Omar Bennett
Roe v. Wade is one of the Supreme Court's most famous cases, establishing a framework for legal abortions across the United States and changing the way states can regulate abortion services. The case was based on the argument that abortion bans violate the Thirteenth Amendment, equating the denial of abortion rights to compulsory motherhood and involuntary servitude. Roe v. Wade also established new privacy rights for women, with the Court deciding that the right to privacy, inherent in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, protects a woman's choice to have an abortion. The case has been a foundation for other individual liberty cases concerning privacy.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year | 1973 |
| Case | Jane Roe, an unmarried pregnant woman, filed a lawsuit challenging Texas abortion laws |
| Ruling | The United States Constitution provides a fundamental "right to privacy" that protects a person's right to choose |
| Constitutional Basis | The right to privacy, inherent in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment |
| Precedents | Meyer v. Nebraska (1923), Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), Loving v. Virginia (1967), Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972) |
| Aftermath | Established a framework for legal abortions across the United States; Overturned in 2022 by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization |
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What You'll Learn
The right to privacy
The Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court in 1973 established a framework for legal abortions across the United States. The Court decided that the right to privacy, inherent in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, protects a woman's choice to have an abortion. The ruling recognised that the right to liberty in the Constitution, which protects personal privacy, includes the right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy.
The Roe v. Wade decision was embedded in a long line of cases concerning personal liberty in the realm of privacy. The majority opinion cited Roe v. Wade to assert that privacy itself was a fundamental right, while procreation counted as "among the rights of personal privacy protected under the Constitution". The Court's decision recognised that the right to privacy protects intimate and personal decisions, including those affecting child-rearing, marriage, procreation, and the use of contraception, from governmental interference. The justices acknowledged that being forced to continue a pregnancy puts a lot at risk.
The Roe decision placed reproductive decision-making alongside other fundamental rights, such as freedom of speech and religion, by conferring on it the highest degree of constitutional protection, known as "strict scrutiny". This meant that the most searching legal test would apply to restrictions. The Supreme Court required the state to justify any interference with the right to access abortion by showing that it had a "compelling interest", and held that no interest was compelling enough to ban abortion before viability.
The Roe v. Wade decision also included a discussion of the different views on when life begins. The Court found that it is not up to the states to decide when life begins and that the privacy right does not prevent states from putting some regulations on abortion. The Court created a framework to balance the state's interests with privacy rights, allowing more regulation of abortion as pregnancy advanced but only when that regulation was evidence-based and consistent with how other similar medical procedures were treated.
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The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
The Court's decision in Roe v. Wade was based on the interpretation that the Due Process Clause's protection of liberty goes beyond simple procedures and protects certain fundamental rights. The ruling established that the Fourteenth Amendment provides a fundamental "right to privacy", which protects a pregnant woman's right to an abortion. This decision was based on the idea that being forced to continue a pregnancy puts a lot at risk for the pregnant woman. The Court also found that it is not up to individual states to decide when life begins, and that state interests must be balanced with privacy rights.
The Roe v. Wade decision was significant in that it changed the way states can regulate abortion services, establishing new privacy rights for women. It was also embedded in a line of cases concerning personal liberty in the realm of privacy, including Meyer v. Nebraska (1923), Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), Loving v. Virginia (1967), and Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972). These cases provided a foundation for Roe v. Wade, which in turn became a foundation for later cases concerning privacy, such as Lawrence v. Texas (2003) and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).
There have been differing opinions on the interpretation of Roe v. Wade. Some supporters of Roe argue that even if abortion rights are supported by other parts of the Constitution, the decision accurately found a right to abortion in the Fourteenth Amendment. Others have argued that the right to abortion should be derived from the Ninth Amendment, which states that the omission of a right from the Constitution does not mean that the American people do not possess it. Some academics have also equated the denial of abortion rights to compulsory motherhood, arguing that abortion bans violate the Thirteenth Amendment's prohibition of "involuntary servitude".
The Roe v. Wade decision has also had an impact on civil suits for wrongful birth and wrongful life claims, with the interaction between the case, the Fourteenth Amendment, and changing medical technology and standards leading to the development of these civil suits.
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The liberty clause in the Fourteenth Amendment
The Roe v. Wade case of 1973 established a framework for legal abortions across the United States. The case was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the right to liberty in the Constitution, protecting personal privacy, includes the right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy. The Court recognised that the right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy comes within the constitutional protection that the liberty clause in the 14th Amendment affords to privacy.
The Court's decision in Roe v. Wade was based on the argument that the right to privacy was specifically rooted in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Due Process Clause states that individuals cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The Court interpreted this clause to mean that individuals have a right to privacy, which includes the right to make decisions about their bodies and reproductive health without government interference.
The Court held that the right to privacy is fundamental and that restrictions on this right should be subject to the most searching legal test. This means that any restrictions on abortion access must be carefully scrutinised to ensure they do not violate the constitutional right to privacy. The Court also recognised that being forced to continue a pregnancy can have significant health and economic risks for women.
The Roe v. Wade decision has had a significant impact on abortion laws and reproductive rights in the United States. It established a framework for states to regulate abortion services while also protecting women's privacy rights. The decision has been praised for its progressive attitude towards evolving social trends and recognising the importance of reproductive freedom. However, it has also been controversial and has been consistently challenged and debated since it was decided.
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The state's interest in maternal health
The Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 established a framework for legal abortions across the United States, with the Supreme Court ruling that the right to privacy, derived from the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, protects a woman's choice to have an abortion. However, this right is limited by the state's interest in maternal health and fetal life after viability.
The Roe v. Wade decision acknowledged the potential risks and complications associated with pregnancy and childbirth, which can have significant physical, mental, and emotional impacts on individuals. By recognising the state's interest in maternal health, the decision affirmed the importance of providing support and resources to mitigate these risks and promote positive health outcomes for pregnant people.
Furthermore, the state's interest in maternal health recognises the potential impact of pregnancy and childbirth on the physical and mental health of individuals, including the risk of pregnancy-related complications, postpartum depression, and other mental health concerns. By prioritising maternal health, the state can ensure that pregnant individuals have access to comprehensive healthcare services, including mental health support, to address these concerns and promote overall well-being.
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The trimester framework
Roe v. Wade is a 1973 lawsuit that led to the Supreme Court making a ruling on abortion rights. The Court's opinion decided that a state may impose virtually no restriction on the performance of abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy. This decision was based on the right to privacy contained in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The trimester framework, however, proved less workable than the majority had hoped.
The Roe decision made state abortion bans unconstitutional, making abortion care legal, more accessible, and safer throughout the country. The Court's statement of facts in this case makes clear that the record in no way indicates the presence of a plaintiff who was in her first trimester of pregnancy at some time during the pendency of her lawsuit. We know only that plaintiff Roe, at the time of filing her complaint, was a pregnant woman. For all that appears in this record, she may have been in her last trimester of pregnancy as of the date the complaint was filed.
Applying a trimester framework, Roe permitted more regulation of abortion as pregnancy advanced but only when that regulation was evidence-based and consistent with how other similar medical procedures were treated. Under Roe, the government was not permitted to pressure pregnant people about their decision to continue or end a pregnancy. The Roe decision also included a discussion of the different views on when life begins. The Court found that it is not up to the states to decide when life begins, but that the privacy right does not prevent states from putting some regulations on abortion.
The constitutional right to privacy comes from the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Due Process Clause does not explicitly state that Americans have a right to privacy. However, the Supreme Court has recognized such a right going back to 1891. Roe v. Wade was embedded in a long line of cases concerning personal liberty in the realm of privacy. Roe was based on individual liberty cases concerning privacy, such as Meyer v. Nebraska (1923), Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), Loving v. Virginia (1967), and Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972).
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Frequently asked questions
The constitutional basis for Roe v. Wade was the right to privacy, which is inherent in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Roe v. Wade changed the way states can regulate abortion services by establishing new privacy rights for women. The case established a framework for legal abortions across the United States, with the Supreme Court deciding that the United States Constitution provides a fundamental "right to privacy" that protects a person's right to choose whether to continue a pregnancy.
The outcome of Roe v. Wade was a 7-2 decision that invalidated a Texas law that prohibited abortions except when necessary to save the mother's life. The Supreme Court recognised that the right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy is protected by the liberty clause in the Fourteenth Amendment, which affords privacy.
