According to the textbook of this course equal rights (civil rights) is defined as the right of every
person to equal protection under the laws and equal access to society’s opportunities and public
facilities (Patterson 641). The Fourteenth Amendment: Equal Protection contains the equal-
protection clause. It was designed to require states to treat their residents equally, but the
Supreme Court at first refused to interpret it that way (Patterson 123). The Fourteenth
Amendment states that “ no state shall make or enforce any laws which shall bring the privileges
or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws” (“What Is the 14th Amendment and How Is It Connected to
Abortion Rights, Roe V. Wade?”).
Citations
Patterson, Thomas E.
We the People: An Introduction to American Government.
McGraw-Hill
LLC, 2023.
“What Is the 14th Amendment and How Is It Connected to Abortion Rights, Roe V. Wade?”
NBC Chicago
, 24 June 2022,
www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/what-is-the-14th-
amendment-and-how-is-it-connected-to-abortion-rights-roe-v-wade-2/2865134
.
