Separation Of Abortion In The 14th Amendment Of The Constitution

The fourteenth amendment was adopted into the Constitution on July 9th, 1868 as part of the Reconstruction Amendments. Specifically the Due Process Clause “which prohibits state and local governments from depriving persons of life liberty or property without certain steps being taken to ensure fairness.” This case was decided in 1973 and was a big deal for the women in America. Women now had the right to choose whether they had a baby or not. It is after all their body and life. Prior to abortion being accepted there had been many illegal places to have an abortion which were unsanitary and performed by people who were not physicians. This was dangerous for women. Now a real doctor could perform the procedure and this was a long needed option for the women in America. Federalism took over and the states had to follow the decision of the Supreme Court ruling. There is a problem with the new right to a woman having an abortion and this problem is when an abortion should not be an option because the fetus is a baby and a life. Everything is developed and the third trimester is too late to perform an abortion. Or is it?

The ruling of Roe v. Wade included three key ideas. The first key idea was that women had the right to choose to have an abortion during the stage of pregnancy when the fetus had little chance of survival outside the womb and that women were able to obtain an abortion within unreasonable interferences from the state. The second idea confirmed a state’s power to restrict abortions when a fetus could live outside the womb, except in the case when the mother’s life was at risk. The final key idea that was decided in the ruling was that the state has interests in both the health of the women and the life of the fetus (Brannen and Hanes, 2001).

However, everything that was ruled by Supreme Court in the Roe v. Wade case was contradicted, In1992, the Supreme court case “...Planned Parenthood V. Casey that said an abortion regulation was unconstitutional if it had 'the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus.'” (Levy). This court ruled that the states had the right to restrict a woman's right to an abortion and prohibit public funding for the poor women that can not afford an abortion.

Before the 1973 ruling of the case of Roe v Wade, the estimated average number of illegal abortions every year ranged from 200,000 to 1.5 million. The methods used were violently dangerous including women ingesting toxic substances such as bleach and detergents which often times was ineffective. Women around the country were concerned that the anti-abortion laws conflicted with a person’s right to privacy and equal protection given by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. Gale University’s William Sullivan explains ”The right to abort unborn children is not specifically protected by the Constitution, and prior to 1973, abortion legislation had been understood to be limited to the power of the states per the Tenth

Regardless of the opinions surrounding abortion, a majority of people are familiar with the Supreme court cases of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. These two cases have played a tremendous role in regard to the abortion debate. In 1973, the Roe v. Wade case was ruled in favour of Roe and stated the stringent criminalization of abortion in Texas was deemed unconstitutional under the fourteenth amendment. The law violated the right of privacy, which implied the privacy of a woman’s decision to an abortion. Although the courts agreed with Roe, they also recognized the rights to an abortion are not absolute. Limitations to the right was based on the trimesters of pregnancy with the first trimester protecting the woman’s choice and the third trimester being acceptable for states to regulate or even ban abortions outside of therapeutic reasons.

Before discussing the Roe vs. Wade case, let’s first begin by presenting a brief history reflection of abortion in the United States. The history of abortion dates all the way back to the 1820’s-1830. In 1821 Connecticut passes the first law that would restrict abortion; numerous states followed Connecticut’s law and began to implement

To begin, the 14th Amendment states that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of the law.” A fetus is a living, human being. They have the right to life, and to be able to live another day. No one should be able to take that right away from them. Secondly, many people say that the mother has a right to privacy with the abortion. In court, people look to the 14th amendment again, which says, “No state shall make or enforce

In 1973, the Supreme Court made a decision in one of the most controversial cases in history, the case of Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113 (1973)), in which abortion was legalized and state anti-abortion statues were struck down for being unconstitutional. This essay will provide a brief history and analysis of the issues of this case for both the woman’s rights and the states interest in the matter. Also, this essay will address the basis for the court ruling in Roe’s favor and the effects this decision has had on subsequent cases involving a woman’s right to choose abortion in the United States. The court’s decision created legal precedent for several subsequent abortion restriction cases and has led to the development of legislation to protect women’s health rights. Although the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade was a historic victory for women’s rights, it is still an extremely controversial subject today and continues to be challenged by various groups.

In the court case Roe v. Wade, Jane Roe (false name to protect her real identity) wanted an abortion. However, in some states like in Texas (where this all took places) abortion was illegal unless it was to save the woman’s life. In 1970, Roe and her team of lawyers were fighting to protect her and all of the women in the world to have a say in what’s right and wrong if them. Roe’s team of lawyers were suing Henry Wade, the district attorney of dallas county, Texas. Her team of lawyers and er wanted to obtain an injunction, which would stop Wade from enforcing the law against abortion. The Federal court ruled in favor of Roe, stating that the Texas law against abortion was unconstitutional. Wade appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Roe 7-2. They stated that “with Roe’s assertion that woman had the absolute right to end pregnancy in anyway and at any time...woman’s right to privacy had to be balanced with a state’s interest in regulating abortion”(Encyclopaedia Britannica). This statement means that it the choice of whether to have an abortion or not is up to the woman, but the state has a right to protect the fetus.

After the most widely known court case in the United States, Roe v. Wade (1973), a woman had a right to have a legal abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy (The National Right to Life Committee, inc., 2014). Legislation decided that States were able to regulate abortion into the second trimester, only to reasonable promote the interest of the women 's health. The third trimester was the first time the state was able to say no to protect the life of the fetus (Arrigo & Waldman, 2014).

Since the landmark court case of Roe v. Wade in 1973, the controversy of abortion has only increased. Though the court subjected the act of abortion a fundamental right under the United States Constitution, pro-life activists continue to prevail. The Constitution protects the natural rights of citizens, including the freedom of choice in abortion, thereby the right to abortion should be protected.

Abortions have been around for hundreds of years. In fact, the first abortion law was established in Connecticut in 1821. This law prohibited women to abort through poisoning. The most important abortion court case took place in 1973. The Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case ruled that women have the right to have an abortion since it is protected by the 14th amendment, which states that “no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law”. Many years after the decision was made, a lot of people have been rebelling against the idea of abortion. Many believe, mostly religious and conservative individuals, believe that abortion begins at conception and therefore should be aborted. On the other hand, non-religious

In the twentieth century many states passed laws that outlawed abortions unless a mother’s life was in danger. Many people felt that banning birth control and abortion was an invasion of privacy. Jane Roe, which was not her real name, wanted to have an abortion. Since Texas law prohibits this, she filled a lawsuit against, Wade, the district attorney. Roe argued that the law violated the Fourteenth Amendment, Equal Protection Clause, “no state shall deprive a person of life liberty or property” and a woman’s rights to privacy in the First,

Hi Lori, I do agree that Court should not have to declare a woman’s right to seek an abortion even though it is not expressly implied in the Constitution. As you mentioned, these rights are interpreted in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. For this reason, a woman should have the right to their own body as abortion restrictions could deny women the rights to make their own personal medical decision.

In addition, the Roe v. Wade decision is a direct illustration of judicial activism. Prior to the Court’s ruling, many states limited or completely prohibited abortion. In a 7-2 decision, the Court ruled that Roe’s right to privacy permitted women to receive abortions given to them by in their First, Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments (Roe v. Wade). As stated, this case is an illustration of judicial activism because the Supreme Court Justices interpreted the law loosely, creating their own law that became the Supreme Law of the Land. The Court’s decision enables states to pass their own legislation concerning abortion. As noted in Justice Harry Blackmun’s majority opinion, “A State may properly assert important interests in safeguarding health, in maintaining medical standards, and in protecting potential life (“Key excerpts from the majority opinion”). The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, states, “Nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws” (“The Heritage Guide to The Constitution”). However, when the Supreme Court ruled that women have the right to abortion as an extension of her right to privacy, they exhibited judicial activism. Justice Blackmun stated in his opinion a “The privacy right involved, therefore, cannot be said to be absolute….We, therefore include that the right of personal privacy includes the abortion