Originally posted on Quora December 2, 2020
Sources: Abortion Rights Across Europe Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg offers critique of Roe v Wade during Law School Visit State Laws on Fetal Homicide and Penalty Enhancement for crime against pregnant woman
The constitution is not specific on abortion but the fourteenth amendment, which was oddly used in the Roe decision, contains the clause “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 majority opinion in Roe (which consisted of 5 GOP nominees btw) bizarrely perverted this to mean an absolute right to privacy and outright banned all state level abortion restrictions up to 28 weeks of pregnancy rather than protect the unborn who in most states are considered persons in homicide cases. This was the most extreme decision on abortion at the time and still is compared to the rest of the world. For comparison, while most European countries allow abortion they usually ban it well before 24 or 28 weeks such as Germany (12 weeks which is the same as the heartbeat bills) and even uber-liberal Sweden (18 weeks) or 90 days in the case of Italy. 15 European countries that allow it require a waiting period and counselling beforehand. While 28 weeks was reduced to 24 weeks the Roe decision is still very extreme compared to the rest of the world and even the most liberal European countries. Even the late Ginsburg thought the Roe decision was ‘too far sweeping’ and the privacy argument for abortion poorly conceived.
And I’m not sure how viable the viability argument is anymore since we’ve had premature babies born before the 24 week allotment (which radical feminists want to extend up until birth).
The viability argument, another layer of pro-abortion sophistry, depends on neonatal care not improving over time. At its outset, the ROE decision allowed abortion at 28 weeks (7 months of gestation). Now the youngest born premature baby is a whole 2 months before that.