Roe v. Wade: Bad Foundation

Chicago Tribune Columnist Steve Chapman:

Says Edward Lazarus, a former clerk to the late Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, who wrote the opinion in Roe, "As a matter of constitutional interpretation and judicial method, Roe borders on the indefensible. I say this as someone utterly committed to the right to choose."

For nearly two centuries, the courts had no inkling that abortion was protected by the framers. When the Supreme Court finally discovered the oversight, it didn't get there by applying clear principles or solid precedents, as it usually does in expanding protections. Instead, it took the right of privacy, which is implicitly upheld in various provisions of the Bill of Rights, and stretched it beyond recognition. The result was like building a skyscraper on a foundation designed for a log cabin. Roe was shaky on Day One and has been shaky ever since.