September, 19th, 2013
U.S. History Government Roe vs. Wade Thematic
In 1970, a Texas state law made it illegal to obtain or attempt abortions. Abortions were only permissible when the fetus posed as imminent danger to the life of the mother. The case of Roe vs. Wade, argued before the Supreme Court, challenged two previously accepted doctrines. The question remained if a mother had a right to privacy despite the compelling or overriding interest of the state. The main issue before the court was whether the Texas statute was unconstitutional or not. The division that the case created reflects conflicting social and moral views of the law and the battle rages on today. In the case of Wade, police powers were the driving forces that justified their rationale toward the case. The state of Texas argued that they had the right to protect prenatal life and that it was genuinely in the interest of the state to do so. Jane Roe, an unmarried, single pregnant woman, argued that it was improper for a state to deny individuals the personal, marital, familial, and sexual right to privacy. According to Roe, the statute was extremely intrusive and wasn’t by any means constitutional. She noted that her right to abortions were protected by Amendments 1, 3,4,5,9, and 14. Were fetuses persons with rights to be protected by the state? This was argued and ruled on by the Supreme Courts in 1973. A 7 to 2 vote supported Jane Roe. The majority of justices agreed that the amendments protected Roe’s right to abort. One of the ruling factors was section one of the fourteenth amendment. According to one of the justices, the references of a person’s rights were available postnatal. The court proceeded to divide the conditions of abortions into three trimesters. A woman could consult with her physician and decide to have an abortion within the first 90 days of pregnancy (first trimester). Second trimester abortions were granted after a physician found that it would be in the mother’s best health interest. Lastly, the third trimester only allowed for abortions that protect the life of the mother. Justice Blackmun noted that under the DP clause of the fourteenth amendment, every woman has a fundamental right to choose abortion. Ultimately, he ruled that the Texas statute was unconstitutional. One can see how the Court’s decision was
