As much as I hate, hate, hate the fact that abortion has become the litmus test for every judge and politician to come down the pike, and thus hate to talk about it, it equally irks me to see news pieces that talk about Roe v. Wade as if it’s an article in our Constitution. A CNN article yesterday said the following:
Alito was questioned extensively last week during his Senate confirmation hearing about his views on abortion, including the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that declared abortion a fundamental constitutional right. He steadfastly refused to agree with assertions by Democrats that Roe v. Wade is “settled law.”
Now, I’m no lawyer, but I have read RvW. Nowhere in it do I recall seeing that it’s a “fundamental constitutional right.” In fact, the gist of it seemed to be (1) we all have a right to privacy (2) until someone proves unconditionally that abortion is infanticide, that right to privacy allows a woman to elect to have an abortion.
Articles like CNN’s serve only to muddy an already impossibly muddled discussion. (And, yes, perhaps the reporter made a mistake, but it’s one an editor should have caught. No excuses – especially in a day when no-one prints retractions, let alone reads them.)
