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The 14th Amendment is a broadly worded and expansively interpreted amendment that has been used by the U.S. Supreme Court to invent new "rights", such as abortion.  The 14th Amendment was originally intended to end discrimination against African Americans after the Civil War.  But then the U.S. Supreme Court used it to "incorporate" the Bill of Rights and apply them against state laws ("incorporation doctrine").  Thus the 14th Amendment became the way that the Bill of Rights, which originally applied only against the federal government, were applied against all state and local governments too.

The 14th Amendment is a broadly worded and expansively interpreted amendment that has been used by the U.S. Supreme Court to invent new "rights", such as abortion.  The 14th Amendment was originally intended to end discrimination against African Americans after the Civil War.  But then the U.S. Supreme Court used it to "incorporate" the Bill of Rights and apply them against state laws ("incorporation doctrine").  Thus the 14th Amendment became the way that the Bill of Rights, which originally applied only against the federal government, were applied against all state and local governments too.

The primary use of the 14th Amendment is to prohibit discrimination by government based on race (ethnicity).  Government cannot refuse to grant a driver's license to someone because of the color of his skin, for example.  Government cannot segregate classrooms by race in public school, or impose any other conditions based on their race.  This is because of the "Equal Protection Clause" in the 14th Amendment.  The Equal Protection Clause prohibits non-racial forms of discrimination too, such as many differences in treatment between men and women, or treating foreigners who are in this Nation lawfully differently from Americans who were born here.  But while government cannot treat people differently based on race, government is allowed to have a few differences based on gender, because the Equal Rights Amendment never became part of the U.S. Constitution.  For example, the military can draft men without drafting women.  The military could not draft whites without also drafting blacks.

The primary use of the 14th Amendment is to prohibit discrimination by government based on race (ethnicity).  Government cannot refuse to grant a driver's license to someone because of the color of his skin, for example.  Government cannot segregate public schools by race (as held in by the U.S. Supreme Court in ''Brown v. Board of Education'' (1954)), or impose any other conditions based on their race.  This is because of the "Equal Protection Clause" in the 14th Amendment.  The Equal Protection Clause prohibits non-racial forms of discrimination too, such as many differences in treatment between men and women, or treating foreigners who are in this Nation lawfully differently from Americans who were born here.  But while government cannot treat people differently based on race, government is allowed to have a few differences based on gender, because the Equal Rights Amendment never became part of the U.S. Constitution.  For example, the military can draft men without drafting women.  The military could not draft whites without also drafting blacks.

Then, beginning with the liberal "Warren Court" (led by Chief Justice Earl Warren), the U.S. Supreme Court began using the 14th Amendment to create new rights never before thought to be in the U.S. Constitution.  The Warren Court ended when Chief Justice Earl Warren retired in 1969, but its decisions provided the basis for ''Roe v. Wade'' on January 22, 1973, which created a new constitutional "right" to abortion nationwide.  The March for Life has been held in D.C. every year since in protest against that ruling.

Then, beginning with the liberal "Warren Court" (led by Chief Justice Earl Warren), the U.S. Supreme Court began using the 14th Amendment to create new rights never before thought to be in the U.S. Constitution.  The Warren Court ended when Chief Justice Earl Warren retired in 1969, but its decisions provided the basis for ''Roe v. Wade'' on January 22, 1973, which created a new constitutional "right" to abortion nationwide.  The March for Life has been held in D.C. every year since in protest against that ruling.