What criminal laws are constitutionally required?

[JMHACLJ at aol.com]

Do you  take the position that, as a constitutional matter, "abortion should 
be left  to the states to regulate as they wish" or "the 14th amendment 
requires the  states to treat abortion as equivalent to infanticide"?
This remark leads me to ask, what criminal laws are required of the States  
by the federal Constitution?  A few years back, quite accidentally, the  
Kentucky legislature, I believe, sunsetted its rape statute, during a rush to  the 
end of a legislative session.  Of course, the mistake was quickly  discovered 
and quickly repaired.  But suppose that it was not.  Was  Kentucky required to 
make rape a crime?  Burglary?  Murder?   Would this be when "republican form 
of government" arguments finally come to the  fore?
 
Jim Henderson
Senior Counsel
ACLJ
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