It was curious that Coons would question Barrett about contraception and the 1965 Griswold decision that ruled unconstitutional a Connecticut law (passed by a Protestant-majority legislature) that regulated the use of contraceptives by married couples. The court struck down the law, ruling that it violated a constitutional “right to privacy,” which, though not written in the U.S. Constitution, was found by the majority to “emanate” from the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Ninth Amendments, creating a “penumbra” of rights that, though not enumerated, enjoy constitutional protection.
Barrett declined to give her view of Griswold. It was entirely unlikely that it would be challenged because, she noted, there were no laws today barring contraception and it was “shockingly unlikely” that there would be any. So why did Coons want to talk about a potential ban on contraception? By his line of questioning Coons clearly knows that there is a direct connection between contraception and abortion, as the theology of body teaches. Barrett knew what Coons was really getting at.
“It seems unthinkable that any legislature would pass such a law [against birth control],” Barrett answered. “I think the only reason that it’s even worth asking [about Griswold] is to lay a predicate for whether Roe v. Wade was rightly decided, because Griswold does lie at the foundation of that line of precedent.”
https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/amy-coney-barrett-sen-chris-coons-and-john-paul-ii-s-theology-of-the-body
No comments:
Post a Comment