ABSTRACT
Citizens obviously are sharply divided concerning whether women should have the right to terminate a pregnancy.1 Some citizens believe that abortion should be legal only
in certain circumstances, such as in the first trimester of pregnancy. Others believe that abortion should be legal only in cases of rape or incest, whereas others would permit abortions at nearly any stage to protect the health of the mother. But few, if any, debates focus on the process by which abortion became a fundamental constitutional right and on whether and how that process has had effects well beyond the issue of abortion itself. Stated another way, little consideration has been given to either how abortion came to be a fundamental right or why the process that identified it as such should be of significant concern and is worthy of inquiry – and perhaps a healthy amount of skepticism.
