Roe versus Wade originally started in 1970, but Supreme Court ruling was finally made in January of 1973. Norma McCorvey, who goes by Jane Roe for the case, goes against the District Attorney of Dallas County, Henry Wade. Wade is the one who enforced the anti-abortion law in Texas. Roe versus Wade is most famously known as the “abortion case” of the Supreme Court cases, but it also helps protect women’s privacy rights. The main focus of this case is to determine if abortion is a right to a woman’s privacy or if it is illegal.
Norma McCorvey became pregnant for her third time in 1969 when she was only 21 years old. Living with her father in Texas and not making a large enough income to support a child, she felt the need to terminate her pregnancy. At that time in Texas, the only way to have an abortion was if rape or incest were the reason a woman got pregnant or if the pregnancy was harmful to the mother. To be able to abort her child, McCorvey falsely stated that she was raped, which she admitted to lying in her testimony before Congress in 2005 (The Consequences of Roe v Wade).
After investigation of her alleged rape case, there was not enough evidence to prove she was raped. So therefor she did not get an abortion. She then tried to illegally abort her child, but failed once again because all clinics were shut down by authorities. McCorvey gave birth to a little girl who she gave up for adoption. Through a local attorney, McCorvey met Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington, Texas attorneys who were seeking for an abortion case.
Weddington had an abortion in 1967, and eventually wanted to find a deep case where she could help in the legalizing abortion which is why she happily took on this case (“Abortion: One Romania Is Enough 2). In March 1970, the two attorneys filed a suit against Henry Wade, which was the first major step in the Roe v Wade Supreme Court case. The first case hearing was in May of 1970 at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas located in Dallas, Texas. Coffee and Weddington fought on behalf of McCorvey, who went by the name ‘Jane Roe’ for the case.
The three judges in the court agreed that the Texas law that made abortion illegal was unconstitutional based upon the legal aspects of the case and with backing of the 9th amendment. Even though the court came to that agreement, the state of Texas decided against the court and appealed the decision which lead the case to the Supreme Court. Roe’s attorneys went before the Supreme Court in 1971 and 1972. Their argument was based on the 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, and the 14th amendments. All of which have the common factor of privacy of an American citizen.
The 9th and the 14th are the two main arguments during the case. The 9th amendment supports Roe’s case because abortion is not clearly stated within the constitution, so the topic is saved for the people to decide. The due process clause of the 14th amendment supports legalizing abortion as well because it states that the state must respect all legal rights that are owned to a person. Coffee and Weddington fought that abortion was a part of a woman’s right to privacy, which is a right owned to a person.
According to just these two specific amendments, making abortion illegal would be considered unconstitutional. The Supreme Court finally ruled 7-2 in favor of Roe. The argument of the majority opinion is that even though the Constitution doesn’t specifically say anything about privacy, but the court realizes that an American citizens should be granted a right to privacy, “We, therefore, conclude that the right of personal privacy includes the abortion decision” (Blackmun 5).
They leave the choice to terminate a pregnancy is between a woman and her doctor under certain conditions. The Supreme Court states that during the first trimester of a woman’s pregnancy, she is allowed to get an abortion if she so pleases. The second trimester, an abortion get conflicting and difficult. It is then something that must really concern a woman’s health. During a woman’s third trimester, she is not allowed to get an abortion. These are the guidelines that the court created that allowed women to have a right to their own choice, but still keep some of Texas’s law.
The minority opinion’s argument is that Texas must have had that law for a reason. There is a rational reason for every law. They also state that the writers of the 14th amendment did not mean for abortion to fall under the due process clause. They say the drafters did not foresee a possible hole in the Constitution. It was also said that ruling for abortion in this case would have been pointless because Norma McCorvey was not even pregnant at the time and gave birth to her daughter.
The minority’s argument is not as strong and supported as the majority’s. This court ruling of Roe v Wade affected and is still affecting Americans today. Roe In 1992, the core ruling of the Roe v Wade case was the base of another case, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v Casey. According to Planned Parenthood the court ruling had a huge impact on many abortion cases later, “The decision also set a legal precedent that affected more than 30 subsequent Supreme Court cases involving restrictions on access to abortion” (Planned Parenthood 2).
This case opened up opportunities for other women and their cases. Through all the court hearings, Roe’s people never gave up and fought for her. This Supreme Court case assisted more aspects of women’s privacy rights to be legal. Women all across America are now able to make the decision for themselves if they wish to terminate their pregnancy during their first trimester thanks to Roe.