Mary Ziegler’s interesting article (“Conflict over dismantling US abortion rights poses a political challenge”, Opinion, May 10) might also have addressed some other relevant points.

A right is not an obligation. Those who, out of religious beliefs and/or a sense of ethics, refuse to exercise their right to have an abortion or refuse to enable others to do so are free to “practise what they preach”; however, such beliefs should not impede others from exercising their own rights under the law.

Mary Ziegler also refers to “. . . judges who interpret the constitution by looking at its original public meaning . . .”

The judges should, in all logic, also interpret the second amendment “right to bear arms” of 1791 as meaning that these arms should be limited to those in use at that time — unquestionably different from those available today.

It’s worth noting that abortion rights were legalised in Italy in 1978, Belgium in 1990 and Ireland in 2019.

Arlette Laurent
New York, NY, US