Roe v . Wade (1973)

1. Roe v. Wade (1973) Introduction and Majority Opinion

2. The Origin of The Case • Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) was a resident of Texas. • She got pregnant and in 1970 wanted to have an abortion. • She claimed she had been rapedto try to get a legal abortion. However, there were no police reports and the abortion was not allowed. • Texas state law (1856) prohibited abortion except in cases rape, woman's life was in danger or incest.

3. Federal Court • Norma McCorvey brought a class action suit against the state of Texas. • She had the baby before the case was complete.

4. District Court • Attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington filed suit in US District Court in Texas on behalf of Norma McCorvey under the alias Jane Roe. • The Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade represented the State of Texas. • The courts ruled in favor of Roe. (9th Amendment)

5. Norma McCorvey • Jane Row of Row v. Wade is now a pro-life advocate.

6. Supreme Court • In 1971 the case was appealed to the supreme court. • The supreme courtupheld the District Court’s decision, making abortion legal in the US • Blackmun delivered the majority opinion.

7. Supreme Court • Justice William Rehnquist delivered the dissenting opinion.

8. Justice Blackmun’s Majority Opinion • Ancient Attitudes • The Hippocratic Oath • The Common Law • The American Law • The AMA • APHA

9. Historical Perspective • Justice Blackmun presents a a historical view on the ethics of abortion from various perspectives: cultural (e.g., Greeks, Romans, etc.); common law, American law, Medical Association and the Public Health practice. • The most interesting finding is that from the perspective of American law, abortion laws were much more liberal BEFORE 1850s than AFTER.

10. 1850-1950 • It seems that after the 1850s state laws started becoming more restrictive. • For instance, in 1840, only 8 American States had statutes dealing with abortion. • The common view was that abortions before “quickening” were viewed as misdemeanors and after as more serious crimes. • However, by the 1950s most states banned abortion except when necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman.

11. American Medical Association • One of the Blackmun’s claims is that the shift in position on abortion in the US was due in part to the American Medical Association who were against abortion. • In 1967, “the Committee on Human Reproduction urged the adoption of a stated policy of opposition to induced abortion, except when there is ‘documented medical evidence’ of a threat to the health or life of the mother, or that child ‘may be born with incapacitating physical deformity or mental deficiency,’ or that a pregnancy resulting from legally established statutory rape or forcible rape or incest may constitute a threat to the mental or physical health of the patient,’ two other physicians ‘chosen because of their recognized professional competence have examined the patient and have concurred in writing,’ and the procedure ‘is performed in a hospital accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals.’” (24).

12. 3 reasons for Criminalizing Abortion • (1) To discourage illicit sexual conduct. • (2) To protect against hazardous medical procedures (for the protection of the woman). • (3) to protect prenatal life.

13. To Protect the Pregnant Woman • This justification made sense prior to the 20th century; however, with the discovery of antiseptic techniques and antibiotics (1940), early-stage abortions have become very safe (as safe as giving birth). • Still, states have a right and interest in regulating the health and medical standards, including abortions.

14. To Protect prenatal Life • Blackmun argues that it is not clear that the state’s original position in criminalizing abortion had to do with protecting the life of the fetus. • The proponents of this view argue that human life begins at conception, but the statutes recognition of “quickening” as a pivotal point in the fetus’s development for criminalizing abortion seems to suggest that the original intention of the law was not to treat the early fetus as a full fledged person with full rights under the constitution. • Nevertheless, the state can have an interest in protecting potential human life.

15. US Constitution and Right to Privacy • The Right to Privacy • “The Constitution does not explicitly mention any right to privacy.” • However, “the Court has recognized that a right of personal privacy, or a guarantee of certain areas or zones of privacy does exist under the Constitution.” • “They also make it clear that the right has some extension to activities relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, and child rearing and education.”

16. Supreme Court Decision • “This right to privacy, whether it be founded in the 14th Amendment's concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action, as we feel it is, or , as the District Court determined, in the 9th Amendment's reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”

17. The Right to Abortion • The right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy is NOT Absolute. • A woman DOES NOT have the right to terminate her pregnancy “at whatever time, in whatever way, and for whatever reason she alone chooses.” • Moreover, the court does not hold that one has an UNLIMITED right to do what they wish with their body.

18. Court’s Decision • “We, therefore, conclude that the right of personal privacy includes the abortion decision, but that this right is not unqualified and must be considered against state interests in regulation.”

19. States Interest • (1) Protection of Health • (2) Medical Standards • (3) Protection of potential human life

20. Person • The constitution does not define “person”. • Moreover, there is no application of the term person that refers to a prenatal fetus. • “… the word “person,” as used in the 14th Amendment, does not include the unborn.”

21. When does Human Life Begin? • The Court: “we need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.” • The Court adopts no “theory of life”.

22. “Compelling” • “…the State does have an important and legitimate interest in preserving and protecting the health of the pregnant woman, …, and that it has still another important and legitimate interest in protecting the potential human life. These interest are separate and distinct. Each grows in substantiality as the woman approaches term and, at a point during pregnancy, each becomes ‘compelling’”. • Compelling means the state’s interests outweigh the woman’s right to privacy.

23. Protecting the Woman • The state's interest in protecting the woman becomes compelling after the 1st trimester. • This point is crucial because it is a medical fact that during the 1st trimester abortion is as safe as child birth.

24. Protecting Potential Life • The state’s interest in protecting potential human life becomes compelling at the moment of viability. • Viability (24 – 28 weeks) is a crucial point because the fetus can technically survive without the help of the mother.