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2  DOBBS v. JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH ORGANIZATION 

KAVANAUGH, J., concurring 

and fundamental morality.  And they stress that a signifi-
cant  percentage  of  Americans  with  pro-life  views  are 
women. 

When it comes to abortion, one interest must prevail over 
the other at any given point in a pregnancy.  Many Ameri-
cans of good faith would prioritize the interests of the preg-
nant woman.  Many other Americans of good faith instead
would  prioritize  the  interests  in  protecting  fetal  life—at
least unless, for example, an abortion is necessary to save 
the life of the mother.  Of course, many Americans are con-
flicted or have nuanced views that may vary depending on
the particular time in pregnancy, or the particular circum-
stances of a pregnancy.

The issue before this Court, however, is not the policy or
morality of  abortion.  The issue before this Court is  what 
the  Constitution  says  about  abortion.  The  Constitution 
does not take sides on the issue of abortion.  The text of the 
Constitution does not refer to or encompass abortion.  To be 
sure, this Court has held that the Constitution protects un-
enumerated rights that are deeply rooted in this Nation’s 
history and tradition, and implicit in the concept of ordered
liberty.  But a right to abortion is not deeply rooted in Amer-
ican  history  and  tradition,  as  the  Court  today  thoroughly
explains.1 

On the question of abortion, the Constitution is therefore
neither pro-life nor pro-choice.  The Constitution is neutral 
and leaves the issue for the people and their elected repre-
sentatives to resolve through the democratic process in the 

—————— 

1 The  Court’s  opinion  today  also  recounts  the  pre-constitutional 
common-law  history  in  England.    That  English  history  supplies  back-
ground information on the issue of abortion.  As I see it, the dispositive
point  in  analyzing  American  history  and  tradition  for  purposes  of  the
Fourteenth Amendment inquiry is that abortion was largely prohibited
in most American States  as  of 1868 when the Fourteenth Amendment 
was  ratified,  and  that  abortion  remained  largely  prohibited  in  most 
American States until Roe was decided in 1973.