Roe vs Wade is a legal case through which the US Supreme Court decided to protect a woman’s right to an abortion prior to the viability of the fetus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roe vs Wade is the lawsuit that led the US Supreme Court to establish a constitutional right to abortion. Roe vs Wade challenged a women\u2019s right to personal privacy with regard to pregnancy and abortion. Roe questioned the US Supreme Court saying, \u201cDoes the Constitution recognize a woman\u2019s right to terminate a pregnancy by abortion?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a 7-2 majority Justice Harry Blackmun found that it did indeed \u2014 with exceptions. He suggested that abortion be done with a balance between the government\u2019s interests in protecting women\u2019s health and \u201cthe potentiality of human life.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The case began in 1970 when plaintiff Jane Roe\/Norma McCorvey wanted to have an absolute right to terminate pregnancy in any way and at any time. But the Supreme Court disagreed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jane Roe was a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey. She was an unmarried, unemployed 22-year-old and pregnant for the third time. She sought to have an abortion in Texas, but by the time the Supreme Court ruled in her favor, she gave birth to a girl. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Henry Wade was a local district attorney of Dallas County, Texas who was to enforce a state law to prohibit abortion. And McCorvey sued him when she sought the abortion in 1969.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
See also About: Roe vs Wade overturned: What happens now?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1973 the Court tried to balance the state\u2019s interests in the health of pregnant women and in the potential life of fetuses. They decided that in the interest of the pregnant woman\u2019s health, they would permit abortion at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time of Roe, abortion was legal in just 4 states and with restrictions in 16 others. But constitutional rights tend to have more power than state laws. So the court\u2019s decision silenced the abortion bans in 30 states. But they allowed states to enforce regulations for abortion during the second trimester. All in the interest of the pregnant woman\u2019s health of course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n See also About:Damaging economic effects of overturning Roe vs Wade<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Justice Harry Blackmun was still on the court in 1992 when the hearing for Planned Parenthood v. Casey was going on. This case was a challenge to Pennsylvania abortion laws that included a 24-hour waiting period. The conservative-leaning court unexpectedly upheld the right to abortion, making it easier for states to impose regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Justices Sandra Day O\u2019Connor, Anthony M Kennedy and David H Souter said in a court writing, \u201cA woman\u2019s right to terminate her pregnancy before viability is the central principle of Roe vs Wade. This rule of law and a component of liberty cannot be renounced.\u2033<\/p>\n\n\n\n But since then, conservative states have been plodding abortion rights with laws, including the recent Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat did the court decide in 1973?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
America before Roe vs Wade<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How abortion rights were altered in the US?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n