-s-history.com).
The process
for amending and ratifying is indeed Constitutional. Interestingly, however,
the word abortion is not in any of the 27 Amendments. Could the word abortion
ever appear in the Constitution? Well, it could appear in a possible 28th
Amendment, or any other henceforth, or if the method for creating them which I
previously mentioned is followed. If one reads the Constitution, one should
understand that the Judicial Branch (Supreme Court) interprets the meaning of
the laws, but they do not make the laws.
I hope you
enjoyed reading this. Blessings!
References:
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/
https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h926.html
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