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Tammy Tran

Mr. Anderson

Online Civics

3 November 2017

28th Amendment: Right to Life

The Article V of the Constitution permits the authority to amend the Constitution. A

constitutional amendment is a modification of a nations or states constitution. The United

States constitution was created on September 17, 1787 and was ratified on June 21, 1788. It

was proposed by the Framers in order to replace the Articles of Confederations The Constitution

serves three main functions: creates a national government, separate power between the

federal and state, and protects the individual rights of the citizens.

A proposed amendment goes through a labyrinthine process in order to be included in

the constitution. The Constitutions allows an amendment to be proposed by a two-thirds

majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional

convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures.(archives.com) In order to pass

ratification, the amendment must receive the approval of three-fourth of the state legislature or

three-fourth of the state convention.

Since the ratification of the Constitution, none of the twenty-seven amendments have

been proposed by a constitutional convention. The constitution consists of twenty- seven

amendments and ten of which are labeled as the Bill of Rights. It was drafted by James

Madison to address the objection of Anti-Federalists. The main functions of the Bill of Rights are

to guarantee specific personal freedoms and rights, emphasize the limitations on governments

power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically

delegated to Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people.

(wikipedia.com) The Bill of Rights includes the protection of citizen's right to bear arms, right to

practice their freedom of religion, speech, and the press, and right to be protected from
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unreasonable searches and seizes. An amendment from the Constitution that is not part of the

Bill of Rights is the twenty- second amendment and the twenty- sixth amendment. Both of these

have a significant impact on the future of the nation and our lifestyles when it is applicable to us.

The twenty- second amendment limits the terms of the United States president to two terms,

causing major political controversies and debates. Moreover, the twenty- sixth amendment

grants the right to vote to those who are eighteen years of age. Although these two

amendments are not applicable to everyone, it will still play a role in determining what will

happen in the future.

Due to a tedious and difficult process, there were many amendments that failed to

become part of the Constitution. The proposal and ratification step of the process requires the

amendment to receive supermajority votes in order to pass. However, in the basic legislation

process, the proposed law only requires the majority vote of each house to pass. Since the

creation of the Constitution, many amendments have been proposed, however they failed to

pass the second hurdle - acceptance by the states. (slate.com) For example, the Equal Rights

Amendment is a proposed amendment that guarantees that the rights listed in the Constitution

apply equally to all individuals regardless of their sex. The amendment was passed by

Congress and sent to the states for ratification in 1972. Despite the fact that Congress had

extended the original seven years deadline to June 30, 1982, the amendment was still three

states short from the required amount of thirty- eight states. Despite the failure to amend into

the Constitution, Equal Rights Amendment advocates have decided to pursue two different

methods. The first method is to follow the method proposed in the Article V and the second

method is to pursue the three- states strategy, which means that the amendment must receive

ratification in three more of the 15 state legislatures that did not ratify the ERA in 1972-82

(equalrightsamendment.org)

An amendment that has the most impact on me and my family is the fourteenth

amendment. The fourteenth amendment states that All persons born or naturalized in the
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United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the

state wherein they reside. (US Const. amend. XIV, sec. 1) This amendment affects me

because my family are immigrants so for me to become a citizen of the United States of

America since the moment I was born, it is an exciting achievement and relief for my family. The

feeling of accomplishment and relief derives from their constant struggles and the hardships that

had faced while relocating to a foreign country.

Despite the various amendments that exist to protect the individual rights of an

individual, a proposed amendment that should become a part of the Constitution is the right to

life. Since the Supreme court ruling of the Roe vs. Wade case of 1973 which legalized abortion

in the first trimester of pregnancy, the topic of abortion has been controversial and debated in

many conventions. The 28th amendment would state, Any person who wishes to abort a baby

must receive the approval of the other parental unit before proceeding.

Abortion is a serious matter as it determines the life of a human being, thus it must be

restricted as much as possible. First, abortion is a form of murder and murder cannot be justified

under any circumstances. In 2018,the rate of abortion was at 14.6 abortions per 1,000 women

of childbearing age with the ages between fifteen and forty- four. The number of abortions may

declining, but it does exist which means women are constantly murdering a human being that is

growing inside of them. Second, the fetus is still considered as a human being, thus it deserves

the rights to life like any other American citizens. Its undenied right to life is in effect since they

day it was created, so it must be maintained that way.

In contrary, abortion advocates would state that if the government remove a womans

right to abort a baby, they are restricting the basic right of the women. The choice a women has

over her body empowers her as she makes her own reproductive choice. The reproductive

choice women possesses is valuable to their independence and ability to determine their own

future. However, if women desire live based on their decision, what makes it right for them to

selfishly determine the life of a vulnerable human being that has yet to see the world?
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As Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall have stated, the Constitution is a living

document, thus it must be interpreted in light of the moral, political, and cultural climate of the

age of interpretation. (wikipedia.com) Despite how difficult the amendment process may be,

citizens should constantly implement change in order to better the society in the certain time

period. Therefore, as long as the amendment is interpreted in a good light, it would always be

beneficial to society.

Work Cited

U.S. Constitution. Immigration to the United States, immigrationtounitedstates.org/447-us-

constitution.html.

Constitutional Amendments - How is the Constitution amended?,

www.lexisnexis.com/constitution/amendments_howitsdone.asp.
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14th Amendment adopted. History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-

day-in-history/14th-amendment-adopted

Constitutional Amendment Process. National Archives and Records Administration,

National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/federal-

register/constitution.

Constitutional Amendment Process. National Archives and Records Administration,

National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/federal-

register/constitution.

Home. ERA: Home, www.equalrightsamendment.org/.

The Bill of Rights (Amendments 1 - 10). National Center for Constitutional Studies,

nccs.net/online-resources/us-constitution/amendments-to-the-us-constitution/the-bill-of-

rights-amendments-1-10.

The Failed Amendments - The U.S. Constitution Online. The Failed Amendments - The

U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.Net, www.usconstitution.net/constamfail.html.