Download Roe v. Wade, 410 US 113, 93 S. Ct. 705, 35 L. Ed. 2d 147 (1973)

Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 93 S. Ct. 705, 35 L.
Ed. 2d 147 (1973)
Kaci Hott & Libby Jungo
What is the constitutional issue involved in the case?
The legality of a woman's right to have an abortion under the
Fourteenth amendment to the Constitution
Does the Constitution embrace the right of a woman to obtain
an abortion, nullifying the Texas prohibition?
Who were the parties involved in the case?
Norma McCorvey, who was known as Jane Roe, was a Texas
resident who sought to obtain an abortion. Texas law
prohibited abortions except to save the pregnant mother's
life. McCorvey was pregnant when she became the lead
plaintiff in the case. She gave up the baby for adoption.
Henry Wade, District Attorney of Dallas County from 1951 to
1987. Norma McCorvey sued him because he enforced a law that
prohibited abortion, except to save a woman's life. He died
on March 1, 2001.
When and where did the case take place?
ARGUED: Dec 13, 1971
REARGUED: Oct 11, 1972
DECIDED: Jan 22, 1973
US District Court for the Northern District of Texas
What events lead up to the case going before the Supreme Court?
1969: A group of young women in Chicago starts "Jane," an
underground system that helps women find safe and affordable
illegal abortions. Eventually they learn to perform the
procedures themselves, completing nearly 12,000 abortions from
1969 to 1973, according to a documentary about the group
1972: The Supreme Court legalizes the use of birth control pills
for all women, regardless of marital status. Before the
decision, only married women were able to receive the pill
through a doctor's prescription.
Historical Context: what was happening in the world that this case needed
to be tried?
At the time Roe was decided, most states severely restricted
or banned the practice of abortion. However, these
restrictions were challenged amid the sexual revolution and
feminist movements of the 1960s. In 1970, two recent
graduates of the University of Texas Law School, Linda Coffee
and Sarah Weddington, brought a lawsuit on behalf of a
pregnant woman, Dallas area resident Norma L. McCorvey ("Jane
Roe"), claiming a Texas law criminalizing most abortions
violated Roe's constitutional rights. The Texas law banned
all abortions except those necessary to save the life of the
mother.
What was the Supreme Court’s ruling / decision?
A landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that declared a
pregnant woman is entitled to have an abortion until the end
of the first trimester of pregnancy without any interference
by the state.
What was the reasoning given by the Supreme Court for making their
decision?
Writing for the majority, Justice Harry Blackmun acknowledged that
while “the Constitution does not explicitly mention any right to
privacy,” a number of prior decisions had found “a guarantee of
certain areas or zones of privacy.” This guarantee of privacy,
Blackmun added, is grounded in several amendments within the Bill of
Rights and in the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of liberty, which taken
together create zones of privacy in areas of society such as
marriage, contraception, family relationships and child-rearing
Opposing viewpoints
There have been 56 million legal abortions since Roe
Roe scorned and dismissed medical ethics
Viability was said to be at the beginning at the third
trimester, at 28 weeks. However, this is all based upon
changing technology. Babies are living outside the womb
younger and younger, some at even 22 or 23 weeks.
Roe was not a strictly constitutional decision
How do you feel about the ruling? Why?
I feel that the ruling should have been altered; I don't
believe that abortion is right at all stages throughout
pregnancy. Although I am pro-life and do not condone
abortions, there are slim and certain instances where the
ruling is applicable (rape cases, ect.)
Describe significance of other court cases related to your case
Identify the immediate impact as well as long-term impact on
society from this case.
People v. Belous and Doe v. Scott, which reached the Supreme
Court in 1971 -- declare abortion laws unconstitutional.
"That prompted people all over the place to start putting
together cases... challenging state abortion laws," Reagan
says.
Impact now
2000: The Food and Drug Administration approves the abortion pill RU486. The drug enables a woman to terminate a pregnancy within seven
weeks from her last menstrual period, without the need for a surgical
abortion.
September 14, 2004 - A three-judge panel of the 5th US Circuit Court
of Appeals in New Orleans dismisses a motion from the original
plaintiff in Roe v. Wade to have the case overturned, a court clerk
tells CNN. McCorvey's motion claimed she had new information that
would affect the 1973 case.