Essay On Does The Constitution Protect A Woman's Rights

Words: 777
Pages: 4

(i) Does the Constitution protect a woman’s right to have an abortion and a man’s right to have sex w/ another man when I see neither “abortion” nor “homosexual sodomy” in the Bill of Rights?
The Constitution does protect a woman’s right to an abortion and a man’s right to homosexual sex through the substitutive due process clause in the 14th amendment. This clause found in the 14th amendment of the Bill of Rights prevents state and federal agencies from depriving any citizens of, "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law" (US Constitution). Therefore, laws preventing or restricting private sexual or reproductive practices infringe on individual liberty; thus infringing on the substantive due process clause. This argument
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Peripheral rights are rights that are not directly stated within the Constitution but can be inferred to be within the scope of the constitutional powers. Both the right to an abortion and homosexual sex are concerned with the right to privacy, which is peripheral right of the constitution. Sometimes privacy is referred to as a penumbral right due to the arguments of Griswold v Connecticut, which stated that the right to privacy falls under a penumbra, of rights found in the constitution. The Supreme Court has established privacy as a constitutional right through a series of previously mentioned cases such as, Roe v Wade or Griswold v Connecticut. So though the right to privacy is not specifically stated in the Bill of Rights it is seen as an established right due to the Supreme Court.
The practical implications of these peripheral rights are that they modernize the constitution. When the Bill of Rights was written society was different and laws should reflect societal change. The right to an abortion or homosexual sex wasn’t considered in the Constitution due to the time period, but in the modern era these are huge issues as demonstrated by the abortion protests. It is practical today to have such rights and it is practical to interpret the constitution in a way that functions in modern society. It is impractical to use 18th century laws to govern modern