Roe V. Wade Case Analysis

In the controversial case, Roe v. Wade, a pregnant woman who was given the name Jane Roe to hide her identity attempted to get an abortion but they were illegal in Texas so she sued the state for invasion of privacy. Roe's real name is Norma McCorvey; she was an ex-carnival worker who was raped and became pregnant. In 1969, when she moved back to her home state, she was denied and abortion on grounds that her health was not threatened. She started to look for other options, such as an abortion clinic out of the country, but those were too risky. She had given up searching for a safe, clinical abortion when two lawyers contacted her about her story. These lawyers were Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington. Weddington had herself been through

Roe v. Wade (1973) ruled unconstitutional a state law that banned abortions except to save the life of the mother. The Court ruled that the states were forbidden from outlawing or regulating any aspect of abortion performed during the first trimester of pregnancy, could only enact abortion regulations reasonably related to maternal health in the second and third trimesters, and could enact abortion laws protecting the life of the fetus only in the third trimester. Even then, an exception had to be made to protect the life of the mother. Controversial from the moment it was released, Roe v. Wade politically divided the nation more than any other recent case and continues to inspire heated debates, politics, and even violence today ("the culture wars"). Though by no means the Supreme Court's most important decision, Roe v. Wade remains its most recognized.

The case began in 1970, when Norma McCorvey, also known as Jane Roe, began seeking a legal abortion. Jane Roes attorney, Sarah Weddington, understood her position because she became pregnant when she was attending law school. Weddington was also working three jobs but could barely afford the procedure (Gold & Donovan, 2017, pp. 58-59). Women were afraid to have abortions due to the risks they would have to take like crossing the Mexico–United States border or other health related risks. Countless abortions either resulted in death or painful infections that would lead to more problems. In fact, untrained doctors would attempt to perform these procedures with no anesthetics and unfit equipment. “As late as 1965, illegal abortion accounted for an estimated 17 percent of all officially

Alternatively, McCorvey’s friends encouragingly suggested she lie and say that her pregnancy was the result of her being raped. McCorvey was not able to provide evidence of which would prove her claim of rape to be true so she was not granted the right to abort her fetus. She then was left with a limitation of options, one being an illegal abortion clinic that she soon found out had been shut down by the police, and the other option being an old abandoned building where McCorvey stated "dirty instruments were scattered around the room, and there was dried blood on the floor.” McCorvey believed it was against the constitutional rights of american citizens to restrict the rights of abortion. These restricting laws were believes by many women to trap them into unfavorable alternatives such as self abortion or abortions performed by unlicensed beings with unsanitary surroundings and equipment. Desperate, McCorvey agreed to participate in a lawsuit against Henry Wade in efforts to make a difference for women around the world with the hopes of retaining her anonymity. An article on encyclopedia.com concerning the Roe v Wade case and it’s background states, “McCorvey chose to remain anonymous for several reasons: she feared publicity would hurt her five-year-old daughter, her parents were against abortion, and she had lied about being raped” (p.9) thus Norma McCorvey was known as Jane Roe in the now infamous case of as Roe v.

On January 22 1973, the United States Supreme Court made a landmark decision that is still affecting women today. Roe vs Wade gave women the choice to have an abortion. Countless cases since Roe vs Wade have amended that choice and a woman may now have an abortion before the 22nd week of her pregnancy. But with every new president comes new Supreme Court nominees and now our country is on edge that the right to have a choice will be revoked. If the decision is reversed, abortion choices for minorities will continue to be limited.

Texas is a key state when it comes to looking at abortion policy, and the laws surrounding it. The fight for a women’s right of choice regarding her body came about in Texas in 1969 with the supreme court case regarding a women’s right to an abortion. Now, in 2016 the state of Texas continues to fight with congress regarding issues surrounding women obtaining an abortion. The HB2 bill, which people from all over the country are fighting both for, and against, is in the eye of the camera as Texas implements some of the strictest rules yet regarding who, when, where, and how abortions can be performed.

Angus McLaren, author of “Illegal Operations: Women, Doctors, and Abortion” demonstrates the life of an abortionist in the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s. McLaren explains a series of affairs in detail with many different abortionists. Since abortion was illegal at the time, many women consulted midwives, or took the procedure of abortion among themselves, this at times resulted in their death.

Norma McCovery, 22 at the time of Courts decision, is now ashamed of what she had done, those she does admit she “wanted a legal choice” that she “did not want to have an illegal abortion,” (Morales, 2003). She

Before 1973, abortion access was determined by state legislature for each individual state with no consistency across the United States. Some states allowed abortions but most state statues heavily restricted or completely banned abortion. The restricted states would generally only allow abortion in the event of rape, incest, fetal anomalies, or the woman’s life is at risk. The state of Texas enforced a state statute that made it illegal for an abortion to be performed unless the woman’s

The right to privacy is the protection against arbitrary government interference into the lives of its citizens. There are standards that must be met before the government can interfere into the private sphere of citizens; the state must prove that it has a legitimate interest in concerning itself with such matters.

Abortion is one issue that has polarized a nation and the battle lines were drawn forty years ago with time not easing the tensions between the groups on both sides of this issue. The abortion debate started in the middle of the 1800’s. However, the issue came to a head in 1973 with the Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion and the fight has been ongoing ever since. This paper aims to show how the Roe V Wade court case came about and the resulting arguments for and against abortion that ensued.

A 21-year-old carnival worker, Norma McCorvey, claimed to have been raped which resulted in pregnancy. As McCorvey wanted an abortion, her doctor refused to perform the procedure and stated that it violated the Texas law. The law stated that it was a crime to procure an abortion unless it was necessary to save the life of the mother. As McCorvey was unhappy with the doctor’s decision she decided to fight the Texas law. McCorvey attorneys challenged the law stating that the law violated one’s privacy, women’s rights, and due process. The lower courts ruled in favor of McCorvey, however the case did not overturn the state law so McCorvey used her pseudonym, Jane Roe, decide to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. As the case argued the controversial topic of pro-life and pro-choice, many organization began to become involved and argued that abortion was a fundamental right under the Griswold doctrine. The states argument was that it had compelling interest in protecting human life. Furthermore, the court ruled in favor of Jane Roe and came to the decision that a women’s right to abortion was a right of privacy that was supported by the fourteenth

Wade case. Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff, was an unmarried women who was pregnant and wanted to have an abortion but was denied one under the state law of Texas. So, she decided to take her case to Washington, D.C. and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court voted in a decision 7-2 to agree with McCorvey that the Texas law denied her freedom to privacy. However, the decision came after McCorvey had already given birth to a health young girl who is now 43 years old, and happy to be alive. Norma McCorvey now regrets her decision and says that abortion is wrong and will spend the rest of her life trying to undo the law that bears her name. (Find

Norma McCovery, also known as Jane Roe, is the woman behind the Roe vs Wade case. This act was passed in 1973, and it gives women the right to have an abortion. When Norma was 25 she wished to get an abortion, but couldn’t so she took it to court. Ironically Norma never got an abortion, instead she put her child up for adoption. According to Norma’ “’Abortion ', to me, means 'going back ' to the condition of not being pregnant” ( qtd. In EndRoe). Norma did not completely understand that abortion was more than just not being pregnant anymore, it was more than that. Abortion is taking an innocent life away. Fast forward 40 years and she is now a pro-life activist and is now working hard trying to demolish the bill she passed. Even the woman that were behind the movement to authorize abortion have understood how detrimental abortion can be, especially to mothers.

In January of 1973, the United States Supreme Courts cast a ruling with a 7-2 vote that would forever skew the lines of which lives were of value (Shaw, 2016.) In the case of Roe v. Wade, unmarried mother to be, Norma McCorvey sought to have an abortion (Shaw, 2016). Under Texas law, her request was not lawful as the unborn child posed no health risk to the mother (Shaw, 2016). Assumed by the alias Jane Roe, she filed suit against Henry Wade, of the Dallas County District Attorney's office (Shaw, 2016). The mother to be argued that prohibiting her from having an abortion was a violation of her constitutional rights (Shaw, 2016). Her son was two years old by the time the court case was settled (Shaw, 2016). She had already since given him up for adoption, and remained an avid believer in a woman's right to choose to abort her unborn child (Shaw, 2016). That is, until she saw a poster showing the progression of the development of the unborn child, which served as a turning point for this young woman as she realized the severity of the verdict cast at her trial (Shaw, 2016).