Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in the context of "Same-sex couples"

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⭐ Core Definition: Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Considered one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law at all levels of government. The Fourteenth Amendment was a response to issues affecting freed slaves following the American Civil War, and its enactment was bitterly contested. States of the defeated Confederacy were required to ratify it to regain representation in Congress. The amendment, particularly its first section, is one of the most litigated parts of the Constitution, forming the basis for landmark Supreme Court decisions, such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954; prohibiting racial segregation in public schools), Loving v. Virginia (1967; ending interracial marriage bans), Roe v. Wade (1973; recognizing federal right to abortion until overturned in 2022), Bush v. Gore (2000; settling 2000 presidential election), Obergefell v. Hodges (2015; extending right to marry to same-sex couples), and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023; prohibiting affirmative action in most college admissions).

The amendment's first section includes the Citizenship Clause, Privileges or Immunities Clause, Due Process Clause, and Equal Protection Clause. The Citizenship Clause broadly defines citizenship, superseding the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which held that Americans descended from African slaves could not become American citizens. The Privileges or Immunities Clause was interpreted in the Slaughter-House Cases (1873) as preventing states from impeding federal rights, such as the freedom of movement. The Due Process Clause builds on the Fifth Amendment to prohibit all levels of government from depriving people of life, liberty, or property without substantive and procedural due process. Additionally, the Due Process Clause supports the incorporation doctrine, by which portions of the Bill of Rights have been applied to the states. The Equal Protection Clause requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people, including non-citizens, within its jurisdiction.

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Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in the context of Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub. L. 88–352, 78 Stat. 241, enacted July 2, 1964) is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools and public accommodations, and employment discrimination. The act "remains one of the most significant legislative achievements in American history".

Initially, powers given to enforce the act were weak, but these were supplemented during later years. Congress asserted its authority to legislate under several different parts of the United States Constitution, principally its enumerated power to regulate interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause of Article I, Section 8, its duty to guarantee all citizens equal protection of the laws under the 14th Amendment, and its duty to protect voting rights under the 15th Amendment.

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Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in the context of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court in which the court held that the United States Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), devolving to state governments the authority to regulate any aspect of abortion that federal law does not preempt, as "direct control of medical practice in the states is beyond the power of the federal government" and the federal government has no general police power over health, education, and welfare.

The case concerned the constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi state law that banned most abortion operations after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. Jackson Women's Health Organization—Mississippi's only abortion clinic at the time—had sued Thomas E. Dobbs, state health officer with the Mississippi State Department of Health, in March 2018. Lower courts had enjoined enforcement of the law. The injunctions were based on the ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), which had prevented states from banning abortion before fetal viability, generally within the first 24 weeks, on the basis that a woman's choice for abortion during that time is protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Civil Rights Act of 1964 ← Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
United States Constitution → Reconstruction Amendments → Citizenship of the United States → Freedman → American Civil War → Confederate States of America → United States Congress → Supreme Court of the United States → Brown v. Board of Education → Racial segregation in the United States → State school → Loving v. Virginia → Anti-miscegenation laws in the United States → Roe v. Wade → Abortion-rights movement → Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization → Bush v. Gore → 2000 United States presidential election → Obergefell v. Hodges → Rights and responsibilities of marriages in the United States → Same-sex couples → Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard → Affirmative action in the United States → University and college admission → Citizenship Clause → Privileges or Immunities Clause → Due Process Clause → Equal Protection Clause → Dred Scott v. Sandford → Slaughter-House Cases → Freedom of movement → Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution → Substantive due process → Procedural due process → Incorporation of the Bill of Rights → United States Bill of Rights → Jurisdiction →