Jonah Patel
The Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 decriminalized abortion in the United States, and it has since been a contentious issue, sparking debates around ethics, religion, biology, and constitutional law. The Supreme Court ruled that a state law banning abortions was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment, protecting a woman's right to privacy and choice. However, the decision did not protect access to abortion, and states passed laws restricting it. In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, stating that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. This has raised questions about the potential amendment of the Constitution to include abortion rights explicitly. While some support this idea, others believe abortion rights are already protected by other parts of the Constitution. The debate continues, with implications for women's equality and access to reproductive healthcare.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Roe v. Wade decision | 22 January 1973 |
| Ruling | Texas law banning abortions except to save the mother's life was unconstitutional |
| Constitutional basis | Fourteenth Amendment's concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action |
| Other amendments referenced | First, Fourth, and Ninth Amendments |
| Supreme Court decision | 7-2 in favour of Roe |
| Impact | Legalised abortion in the United States, recognised as a federal constitutional right |
| Subsequent developments | Overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on 24 June 2022 |
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What You'll Learn
The Supreme Court's ruling
In 1969, Norma McCorvey (under the legal pseudonym "Jane Roe") became pregnant with her third child and wanted an abortion. However, she lived in Texas, where abortion was only legal when necessary to save the mother's life. McCorvey's lawyers filed a lawsuit against the local district attorney, Henry Wade, alleging that Texas's abortion laws were unconstitutional.
The case, Roe v. Wade, was heard by a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, which ruled in McCorvey's favor, finding that the Texas law violated her right to privacy under the Ninth Amendment. Texas appealed this decision to the Supreme Court, which heard the case in 1970 but did not rule on it until after it had decided two other cases, Younger v. Harris and United States v. Vuitch.
On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision in McCorvey's favor, holding that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides a fundamental "right to privacy," which protects a pregnant woman's decision to have an abortion. The Court determined that Texas had violated Roe's constitutional right to privacy and that the Constitution protects an individual’s “zones of privacy."
The Roe v. Wade decision has been one of the most contentious and controversial cases in the Court’s history, inspiring political campaigns and movements and sparking debates around ethics, religion, biology, and constitutional law. On June 24, 2022, a divided Supreme Court overturned Roe in its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, with Justice Samuel Alito writing, "The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives."
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The Fourteenth Amendment
The Roe v. Wade decision, issued on January 22, 1973, is considered one of the most contentious and controversial cases in the history of the Supreme Court. The case was brought by Norma McCorvey, under the legal pseudonym "Jane Roe", who, in 1969, became pregnant with her third child and wanted an abortion. However, she lived in Texas, where abortion was only legal if necessary to save the mother's life.
The Roe v. Wade decision ruled that a state law banning abortions, except to save the mother's life, was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court determined that Texas had violated Roe's constitutional right to privacy, drawing on the First, Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The Court said that the Constitution protects an individual's "zones of privacy," which encompass a woman's decision to terminate her pregnancy. This right to privacy is specifically rooted in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which provides a fundamental "right to privacy," protecting a pregnant woman's decision-making.
The legal interaction between Roe v. Wade and the Fourteenth Amendment, as understood post-Roe, led to the development of civil suits for wrongful birth and wrongful life claims. The Fourteenth Amendment has been central to the abortion debate, with supporters of Roe contending that the 1973 decision accurately founds the right to abortion in the Amendment.
In 1992, the Court adjusted the trimester framework in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, asserting under the Fourteenth Amendment that a mother had a constitutional right to abortion, which could not be unduly interfered with by the state prior to viability, known as the "undue burden" test. This further highlighted the role of the Fourteenth Amendment in abortion rights debates.
On June 24, 2022, a divided Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, stating that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion and returning the authority to regulate abortion to the states.
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The right to privacy
The Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 was a landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court, which held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution provides a fundamental "right to privacy", which protects a pregnant woman's choice to have an abortion. This right to privacy was also found in the Ninth Amendment's reservation of rights to the people. The Court's decision stated that the Constitution protects an individual's "zones of privacy", which include the right to make private medical decisions, including the decision to have an abortion prior to fetal viability.
The Roe v. Wade case was brought by Norma McCorvey (under the alias "Jane Roe") who, in 1969, became pregnant with her third child and wanted an abortion. However, she lived in Texas, where abortion was only legal when necessary to save the mother's life. Her lawyers filed a lawsuit against the local district attorney, Henry Wade, arguing that Texas's abortion laws were unconstitutional and violated Roe's right to privacy. The Supreme Court agreed, ruling that Texas had violated Roe's constitutional right to privacy and that the state's law banning abortions except to save the mother's life was unconstitutional.
The Roe v. Wade decision has been highly controversial and divisive in the US. It inspired political campaigns and movements and sparked debates around ethics, religion, biology, and constitutional law. While some supported the decision as accurately founding the right to abortion in the Fourteenth Amendment, others disagreed, believing that the right is found elsewhere in the Constitution. Despite the ruling, many states passed laws that made accessing abortion difficult, and in 1976, the Hyde Amendment, widely viewed as racist, became law.
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, stating that "the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion". This ruling has been criticized for letting politicians outlaw abortion and manipulate the nomination process for judges and justices with records hostile to reproductive health and rights. The overturning of Roe v. Wade has also been described as unpopular and politically toxic.
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The impact on women's equality
The Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 was a landmark ruling that had a significant impact on women's equality. The case was brought by Norma McCorvey, who, under the alias "Jane Roe", argued that Texas's abortion laws, which only permitted abortion to save the mother's life, were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled in her favour, stating that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides a fundamental "right to privacy", protecting a woman's decision regarding abortion. This ruling solidified and expanded the constitutional right to privacy, which is also described as the right to autonomy.
The impact of Roe v. Wade extended beyond abortion rights. It affirmed the principle of privacy in matters of contraception, marriage, family relations, child-rearing, and intimacy. The ruling influenced subsequent cases that upheld the right to contraception and the freedom to decide whether to bear a child. Additionally, Roe v. Wade shaped debates around equality, with supporters arguing that it addressed the unequal power balance between men and women. The decision also sparked discussions on the methods the Supreme Court should employ in constitutional adjudication.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 by the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization has raised concerns about the impact on women's equality. The Court's decision puts other fundamental rights in jeopardy, as acknowledged by Justice Thomas, who called for revisiting and potentially taking away rights related to birth control, intimate relationships, and marriage equality. The loss of these rights would further undo the progress made towards gender equality and negatively impact women's freedom and dignity.
Following the Dobbs case, there has been a push by anti-abortion activists to amend state constitutions to state that nothing in the constitution protects abortion rights. However, some states have moved in the opposite direction, seeking to expand or cement abortion rights through constitutional amendments. The Kansas Supreme Court, for example, has ruled that the constitution guarantees "equal and inalienable natural rights", which encompass personal decision-making, self-determination, and bodily integrity.
The debate around Roe v. Wade and its impact on women's equality is complex and multifaceted. While some argue that abortion bans violate the Thirteenth Amendment by subjecting women to "involuntary servitude", others believe that abortion laws are necessary to protect potential life and uphold certain moral or religious values. The issue continues to divide public opinion and spark discussions about the role of the state in encouraging or restricting abortions.
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The future of abortion rights
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court's 6-3 decision, "The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives."
The decision in Roe v. Wade, issued in 1973, held that a state law that banned abortions except to save the mother's life was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court determined that Texas had violated Roe's constitutional right to privacy, drawing on the First, Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The decision in Roe v. Wade has been one of the most contentious and controversial cases in the Court's history, inspiring political campaigns and movements and sparking debates around ethics, religion, biology, and constitutional law.
In the three years since Dobbs, state courts have been defining the future of abortion access and reproductive rights. Litigation across the states has tested how far constitutional amendments can go in protecting or restricting abortion access. Some states, like Missouri, have passed constitutional amendments protecting abortion rights, while others have reinstated restrictions on abortion or passed laws with restrictions that create substantial hurdles to abortion care. State judges interpret the scope of state abortion restrictions and define state constitutional rights to abortion access.
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Frequently asked questions
Roe vs Wade is a U.S. Supreme Court case that decriminalized abortion nationwide in 1973.
The outcome of Roe vs Wade was that the Supreme Court ruled that a state law banning abortions except to save the mother's life was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court held 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 Supreme Court's decision in Roe vs Wade has already been amended by the Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, 2022. In this case, the Court overturned Roe vs Wade and ruled that "The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives."
