Where the Pro-Life Movement Must Go Next

‘The States may, if they wish, permit abortion on demand,” Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in his coruscating 1992 opinion, mostly dissenting, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Abortion could also be banned, just as the states have banned bigamy, even though doing so would render unavailable a choice — “a ‘liberty’ in the absolute sense” — for which some reasonable people would otherwise opt. This is because a liberty in the absolute sense is not “a liberty specially ‘protected’ by the Constitution.”

As to the matter of abortion, the late great jurist concluded, “the Constitution says absolutely nothing about it.”

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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‘The States may, if they wish, permit abortion on demand,” Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in his coruscating 1992 opinion, mostly dissenting, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Abortion could also be banned, just as the states have banned bigamy, even though doing so would render unavailable a choice — “a ‘liberty’ in the absolute sense” — for which some reasonable people would otherwise opt. This is because a liberty in the absolute sense is not “a liberty specially ‘protected’ by the Constitution.”

As to the matter of abortion, the late great jurist concluded, “the Constitution says absolutely nothing about it.”

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.