Originally Posted by politicophile

This is a bit off topic, but the Constitution is, and has always been, a document for restricting the government. That said, the purpose of laws is (generally) to restrict the people. The Constitution simply sets limits on what sorts of limits the government is allowed to enact on us.

Amendment IX: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

This is the justification for the "right to privacy". The question, then, is two-fold: is the right to privacy actually a right that the government is not permitted to enfringe upon, and is criminalizing abortion a violation of the mother's privacy?

Neither answer is obvious to me at this point in time.