The Roe v. Wade case originated in the state of Texas in 1970 at the suggestion of Sarah Weddington an Austin attorney. Norma McCorvey otherwise known as "Jane Roe" was an unmarried pregnant woman seeking to overturn the anti-abortion law in the state of Texas. The lawsuit claimed that the statue was unconstitutionally vague and abridged privacy rights of pregnant women guaranteed by the first, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendments to the constitution. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade) The Roe decision sparked nationwide protest, including a massive letter-writing campaign to the Supreme Court. Many Americans, including many Catholics and evangelical Protestants, believe that abortion is morally equivalent to infanticide. Others believe that life begins upon conception, and thus the right to life of the fetus trumps any other rights. Widespread protest over the decision resulted in the creation of the pro-life Movement, which organized large protest rallies outside the Supreme Court. Pro-life protesters frequently picket abortion clinics, distribute literature and other forms of persuasion to women considering abortion, and have promoted adoption efforts to steer women away from abortion. More extreme variants of the movement have also developed; abortion doctors have been the targets of harassment and even murder by individuals who claim that by taking the life of an abortion doctor they are actually saving the lives of many fetuses. However, anti-abortion activists who advocate or practice violence are consistently denounced by virtually all prominent pro-life groups. Some abortion opponents have claimed that there exists a link between abortion and breast cancer, and Texas has enacted a law requiring literature advancing this theory be distributed to women considering abortion; more credibly, abortion has been linked to persistent guilt feelings and other psychological problems, and to a higher risk of future infertility. Every year on the anniversary of the decision, protesters continue to demonstrate outside the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade) On January 22, 1973 the court issued its opinion with a 7-2 majority voting to strike down the Texas law. State laws outlawing abortion were set aside by the court, permitting abortions during the first three months of pregnancy and setting standards for regulations after that time to safeguard the women's health. The Supreme Court declared all but the least restrictive state statues unconstitutional. Noting that early abortions had become safer than childbirth and reasoning that the word "person" in the constitution "does not include the unborn." The Court
Roe V. Wade is known as the case that went to Supreme Court and eventually got abortion legalized. An abortion is defined as the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end or terminate a pregnancy. Thousands of years ago abortion was accepted. In ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt herbs were used to induce the labor prematurely. (The American Bar Association 210) Similar methods are still used today. There are many countries where abortion is illegal. In these places the option is herbal abortions. These are less effective but sometimes it is the only option for women who need to end their pregnancies. Although the method is natural it is probably the most ineffective. Women who undergo this natural method also can
because the right to abort, whatever one thinks of it, is not found in the
In 1973 the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Roe V. Wade. Jane Roe was a single mother trying to raise one child on a limited income. She was living in Dallas Texas when she became pregnant with another child. There were no medical issues that would have prevented her from carrying this child to full term. The lack of income and already having a child was her deciding factor.
Abortion has been a subject of controversy over the past century. Eventually the decision was settled in favor of pro-choice, in the Supreme Court case Roe versus Wade. At 10:00 a.m. on January 22,1973, the United States Supreme Court announced that the Texas abortion law was unconstitutional. The Court also declared the Georgia abortion law unacceptable. The vote was seven to two, with Burger, Blackmun, Powell, Stewart, Brennan, Douglas, and Marshall in the majority. Rehnquist and White opposed the decision. Abortion throughout the nation had been declared legal. Abortion laws in thirty-one states, including Texas, were overturned. Fifteen states, including Georgia, would have to rewrite their more liberal laws. Three other states, Hawaii, Washington, and Alaska-where rigid abortion laws had been repealed-had residency requirements or other limits that would have to be eliminated. Only the New York law, which allowed abortion without restrictions, was unaffected by the decision (Gold69).
Over 30,000 cases have been heard since the Supreme Court existed but only a few have actually been chosen to be ruled on. Many cases not only affect those involved personally but they affect the American people as a whole. Jane Roe was an unmarried and pregnant Texas resident in 1970 who was trying to have an abortion and claimed that Texas law violated her First, Fourth, Fifth Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights . Roe v. Wade was a very important case to all woman then and now because it ensured the right that woman have to choose whether or not to have an abortion. This case impacted the political, social, and economic society of the American woman, men, and families still to this day.
The case that I decided to write about is one of the most controversial cases that have ever happened in the United States. The Roe v. Wade (1973) case decided that a woman with her doctor could choose to have an abortion during the early months of that pregnancy. However, if the woman chose to wait until the later months of the pregnancy then they would have certain restrictions based on their right to privacy. This case invalidated all state laws which limited women’s access to abortions during their first trimester of their pregnancy which was based on the Ninth Amendment of the Constitution. The Amendment states that “the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people” (Cornell University Law School, 2013).
In 1970, Norma McCorvey, a single and pregnant woman in Texas wanted to get an abortion. The state laws of Texas at that time stated that it was illegal to have an abortion in Texas. Even though the state told her that she could go to one of the four states in which abortion was legal to have the procedure done, she decided that she could not afford to travel to another state to receive the procedure. Norma McCorvey decided that she would sue the state of Texas, claiming that her constitutional rights were being taken from her. She then changed her name to the pseudonym “Jane Roe” to protect her right of privacy. The district court found that Roe did have grounds to file the suit against the state of Texas. They ruled on the grounds that the abortion laws in Texas infringed on the first, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendments of the constitution. The first amendment states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Amend.html). The fourth amendment states that, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized”
Several cases have been fought for the right to choose. Many of these have been hard cases with very personal feelings, but the perseverance showed through and gives us the rights we have today. Here are some important cases: 1965 - Griswold v. Connecticut - upheld the right to privacy and ended the ban on birth control. Eight years later, the Supreme Court ruled the right to privacy included abortions. Roe v. Wade was based upon this case. 1973 - Roe v. Wade: - The state of Texas had outlawed abortions. The Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional, but refused to order an injunction against the state. On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court voted the right to privacy included abortions.
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.
In the second part of the twentieth century, women’s rights once again gained a lot of momentum. The women’s liberation movement was born out of women civil right activists who were tired of waiting for legislative change for women’s rights. Even though women are being recognized more in society, they still face difficult issues. Sexism –especially in the workforce –is becoming a major issue, birth control pills are still not popular, and abortions are frowned upon in society. The case Roe v. Wade is about a woman with the fake name of Jane Roe who wanted an abortion but the state of Texas would not let her unless her life was in danger. She sued the district attorney of Dallas County saying that it violated the right to privacy under the 1st, 4th, 5th, 9th, and 14th Amendments. Usually, some arguments for being against abortions are because it is like killing a life, religious reasons, and less chance of future pregnancies. Some arguments that approve abortion are the rights of privacy and the mother to make her own decision. I decided to pick the landmark case Roe v. Wade because there are many ways to argue for and against abortions, so I wanted to give it an overarching view before I personally pick a side. Roe v. Wade is a significant case because it shows how rights in the Constitution do not have to be explicitly mentioned for it to implement and the change in abortion laws that affect women.
The history of how abortion became legal was in the Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade case in 1973. Before that the practice of abortion was illegal unless a women’s health was in danger and the doctor allowed an option of abortion to end her pregnancy. The doctor would then go ahead with the procedure without the law being violated. Jane Roe who was an unmarried woman from Texas initiated a federal action against the county’s district Attorney. She argued that her right to an abortion violated the provisions of the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. She wanted to end her pregnancy with a professional and licensed practitioner under a safe environment. She was not able to get a legal abortion in Texas because her life was not in any danger from the pregnancy. The Supreme Court ruled in her favor and therefore legalized abortion, because “an individual’s right to privacy included a woman’s right to abort her fetus, if she desired or it was deemed medically necessary” (). Women were now allowed to have an abortion within the first six months of her pregnancy without any reason. The court also stated that “the right of privacy, whether it be founded in the Fourteenth amendment’s concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action, as we feel it is, or as the District Court determined, in the Ninth Amendments’ reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. The detriment that the State would impose upon the pregnant woman by denying her choice altogether is apparent” (). The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment banned a state from denying an abortion since the amendment states “no state shall make of en...
The Roe vs. Wade decision held that a woman, with her doctor, could choose abortion in earlier months of pregnancy without restriction, and with restrictions in later months, based on the right to privacy. It invalidated all state laws limiting women's access to abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy based on the Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a part of the Bill of Rights. The Court's decision in this case was that the Ninth Amendment, "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people," protected a person's right to privacy.
To be able to get an abortion, there are many restrictions that apply. Every state may different but similar restrictions when the law was formed in 1973. Even with the restrictions, many women were still choosing abortions. “The mandatory restrictions include: waiting periods typically from 24-48 hours before women receive the procedure; counseling stressing the disadvantages of abortions; requirements that minors notify their parents or receive their consent before obtaining an abortion; and prohibitions on providing abortions at public facilities,” (Glazer 1). Some women either could
Abortion is the method of removing a fetus or an embryo from the mother. Prior to 1970s, states had the power to decide the right to abort over the pregnant women. This situation continued until the Roe v. Wade case, which changed the whole country. It started in Texas, where there was a law stated that abortion was not allowed to be performed in any circumstances, except of life-threatening conditions. A Texas woman, who went by Jane Roe, challenged the law, stating that the abortion right is a “fundamental right”. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, which made this the first time ever in the history to recognize the right of privacy against the compelling interest of the states on abortion (Pearson Education, Inc.). In the case of Roe v. Wade (1973), with a decision of 7 to 2 majority vote, the Supreme Court upheld the right to abort. The Supreme Court stated that the First, Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments protected the right to abort against the state laws. Also, this decision implied the right to privacy based of Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that “no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any
In 1973, Texas had a state law that banned abortion except when it was necessary to save the life of the mother. A woman named Norma McCorvey