'A servant caste': Federal judge argues abortion could be legal under amendment that outlawed slavery



One federal judge suggested Monday that abortion rights may be protected by the 13th Amendment, the constitutional provision that outlaws slavery.

Federal District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a Clinton appointee, argued the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, was narrow and limited to the question of whether abortion is protected under the 14th Amendment.

The eyebrow-raising assessment was made in a case that involves nearly a dozen defendants who were criminally charged for allegedly blocking access to an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C.

One of the defendants argued the case should be tossed because the Dobbs ruling eliminated a federal interest in protecting abortion rights.

But that's not true, Kollar-Kotelly claimed, because "it is entirely possible that the [Supreme] Court might have held in Dobbs that some other provision of the Constitution provided a right to access reproductive services had that issue been raised. However, it was not raised."

One of the constitutional provisions that may contain "some right" to abortion access, Kollar-Kotelly claimed, is the 13th Amendment.

The 13th Amendment is one of three Reconstruction Amendments ratified after the Civil War, outlawing slavery except as "punishment for crime." The text of the 13 Amendment does not mention abortion. It reads:

Section 1: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2: Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

The novel idea that abortion rights are somehow protected by the 13th Amendment first surfaced in a legal article more than 30 years ago. Kollar-Kotelly cited the article, titled "Forced Labor: A Thirteenth Amendment Defense of Abortion," in her opinion.

The article, which acknowledges that Roe "is an unpersuasive opinion," essentially argues that women become like slaves in service of their unborn child and, eventually, their children.

"Forced pregnancy is a deprivation of individual liberty," the article claims, "that is selectively imposed on women—and women are a group that has traditionally been regarded as a servant caste, whose powers (unlike those of men) are properly directed to the benefit of others rather than themselves. Compulsory motherhood deprives women of both liberty and equality."

The article goes on to argue that "forced pregnancy and childbirth" violate the 13th Amendment's "guarantee of personal liberty" because "forcing women to be mothers makes them a servant caste."

For what it's worth, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito explicitly wrote in the Dobbs opinion, "The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion."

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Bill Nye slapped with history lesson after claiming Juneteenth marks day 'last slaves' were freed, America built on slave labor



Bill Nye, the infamous "science guy," received a prompt history lesson on Sunday after claiming that slavery in America officially ended on Juneteenth.

What did Nye say?

In an effort to commemorate the newest national holiday, Nye claimed on Twitter that America was "built" on slave labor and that "the last" slaves were freed on June 19, 1865.

"The United States we know today was built with the labor of enslaved Black Americans," Nye wrote. "The last were not freed (officially) until 19 June 1865. Let us celebrate— and never forget."

Nye, famous for an educational science TV show, posted a picture of himself holding a pocket Constitution along with his commemorative message.

\u201cThe United States we know today was built with the labor of enslaved Black Americans. The last were not freed (officially) until 19 June 1865. Let us celebrate\u2014 and never forget.\u201d
— Bill Nye (@Bill Nye) 1655673961

But what is the problem?

While historians and Americans may debate whether the Untied States was built on the back of slave labor, the last enslaved Americans were not freed on Juneteenth.

In fact, the last American slaves were not officially freed until December 1865, when the 13th Amendment was ratified and officially proclaimed, thus ending slavery "except as a punishment for crime." An estimated 40,000–45,000 remaining slaves in two states — Kentucky and Delaware — were freed at that time.

Juneteenth, on the other hand, commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in Texas, which happened on June 19, 1865 — almost six months before slavery was constitutionally outlawed.

In response to his tweet, Nye was inundated with these facts:

  • "Bill Nye might be a science communicator, but hes a s*** historianThe slaves freed at Galveston in June 1865 were freed under the Emancipation ProclamationIt wasnt until the 13th amendment was ratified in December of 1865 that the last slaves were freed in KY and DE," one person said.
  • "This is not true. Juneteenth doesn’t commemorate the 13th Amendment. It commemorates news of the Emancipation Proclamation reaching Texas. Two union states had slavery until December 1865," another person said.
  • "He’s as much of a historian as he is a scientist. And makes up just as much nonsense for both subjects. It’s almost amazing how wrong he constantly is," one person mocked.
  • "Please open that and let us what date the 13th amendment was ratified into the constitution that ended slavery once and for all. Hint: it's not June 19th.....," another person said.
  • "Tell me you can't do a simple Google search without telling me you can't do a simple Google search," another person mocked.
  • "Dec 6, 1865. That’s when the 13th Amendment went into effect and slavery in Delaware and Kentucky also ended. Read that thing you’re holding up," another person said.

Interestingly, Mississippi became the last state to ratify the 13th Amendment, doing so in 1995. However, the ratification was not officially certified until 2013 — nearly 150 years after slavery ended.

Left-wing mag: Outlawing abortion akin to slavery, violates Thirteenth amendment because it subjects women to 'involuntary labor'



Ever since a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court indicated that a majority of justices on the bench stood poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, aghast abortion advocates in the U.S. have been scrambling in search of ways, however preposterous or implausible, to derail the looming decision.

Some Democratic politicians and progressive mainstream media personalities immediately pushed for the codification of federal abortion rights before they could be rolled back in the aftermath of Roe's reversal. Others resorted to bad-mouthing and scaremongering in hopes of pressuring certain conservative justices to change their minds. Still others took to the streets — apparently in violation of federal law — to picket and protest against the forthcoming decision outside several Supreme Court justices' homes.

Over and against the findings expressed in Justice Samuel Alito's opinion, countless abortion advocates vehemently argued that a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy was clearly spelled out on the pages of the Constitution and is, in fact, "deeply rooted in the country's history and traditions."

One might expect that advocates would herald an individual's right to privacy as found in the Fourteenth Amendment — the 1973 court's determination — to bolster their support for legalized abortion. Many did.

But this week, left-wing news outlet Ms. Magazine cited a different constitutional amendment in its argument against restrictions on the procedure: the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude.

"Abortion bans force pregnant women to endure the dangerous work of pregnancy, labor, and childbirth against their will. Abortion bans place pregnant women seeking abortion under state control and require them to perform involuntary labor," wrote contributing editor Carrie Baker, also a women and gender studies professor at Smith College, in an article published by the magazine on Monday.

"This is a violation of the 13th Amendment," she asserted.

In order to make her point, Baker argued that "pregnancy, labor, and childbirth" should be interpreted merely as "difficult forms of work."

"Pregnancy causes nausea, fatigue, tender and swollen breasts, constipation, body aches, dizziness, sleep problems, heartburn and indigestion, hemorrhoids, itching, leg cramps, numb or tingling hands, swelling, urinary frequency or leaking, varicose veins — and many more deeply invasive and painful experiences," she offered as evidence.

"Pregnancy takes over the entire body, affecting the cardiovascular system, kidneys, respiratory system, gastrointestinal system, skin, hormones, liver and metabolism. It increases blood volume by about 50 percent and depletes calcium from the bones, decreasing bone density. Risks of pregnancy include high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, anemia, depression, infection, and death," she continued.

"To force these experiences on an unwilling person is a form of involuntary servitude," Baker concluded, given the side effects.

Elsewhere, she compared forcing someone to continue their pregnancy to "bodily assault" and even "rape," adding that such behavior has "surprisingly similar dynamics to domestic violence and sexual assault."

It's unlikely that Baker and Ms. Magazine's radical arguments will persuade any of the court's conservative justices, however, or anyone on the conservative side of the issue, for that matter. If anything, the arguments might weaken abortion advocates' standing on the issue.

Senate Unanimously Passes Bill Making Juneteenth A Federal Holiday

Commemorates the official end of slavery