Supreme Court Project: The Roe v. Wade Decision

Student Name

Mr. Houp

American Citizenship SS

Date

Supreme Court Project: The Roe v. Wade Decision

                Abortion has always been a controversial topic in America. In 1971, abortion was considered a crime in Texas. At the time, an abortion was only performed in interest of the mother, that is, if continuing carrying the baby to term would be detrimental to the mother. Also, 30 other states had very similar laws concerning abortion (pbs.org)  A pregnant Jane Roe brought it to court, maintaining that this law was in direct violation of the first, fourth, fifth, ninth, and fourteenth amendments. Roe pressed charges against the District Attorney, Henry Wade. Wade was responsible for abortions being illegal in Texas. (Citation?)

On January 22, 1973, the Court came back with a 7-2 vote saying that the laws of Texas violated the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment. Justices Burger, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, and Powell were for; Justices White and Rehnquist were against. Justice Blackmun wrote and delivered the opinion of the court. In it, he said, “This right of privacy, whether it be founded in the Fourteenth Amendment's concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action, as we feel it is, or, as the District Court determined, in the Ninth Amendment's reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. (Blackmun)”.  Justices White wrote a dissent; Rehnquist also wrote a dissent, while joining White’s.  Their opinion is as follows: “With all due respect, I dissent. I find nothing in the language or history of the Constitution to support the Court's judgment. The Court simply fashions and announces a new constitutional right for pregnant mothers [410 U.S. 222] and, with scarcely any reason or authority for its action, invests that right with sufficient substance to override most existing state abortion statutes...The Court apparently values the convenience of the pregnant mother more than the continued existence and development of the life or potential life that she carries. (Citation?)

As a result of this ruling, the laws of 46 different states were changed in accordance to the ruling of the Supreme Court. Since the Pro-Choice decision in 1973, there have been an estimated 54, 559, 615 abortions, at a rate of about 3,000 a day (deathroe.com).  As one would expect, there is much controversy as well as many questions surrounding the on-going pro-life vs. pro-choice debate. According to a poll taken by Yahoo! News, 56% of American adults support the decision of the Supreme Court. (Citation?) 

(Court Case Number #2?)

(Groups that support/disagree with the issue?)

The facts are shocking and the numbers staggering. In the question of abortion, it is not whether a woman has a right to privacy, but whether her right to privacy supersedes her child’s right to life. To say that it does, is to contend that there are limits to rights specifically expressed in the Constitution, but no limits on a right which had to be invented in an “penumbra” (deathroe.com). Many people who argue that a fetus is only the potential for human life, not an actual human life, but the facts contradict that statement.  Twenty days after conception, a baby’s heart begins to develop; there is a heartbeat at 21-22 days. Twelve weeks after gestation, developmentally, the baby is able to feel pain.
Abortions during the first trimester are first able to be performed around twelve to fourteen weeks; the baby’s heart is beating and is able to feel the horrible things that are being done to its already-forming body. (Citation?)  The voluntary, premeditated ending of a human life is murder. Therefore abortion is wrong.  

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Works Cited

"How Many Abortions Performed Since 1973." How Many Abortions Performed Since 1973. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://www.nrlc.org/news/2000/NRL02/how.html>.

"Landmark Cases of the U.S. Supreme Court." Roe v. Wade. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://www.streetlaw.org/en/landmark/cases/roe_v_wade>.

"Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Questions." Pro-life Answers to Pro-choice Questions - Abortion Arguments, Pro-life v Abortion, Facts on Abortion. Life Dynamics. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://www.deathroe.com/Pro-life_Answers/>.

"Roe v. Wade." Roe v. Wade. Cornell University Law School, 13 Dec. 1971. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0410_0113_ZS.html>.

"Roe v. Wade." Roe V Wade. Laws.com, 2011. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://cases.laws.com/roe-v-wade>.

"ROE v. WADE." Roe v. Wade. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1971/1971_70_18>.

"Roe vs. Wade Unscrambled." Roe vs. Wade Unscrambled. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://www.unbornintheusa.org/pages/P_roe.htm>.

Sass, Regina. "Poll: Most Americans Support Roe vs. Wade." Yahoo! Voices. Yahoo! News Network, 9 Nov. 2007. Web. 07 June 2012. <http://voices.yahoo.com/poll-most-americans-support-roe-vs-wade-650553.html>.

Stanton, Sandra S. "Roe v. Wade: American Public Opinion and Law on Abortion." Since Roe v. Wade: American Public Opinion and Law on Abortion. ProQuest, Jan. 2005. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/roe/overview.php>.

"U.S. Constitution: Fourteenth Amendment." 14th Amendment Guaranteed Rights. FindLaw, 2012. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment14/>.

White, Byron R., and William H. Rehnquist. "Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Decision." About.Com: Women's History. The New York Times Foundation. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://womenshistory.about.com/library/etext/gov/bl_roe_m.htm>.