The judge further added that the court might have ruled differently if other constitutional questions were raised.
“Of those provisions that might contain some right to access to such services,” the order read, “the 13th Amendment has received substantial attention among scholars and, briefly, in one federal Court of Appeals decision.”
The 13th Amendment, which was ratified in 1865, officially abolished slavery. The amendment declares that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Although Kollar-Kotelly did not elaborate on why the 13th Amendment would protect a right to abortion, she cited two scholars who have argued that abortion bans create a type of involuntary servitude.
Kollar-Kotelly’s suggestion stems from an order she wrote in a criminal case that accuses nine pro-life activists of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The activists allegedly set up a blockade at an abortion clinic to prevent it from operating, according to the Department of Justice. The indictment accuses them of using their bodies, furniture, chains, and ropes to create the blockade and streaming it on Facebook.
The lawyers for one of the defendants, Lauren Handy, argued that the FACE Act is no longer legitimate because the congressional authority to pass it relied on precedent set in the Roe v. Wade decision. The FACE Act establishes harsh penalties for those who interfere with access to reproductive health care services.
“Dobbs undermines Congress’ authority to pass the FACE Act because … [it] was, in part, based on the 14th Amendment,” Michael McHale, counsel for the Thomas More Society, which is representing Handy, told CNA.
Credit: Source link
