No, there is nothing in the Constitution of the United States of America about abortion. There is not even the slightest reference to that subject in any way, in the document that guides everything we do in this country. Yes, that same Constitution does have a very specific part of it which relegates all matters not directly addressed, to the states which comprise that union: Article X: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it by the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. So, even though our current Supreme Court is being pilloried for their recent decision overturning Roe vs. Wade, they are quite correct in stating that this right does not exist in our constitution, and is therefore a matter for our states to decide. The current mélange of laws and regulations blossoming in our states, many of them quite contradictory, is exactly what our Constitution says should happen when there is controversy. If our legislators wish to pass a law which guarantees women the right to an abortion, within certain restrictions, they can do that; so far, they have not.
The argument that those State laws prohibiting abortion do interfere with the first Amendment, guaranteeing freedom of speech, however, do have validity. Every woman should have the freedom of expression to decide what happens to her own body, and what the course of her own life should be. That woman, however, has a dilemma on her hands. Her decision is not just about her life, what is best for her at this time, what future she sees for herself, with or without a child. Ii is also about the new life she carries inside her. Which is more important, her life or the life of her unborn? Is she unmarried? Does she throw away her plans to get an education, pursue a career, achieve her personal fulfillment, in order to have an unwanted child? Most women, in our current society, make the decision that their lives are more important than that of their unborn child, and want the freedom to have an abortion if that pregnancy conflicts significantly for what is best for them and their future.
Does that freedom of expression also give her the right to take away the life of an unborn child, beyond 24 weeks of gestation? Most of us cringe to think of the surgical murder of a viable infant. We are particularly troubled by that infanticide when we pause to consider how precious life is. True ethics asks that we hold all life as precious, in order to achieve the greatest chance of our survival as a species. Late term abortions go beyond the pale of what we can accept as reasonable behavior.
Pushing this deep respect for all life to say that no abortions should occur is also unreasonable. Some of our states have already passed laws which ban any abortions, at any stage of gestation, and for any reason, including rape and incest. These laws have been passed by religious conservative men, who believe that they have the right to tell women what to do with their bodies. That attitude also seems to be beyond the pale of rational thought. It’s not just about sustaining life: it’s about quality of life. None of us survive without the sacrifice of other life in order to keep our own lives going. To bring a child into the world who is unwanted, unloved, punished constantly, suppressed, never able to reach her or his own potential, is a societal crime. Our goal is to raise children who are loved, nurtured, educated, and strong enough to provide those advantages for their children. We do not achieve that goal by not allowing any abortions.
What we are left with, and what is most reasonable, is a solution that is a compromise, and will make no one who is a staunch woman’s rights advocate, or a religious conservative, happy. Allow abortions up to 20 weeks of gestation. If a woman has a valid reason for needing an abortion, up to the point of fetal viability, that procedure should not be questioned. Develop a flourishing adoption process so that babies born beyond 20 weeks gestation, who survive, and are not wanted by their mother or family, will find a loving home.
It is said that democracy is messy. So, also, is life. Although we must deeply respect all life, in order for our species to survive, our goal, as a society, is to provide lives that are full of loving, adventure and discovery. Unfortunately, that has to include abortion, in order to achieve those goals, both for women and their unborn infants. Both lives must be considered. Neither complete feasance to maternal needs, or to infant needs, will be ethical.