Does the U.S. Constitution grant Americans a right to life?
No.
But on June 24, 2022, the world learned that five United State Supreme Court justices have fundamentally altered a woman’s right to make decisions about her body, including making her own healthcare decisions.
The Supreme Court has effectively relegated American women to second-class citizens.
Guns now have more rights than women.
A so-called “right to life” is not granted by the U.S. Constitution.
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A Miner Detail‘s editors aren’t attorneys (though someday, perhaps), and they haven’t memorized every word of the U.S. Constitution.
But lucky for people without eidetic memories, such documents are readily available online.
(A Miner Detail is a Maryland politics blog.)
The Right to Life In The U.S. Constitution Doesn’t Exist
Most national Republicans believe they understand the Constituion better than the average American.
Republicans don’t understand the Constitution any better than anybody else.
Maryland’s 2016 6th Congressional District Republican Debate
It was during a 2016 6th District Republican primary debate that congressional candidate Chris Mason claimed:
“The Constitution says that we have the right to life…the right to life…. it says life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“That’s exactly what it says in the preamble to the Constitution,” Mason said.
You can watch the debate by clicking the link below.
To Mason’s right, Attorney Robin Ficker is the only attorney among the Republican congressional candidates.
Ficker nods in visible agreement with Mason’s right to life comments in the video.
Lawyers.
Does the U.S. Constitution Grant Americans A Right To Life?
Again, the U.S. Constitution does not grant Americans the right to life.
The U.S. Constitution never even mentions the “right to life.”
The word “Life” is found but only once in the U.S. Consitution.
Where?
Article III, Section 3, Clause 2:
“The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.”
A Miner Detail is confident that candidate Mason was not referencing Congress’ reserved right to sanction Americans to death if found guilty of treason.
The Preamble And The Right To Life
Shifting directions, let’s talk about the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution.
Here’s the exact text of the Constitution’s Preamble:
“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The Declaration of Independence
Candidate Mason may have misspoken.
Mason may have meant to reference the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.
Here’s a snippet of the Declaration of Independence’s preamble:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Now, onto another “right to life” question.
Is the Declaration of Independence a legally binding document?
The Heritage Foundation answered this question.
“The first of the four organic laws of the United States, the Declaration may lack legal force but remains nonetheless the source of all legitimate political authority.”
If the Declaration of Independence was legally enforceable, why were some men treated unequally a hundred years later and beyond?
The Declaration of Independence, famously written by Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, is a position paper that cannot be used for legal precedent.
In summary, the right to life does NOT exist in the U.S. Constitution.
Tell that to the five U.S. Supreme Court justices ready to strike down Roe V. Wade.
A Miner Detail is a Maryland politics blog featuring Maryland political news, political commentary, and opinion.
Hmm. You must not have ever read the 5th and 14th amendments
What about this from the 14th amendment. While it was not part of our original constitution, doesn’t it now apply? ” 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, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
The right to abortion is also NOT in the constitution, tell that to all the liberals infesting congress.
Indeed, the 5th and 14th Amendments do mention the word ‘life’.
But neither of these guarantees a “right to life”. The 14th Amendment does say that a State cannot deprive any person of life (and other things) WITHOUT DUE PROCESS OF LAW. But that is not a guarantee of a “right to life”. The 5th Amendment has basically similar language.
You all are trying to take when rights away,We as women should maintain the legal rights to make decisions about our own body.You are taking that right away just to accommodate another woman/women who cannot conceive.That is not fair to our body nor mental state.Who gives you the Right to make that choice about another individual body!!
How dare they take Our rights to make decisions about our own bodies..
Partial birth abortion is certainly a violation of the 14th ammendment. It’s infanticide.
The abortion debate is about two things:
1. When the right to life begins.
2. States rights.
All other arguments are staw man arguments.
Whether it begins at conception, quickening, or at birth is entirely up to the states. The constitution doesn’t give the central government the power to impose abortion laws upon communities, and this reversal is only moving that power back to the states.
Furthermore, the socialists have a very difficult time accepting individual responsibility. This is apparent across their philosophical views, including banning people from making certain investments (warren and bitcoin), and controlling their risks in other ways such as force vaccination.
If you get knocked up, and then in the eight month of pregnancy decide to get an abortion, after realizing that xyz guy isn’t that interested in a long term committment, then that is your problem, not the fetus’s problem.
If you are unable to control your lust before engaging in a serious relationship, then I recommmend a condom! If you cannot get an abortion within three months, which is the law in Texas, and indidentally most of socialist Europe, then you are mentally sick person. It’s not something to be proud of.
So where is the right to privacy in the constitution that serves as the basis for Roe?
The 14th amendment states
“…nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, WITHOUT DUE PROCESS OF LAW;”
So what is the due process of law that allows a woman to deny life to the baby in her womb? “My body, my choice” is not due process of law. According to science a human embryo, created when sperm and egg join is a human life.
The 14th amendment states
“…nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, WITHOUT DUE PROCESS OF LAW;”
So what is the due process of law that allows a woman to deny life to the baby in her womb? “My body, my choice” is not due process of law. According to science a human embryo, created when sperm and egg join is a human life.
5th Amendment:
“No person shall…be deprived of life…without due process of law…”
Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness is there in the preamble. One of the most profound and succinct statements anywhere. In-fact most of the world agrees on life and pursuit of happiness.
Most of the world believes that you have a right to live. And this right is self evident, so it does not matter what the amendments say.
This article was written as a response to abortion-control bill.
However supporters of abortion-control bills should also think about gun-control bills, and how access to guns deprives unrelated / random people their self evident right to life.
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Of the US Constitution guarantees a right to life. This article is ridiculous.
The Paramount Amendment
294. The paramount right to life is vested in each human being from the moment of fertilization without regard to age, health, or condition of dependency.
So you tell me what happens to those that are raped that includes young and I mean young children they should be forced to carry a baby. Now let’s look at tubal pregnancy or those women that find out they have cancer their lives should be on the line. Let’s take this a step further a woman finds out 4 months into her pregnancy that she is pregnant remind you she had her period the whole time, & her husband abused her so badly she and fetus or in hospital and fetus is pronounced dead. Who is at fault. See this view that only women who didn’t want the fetus had an abortion is backwards some of us at no fault of our own had to have one. No we don’t want to explain it to police or anyone else why. Rape is the most unreported crime because of shame that goes with it. Men & women label us slut & dig through our past while he gets to sit there listening to our life and having us relive the store of he did to us. So no most of us choose not to do so. So not don’t be so narrow minded when acting like a reporter on facts that you truly may know little to knowing about.
So you tell me what happens to those that are raped that includes young and I mean young children they should be forced to carry a baby. Now let’s look at tubal pregnancy or those women that find out they have cancer their lives should be on the line. Let’s take this a step further a woman finds out 4 months into her pregnancy that she is pregnant remind you she had her period the whole time, & her husband abused her so badly she and fetus or in hospital and fetus is pronounced dead. Who is at fault. See this view that only women who didn’t want the fetus had an abortion is backwards some of us at no fault of our own had to have one. No we don’t want to explain it to police or anyone else why. Rape is the most unreported crime because of shame that goes with it. Men & women label us slut & dig through our past while he gets to sit there listening to our life and having us relive the store of he did to us. So no most of us choose not to do so. So not don’t be so narrow minded when acting like a reporter on facts that you truly may know little to knowing about. …..
I do not understand why all the Triggered Libby’s, are Shrieking about MY body, MY choice? Once you decide to Have Sexual Relations, You should of already been prepared BEFOREHAND with Birth Control if a baby wasn’t in your plan for your future!! Have some self respect, self Control, & Self responsibility! Once you have a separate heart beat, That is a different Soul. For every Action, there is a reaction!! Adoption or Keep the child.
this helped me prove that i have the right to kill someone when they break into my home because they forfeit a right, that you claim does not even exist.
What I did not see is that the Declaration of Independence and the Consitution need to be considered together. Without the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution would not exist. The history of the Constitution also needs to be included as there is a reason why the 1st and 2nd Amendments were written as they are and why they are 1 and 2. They could have easily been reversed but weren’t.
The 1st 10 Amendments are restrictions on the Federal Government without exception by the People, the rest are restrictions on the States by the Federal Government.
If life doesn’t matter then why all the laws to protect human life. Why did the people fight for Independence if life doesn’t matter why do we care about slavery if life doesn’t matter why do we even go on living if life doesn’t matter. That’s because it does matter it has always mattered that’s why we have strife in the world if that wasn’t the case then why did we care that Hitler was killing thousands of people or trying to taking over the world. There again because life matters. If that wasn’t the case then why would we care about a drunk driver or a careless driver or reckless driver. Because life matters. There for when a person is careless or reckless they can be held accountable because the persons life they are affecting matters therefore if a woman is careless in getting pregnant other than rape and she seeks to abort a life she should be held accountable. The taking of a life is against the law even if it was careless or negligent that’s because life matters.
Tina Whittenburg: Science has proven that a new organism begins at conception. You seem to be conveniently forgetting the rights of that new organism: the unborn child. So if that child is female, are you trying to suggest she as a women has no rights over her own body but must defer to the so called “rights” of the mother to the point of death?
You have no clue how are country works. The free, independent & sovereign states hold all the power and rights, except for the few & defined powers that the states delegated to the central government. Abortion, Healthcare reproductive rights are not among them. What the Supreme Court stated was just that. It is a state right.
If a pregnant woman is murdered and the fetus also dies, the perpetrator is charged with DOUBLE homicide. Why is a fetus considered a person under the law EXCEPT when the woman doesn’t want it?
Personally, as a woman, I believe that there are certain circumstances where aborting a fetus is warranted or justified. To protect the health and life of the mother, when the baby suffers from a debilitating disease or birth defect, and rape. However, the decision should be one that the woman and her primary doctor reach and should be grounded in medical necessity. Abortions should NEVER have been taken out of the hands of properly educated and licensed physicians. Planned Parenthood facilities are nothing more than infanticide factories and every woman in the US should be directing their anger at the real abomination that ultimately led to what they now perceive to be a deprivation of their “Rights”… Planned Parenthood.
When abortions are performed by qualified physicians, and for medically qualified reasons (or rape), the ability to use abortion as a form of birth control disappears.
Furthermore, just as doctors are held to account when they injure a patient and are charged with malpractic, doctors should also be held liable when they perform medically unnecessary abortions.