Bodily Autonomy and Personal Healthcare Rights: Proposed Amendment to the United States Constitution

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This amendment is vital because it addresses fundamental freedoms that impact every person: the right to control one’s own body, the ability to make personal healthcare choices without interference, and access to life-saving medical care.

Proposed Amendment to the United States Constitution:
Right to Bodily Autonomy and Healthcare Privacy
Amendment XXVIII

Section 1. Bodily Autonomy as an Inviolable Right

The right of individuals to bodily autonomy is hereby affirmed as an essential liberty, fundamental to the principles of personal freedom and self-governance. Every individual possesses the exclusive right to make autonomous decisions regarding their own body and medical treatment, free from interference by federal, state, or local governments, or any other public authority.

Section 2. Protection of Privacy in Personal Healthcare Choices

The privacy of all individuals in matters of healthcare shall be protected from governmental intrusion. No government entity, official, or employee shall infringe upon the confidentiality of an individual’s healthcare decisions, nor shall any government require disclosure of such decisions except in cases of clear, immediate, and verifiable public health risks.

Section 3. Freedom to Access Medically Necessary and Emergency Care

Every individual shall have the right to receive medically necessary and emergency healthcare without delay or obstruction. Healthcare professionals shall be empowered to provide timely, evidence-based, and medically sound treatment, particularly in cases where the individual’s life, health, or bodily autonomy is at risk. No law shall penalize healthcare providers for rendering such care in good faith and within the scope of medical necessity.

Section 4. Equal Access to Essential Preventive and Reproductive Healthcare Services

The right to access essential healthcare services, including preventive care, reproductive healthcare, and mental health services, is affirmed as a necessary component of bodily autonomy. No state, territory, or local jurisdiction shall enact or enforce laws that deny or unreasonably restrict individuals from obtaining such care. The federal government shall facilitate equal access to these services through grants and partnerships, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

Section 5. Limitation of Governmental Authority Over Bodily Autonomy

This amendment explicitly limits the authority of federal, state, and local governments to impose laws, regulations, or mandates that infringe upon bodily autonomy. No government shall compel individuals to undergo or abstain from medical procedures or treatments against their will, except in narrowly defined circumstances where there exists a clear, immediate, and direct threat to public health, as determined by transparent and publicly accountable standards.

Section 6. Prohibition Against Discrimination in Healthcare Access

No person shall be denied access to healthcare, or subjected to unequal treatment within healthcare systems, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, or any other protected status. The right to bodily autonomy, as protected herein, applies equally to all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States.

Section 7. Affirmation of State Flexibility Within Federally Established Protections

States retain the ability to regulate healthcare within their jurisdictions, provided that no regulation or law contravenes the rights established in this amendment. States may adopt additional protections for bodily autonomy and healthcare privacy, but no state may reduce, infringe upon, or compromise the protections and rights affirmed herein.

Section 8. Enforcement and Remedies

Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this amendment. Individuals who suffer violations of their bodily autonomy or healthcare privacy under this amendment shall have the right to seek recourse in federal courts, with remedies available for any unlawful restrictions on these protected rights.

Section 9. Severability

If any provision of this amendment, or its application to any person or circumstance, is found to be unconstitutional, the remaining provisions of this amendment shall remain in full effect.

Summary of Intent:

This amendment enshrines bodily autonomy and healthcare privacy as core individual rights, ensuring that personal healthcare choices are beyond the reach of unnecessary governmental regulation. By affirming the right to privacy, access to emergency and essential healthcare, and equal treatment, this amendment places clear limits on government authority while upholding individual liberty and protecting against discrimination.

Here’s why enshrining bodily autonomy and personal healthcare rights in the Constitution is essential:

  1. Protecting Individual Freedom and Personal Responsibility

Bodily autonomy is a cornerstone of freedom. When individuals have the right to make informed choices about their own bodies, it empowers them to take responsibility for their health and well-being. Without this protection, people risk being subjected to laws that undermine their most basic freedoms. This amendment secures personal autonomy as a protected right, giving everyone the ability to make decisions based on their values, health needs, and life circumstances.

  1. Ensuring Privacy and Trust in Healthcare

Healthcare decisions are personal, often involving sensitive discussions between a patient and their healthcare provider. Protecting privacy in these decisions is crucial for maintaining trust in the healthcare system. Without constitutional protections, there is a risk that private decisions could be subject to outside scrutiny or influence. By safeguarding privacy, this amendment ensures that personal healthcare choices remain confidential and that individuals can seek care without fear of judgment or exposure.

  1. Saving Lives by Guaranteeing Access to Emergency Care

In emergencies, every second counts. This amendment ensures that individuals can access life-saving care when their health or life is at risk, and that providers can act swiftly and appropriately without fear of legal repercussions. This protection is particularly important for pregnant women, people with chronic conditions, and anyone facing a critical health situation. Guaranteeing access to emergency care upholds the ethical duty of healthcare providers to prioritize patient safety above all else.

  1. Promoting Equal Access to Essential Healthcare

Access to essential healthcare should not be determined by where someone lives or how much they can afford. This amendment establishes a federal baseline for critical services, like preventative care and reproductive health, ensuring that everyone has the right to basic healthcare resources. By addressing geographic and socioeconomic disparities, this protection promotes a healthier, more equitable society, where all individuals have the resources to make informed, autonomous choices about their health.

  1. Balancing State and Federal Roles in Healthcare

This amendment respects state sovereignty by allowing states to design their healthcare laws, as long as they meet fundamental protections for bodily autonomy, privacy, and emergency care. It sets a minimum standard that states cannot go below, but it doesn’t impose a one-size-fits-all approach. This balance allows for flexibility, giving states the freedom to innovate while protecting basic rights across the country.

  1. Building a Society that Respects Personal Dignity and Autonomy

A society that values personal dignity must respect bodily autonomy. Enshrining this right in the Constitution affirms our nation’s commitment to freedom, equality, and respect for individual choice. When we protect bodily autonomy, we affirm that each person has inherent worth and the right to make decisions that are best for their lives and health.

This amendment is more than a legal measure; it’s a statement of our collective values. It acknowledges that personal freedom, privacy, and equality are at the heart of a just society. By protecting bodily autonomy and healthcare rights in the Constitution, we ensure that these rights are upheld for future generations, fostering a nation where every individual has the freedom to live with dignity, security, and respect.

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I support a Medical Freedom Amendment and the understanding that safe, ethical abortion is included as an understanding that abortion is a medical choice that is sometimes the best option. Fine details about when abortion is needed is not fully detailed in this post.

Trump did not ban abortions. The Superior Court took the abortion issues out of the Constitution and put the matter to the State where this very personal question can be decided more closely by the people and support state rights.

But there is an even more important reason why abortion or ANY specific medical issue should never be in the Constitution. The Constitution is deliberately streamlined with minimal “rules” and simplicity for a good reason- the Constitution is designed to give maximum freedom and minimal micro-managing of our lives because we are a country of freedom and individual choice.

The ONLY medical issue that should be in the Constitution is a “Medical Freedom Amendment.” Why?

Because if ANY specific medical issue is in the Constitution, then it opens the door for any and all medical decisions to be in the Constitution. Like euthanasia for whatever reason- for example: all people over 70, people with infectious diseases, or even not enough hospital beds. The euthanasia laws in Canada are already going wrong.

Other misuses of Constitutionally mandated law could be forced vaccines and other pharmaceuticals, forced sedation or drugs that make people into robots or take away their will, forced organ harvesting, brain chips, etc. If you think the medical corporations/ governments will never take advantage of getting their own medical amendment into the Constitution- you are wrong. Of course, they will, sooner or later.

We already have a religious freedom amendment so if someone wants to use religion or God for their reason to not have an abortion, they can. I suspect that eventually, even science will find there is God and soul, but for now, I put abortion in the “medical procedure” category, so a “Medical Freedom Amendment” covers abortion without even mentioning abortion.

Other benefits of a “Medical Freedom Amendment” would give people free choice of what kind of medicine they want. We have some choices now as long as our choice falls within current corporate medicine, but if we had more choices, this would improve medicine.

Medicine and science is always evolving and morphing. Our current medical models are based on “Rockefeller” medicine and have become the 3rd and 4th leading cause of death, and many, many people are not very happy with this mostly pharmaceutical model. Surgey and drugs. Although we have learned a lot from this model, it is not everything and many people are very frustrated that other, safer and more natural, and often medicine that works better are not available.

The education of doctors is also based on a Rockefeller model, and student doctors are taught to look down on anything that is not in that mainstream model. Plus, doctors who do use alternatives, often with great results, lose their licenses or are otherwise marginalized. They also lose a lot of patients when they are forced to use corporate procedures only.

Combining models would significantly improve health and reduce costs. Many doctors are so disheartened because they went into medicine to help people and their hands are tied. People have been turning to alternatives at a very high rate for decades.

  A  "MEDICAL FREEDOM"  model will revolutionize by opening the "business" to a more customer-based prototype. This customer service model would give the patient more choice and lead to more patient education and better medical results. There would be better communication between doctor and patient.

Patients often have the best intuition about their own health, yet doctors are trained to believe they know best, and then they miss many clues and disempower the patient. I learned this while teaching medical students in big teaching hospitals. When patients have more collaboration power, they will do better.

Also, the use of more natural ways of healing will cut costs, and people will know more about how to maintain and improve their health.

These are some reasons why we need a " Medical Freedom Amendment." Trump did not ban abortion, nor is he against IVF or birth control. He is against late-term abortion, and history shows us that late-term abortion, unless there is a threat to the mother’s life, has never been acceptable. Abortion has been around for ages and ages, and the standard across the world and through history is to do the abortion by the “quickening.”

I’m not going to go into that history except to say the ancients had good reason and knowledge for some things, and history can often teach us a lot.

One other abortion point I would like to make is this phrase used by Kamala Harris and others is " Are there any government laws that control men's lives?"   Hell, yes-- the draft-- killing men's bodies. I think that counts.  And for that matter - the baby's body and life.

Women do need safe medical abortions sometimes, but women also have a massive responsibility for the lives of the next generations.

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I have also proposed a federal policy to guarantee access to life-saving care for pregnant women, among other provisions. Would you please consider it?

FYI - the very first paragraph summarizes the whole idea, and the actual content of my proposal comes after a few disclaimer paragraphs/my MAHA letter.

RIGHT TO MATERNAL/FETAL HEALTHCARE & EDUCATION to stabilize the abortion issue

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Another issue that is SO VERY IMPORTANT!

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