Letter: Woman’s right to abortion as important as right to bear arms

I have a constitutional right as determined by the judicial branch to own firearms. Suppose, hypothetically, I were to live in a state that has voters who feel morally compelled to restrict the availability of firearms. They believe statistics show that more people are killed in places where firearms are present.

In their zeal, they reduce the number of places in which one may obtain a firearm such that one has to travel many hours to get to a place where they can be purchased. And even then, there are several inconveniences that slow down the process, such as background checks and obligatory video presentations about how bad firearms are for society.

My right is there, but the regional authorities limit my ability to exercise it. You might agree that this situation would be a terrible injustice that needs to be fixed.

Are some constitutional rights of a lesser value than others? Is it possible that we might be able to see that the constitutional right to noninterference of the state in a abortion decision between a woman and her doctor during the first trimester of pregnancy is just as important as the constitutional right to bear arms?

Richland

This story was originally published October 8, 2015 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Letter: Woman’s right to abortion as important as right to bear arms."