Roe V. Wade Case Study

The case of Roe v. Wade is a decision of landmark by the Supreme Court of the United States of America regarding abortion. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff claiming that the decision by a woman to have an abortion is protected by the right to privacy. This case produced major controversies in the United States with some people wondering whether the court had gone overboard in making the decision (Rubin, 1982). This paper will summarize the Roe V. Wade case stating the constitutional issue which the court needed to clear. In addition, it will give a brief background on previous rulings of the court on the same issue and my opinion on how the case should have been decided based on the constitutional precedent. The case involved a woman …show more content…
The Supreme Court heard the case alongside another one of Doe vs. Bolton which related to the abortion statute of Georgia. The court ruled that it is a part of the rights to privacy of the women to terminate a pregnancy. The court failed to adopt the rationale of the 9th amendment by the district court asserting that the reservations in the amendment were broad enough to include the decision of a woman on whether to terminate or not to terminate a pregnancy. Another justice who was of a concurring opinion stated that the 9th amendment does not create any rights that is enforceable by the federal government. Another justice rejected the argument on the right to life of the fetus. The court generally recognized the right to have an abortion as one of the fundamental rights as included in the personal privacy guarantee. The regulations that limited abortions had to be made legal and justified by compelling the interest of the state and enactments of the legislature which regulates abortion had to be made in such a way that they meet the compelling state’s interests. The justice stating this applied that a strict scrutiny analysis be done on the regulations on abortion. The judges further explained that within the first trimester, a time when an abortion is believed to be safer than giving birth, the decision to keep the pregnancy or not to be left solely on the women to make and her doctor. From the next trimester until the viability of the fetal, the interest of the state in protecting the mother can come into play. At this point the state can regulate the procedure of abortion if the regulation has reasonable relationship with the protection and preservation of the health of the mother. At the viability point or 3rd trimester, the state can regulate the act of abortion for the protection of life. The state can even forbid abortion completely as long as it has made an exception

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