Roe v. Wade

I

Introduction

Roe v. Wade, court case of 1973 in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a woman has a constitutional right to an abortion during the first six months of pregnancy. Before the Court’s ruling, a majority of states prohibited abortion, although most allowed an exception when pregnancy threatened the woman’s life. The Court overturned these state prohibitions in Roe v. Wade. The Court ruled that states could restrict abortions only during the final three months of pregnancy, a stage when medical experts considered the fetus capable of “meaningful life” outside the womb.

The Roe decision aroused extreme reactions in the public. The decision was strongly endorsed by many women’s rights groups that had long sought to guarantee a woman’s right to choose an abortion. However, the decision was fiercely opposed by others, many of whom maintained that life begins at conception. Some of these opponents began the so-called pro-life movement, a campaign to restore abortion restrictions.

Since the Roe v. Wade decision, abortion has become one of the most divisive political issues in the United States. Views on abortion have influenced the outcome of many national and local elections. The issue of abortion has also played a decisive role in nomination proceedings for judges appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court and to lower federal courts.

II

History of U.S. Abortion Law

In the United States, jurisdiction over abortion historically rested with the states rather than with the federal government. Until the second half of the 19th century, most states chose not to restrict abortion. However, by the end of the 19th century, the majority of states had adopted statutes that made it a crime to either perform or obtain an abortion, except to save the life of a pregnant woman.

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III

The Challenge of Roe v. Wade

Most of these 19th century statutes were still in effect in 1970, when Norma McCorvey, a pregnant woman from Dallas, Texas, first challenged the constitutionality of a Texas abortion law. Using the pseudonym “Jane Roe,” McCorvey sued Dallas County district attorney Henry Wade to be allowed to have an abortion. The Texas law banned abortions in that state, except when the pregnancy threatened the life of the pregnant woman. Roe’s pregnancy did not threaten her life, but as a poor, single woman she did not want to bear a child she could not afford to raise. In addition, she did not have the money to travel to a state where abortions were legal.

Roe and her attorneys asked the federal district court to declare that the Texas abortion statute violated her rights under the Constitution of the United States. They also asked the court to enjoin (forbid) the district attorney from prosecuting anyone else under the Texas abortion law in the future.

To the surprise of many legal analysts, a three-judge panel in Texas ruled in favor of Roe, mostly on the grounds that the law violated her constitutional rights to privacy. The court ruled that the 9th Amendment and the 14th Amendment of the Constitution guaranteed privacy rights that were broad enough to protect a woman’s choice to have an abortion. However, because the district court refused to enjoin future prosecutions for abortion, Roe and her attorneys appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Wade also appealed the decision.

IV

The Supreme Court’s Decision

The Supreme Court heard arguments for Roe v. Wade in December 1971. After the justices intensely debated the issues, Chief Justice Warren Burger recommended that the case be reargued, stating, “These cases…are not as simple for me as they appear to be for the [other justices].” The Court then ordered a second round of arguments, which it heard in October 1972. Finally, in January 1973 the Court decided 7-2 in favor of Roe.

Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the Court’s majority opinion, the written document that announces the Court’s decision and explains its reasoning. At the outset of his opinion, Blackmun noted 'the sensitive and emotional nature of the abortion controversy' and the 'vigorous opposing views' held by many Americans. He observed that 'one's philosophy, one's experiences, one's exposure to the raw edges of human existence, one's religious training, one's attitudes toward life and family and their values, and the moral standards one establishes and seeks to observe, are all likely to influence and to color one's thinking and conclusions about abortion.' But having noted these difficulties, Blackmun stressed the need to resolve the issue of abortion based on an interpretation of the Constitution.

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