Can the Fourteenth Amendment Be Used to Protect Human Life Before Birth?

 The Fourteenth Amendment protects the rights of “any person” to due process when a state deprives him or her of life, liberty, or property, and to the “equal protection of the laws.” By overruling Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court eliminated Roe’s deeply flawed holding that “the word ‘person,’ as used in the Fourteenth Amendment, does not include the unborn.” Since a sound case can be made that interpreting “person” to include all human beings is consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment’s original public meaning, Congress should do so for purposes of its power to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The Fourteenth Amendment empowers Congress to enforce its guarantees of due process and equal protection on behalf of “any person.”

With Roe v. Wade overruled, Congress may define “person” to include all human beings.

Congress may require states to treat persons equally by, for example, prohibiting abortion when it also prohibits homicide after birth.

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https://www.heritage.org/life/report/can-the-fourteenth-amendment-be-used-protect-human-life-birth