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Revision as of 06:14, 19 October 2003 by 67.1.72.151 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Although nominated by President Nixon, Harry Blackmun was considered a liberal Supreme Court Justice.
He legislated the right of abortion by interpreting the constitution from a liberally biased standpoint in the case Roe v. Wade. For legalization thereof, Blackmun had to define life in facilitating terms to concur with the fourteenth amendment's due process clause. The fourteenth amendment was ratified in 1868 as a statement against slavery and involuntary servitude. Coincidently, most States legislated limitations on abortion prior to ratification of this amendment. Blackmun invoked this amendment over 100 years later implying that the ratifiers provided the due process clause to provide license to the legalization of abortion.
According to the tenth amendment of the Constitution, any powers not enumerated within are reserved for the States. Enumerated rights include speech, press, religion, and arms ownership. Abortion is not a listed right in the Constitution, nor is it inferred. The right to regulate, limit, or prohibit abortion is a power that was intended to be determined by individual States and was so prior to the Roe decision.
Although the Supreme Court's purpose is to interpret the Constitution and adjudicate accordingly, Blackmun purported that the legislation of the abortion right was a major step towards women's equality in the United States subsequent to the Roe v. Wade decision. By touting the political implications his decision had on society, Blackmun admittedly jeopardized his judicial objectivity to further leftist political ideology.