Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

A federal court has ruled that an illegal immigrant held in U.S. custody has the right to an abortion. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said that the U.S. government must facilitate an abortion for a 17-year-old girl. The Department of Health and Human Services is saying the girl doesn't have the right to an abortion, but the ACLU and the court think otherwise. The court said the girl had a "constitutional right" to abortion. However, there are two problems with this. First, the constitution applies only to citizens of the United States. Secondly, abortion is not a right enumerated anywhere in our constitution.  If anything, Article V protects the right to life, which reminds us that maybe these judges should go back to the Constitution to find out exactly what it says.