Justice Samuel Alito's opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization argued that the constitutional right to abortion must be eliminated so that state governments may enjoy free rein to criminalize abortion as they see fit.
The problem with Alito's opinion is that it stands at odds with the text and history of the 14th Amendment, which says: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." As its drafting and ratification history demonstrate, the 14th Amendment was originally understood to protect a broad range of individual rights from state infringement, including unenumerated rights.
