The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that
any concept of liberty must include the right to
make intimate decisions about family, relationships,
bodily integrity, and autonomy. Abortion sits within
that set of essential rights—without it, liberty cannot
exist. Weakening the right to abortion would weaken
what liberty means for everyone.
The link between abortion rights and our
constitutional right to liberty complicates President
Trump’s pledge to nominate Supreme Court justices
who would overturn Roe v. Wade (1973), the
landmark decision recognizing a woman’s right to
safe and legal abortion. Before Roe, governments
were free to criminally ban or severely restrict
abortion access – and most states did. Roe
determined that the Constitution protects abortion
as a fundamental right, making abortion legal in
every state and dramatically increasing safe access
for women across the country. This report discusses rights other than abortion
that the Constitution’s liberty doctrine protects.
It begins by explaining the doctrinal underpinnings
of the right to liberty, showing how the Supreme
Court strengthened that doctrine in Roe and
subsequent abortion cases, including Planned
Parenthood v. Casey. It will explore how the opinions
and reasoning in Roe and Casey helped legitimize
and bolster rights that the Court had previously
recognized, but in weaker terms, hampered by
the absence of a robust liberty framework that the
abortion cases provided.
It then examines additional rights the Supreme
Court has recognized by building on Roe and Casey,
including some rights that are poised for additional
development.
Authors
- Published in
- United States of America
