Roe v. Wade 1973

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Even to this day, women have not reached maximum equality, but the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade has helped the women’s equality movement drastically take a step in the right direction. Prior to the case, women had their rights very limited and restricted. Everyone was and still is entitled to their basic rights, however pregnant women were not. Their first, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendment rights were violated and were not addressed until Jane Roe testified in court. The decision made by the court still has a lasting impact even to this day. The landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade was not just a win for Jane Roe, but a win for all women as it helped break the barrier that surrounded women’s equality.

The right to privacy is nowhere listed in the Bill of Rights, however the First Congress that established the Constitution intended for the concept of right to privacy to be implemented or derived in some way. The Supreme Court decision made due to the case of Roe v. Wade has been called both radical and temperate (Edwards III, Wattenberg, and Lineberry 131). It was first argued in December 13, 1971 by a Texas woman named Norma McCorvey. “A three-judge District Court, which consolidated the actions, held that Roe and Hallford, and members of their classes, had standing to sue and presented justiciable controversies” (Thomas Reuters Business). The case was later appealed by Jane Roe and was sent to the Supreme Court to be tried again. She went by the pseudonym “Jane Roe” in order to keep herself confidential to the public. Jane Roe wanted to terminate her pregnancy by abortion but was prohibited by Texas state law stating that abortion was illegal unless it was required to say the woman’s life which wasn...

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...lped break the barrier that surrounded women’s equality.

Works Cited

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Government in America. N.p.: Pearson Education, Inc., 2006. Print.

"Key Excerpts from the Dissenting Opinion." Landmark Supreme Court Cases. N.p.,

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" Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Decision." Women's History. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar.

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Thomas Reuters Business. "Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)." FindLaw. N.p., n.d.

Web. 18 Mar. 2010. .

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