roe v. wade
Case name: Jane Roe, et al. v. Henry Wade, District Attorney of Dallas County
Year decided: 1973
Result: 7-2, in favor of Roe
Related constitutional issue/amendment: Ninth Amendment (right to privacy, abortion)
Civil rights or civil liberties: civil liberties
Significance/precedent: The Court found that a woman's right to an abortion is part of her right to privacy, recognized in Griswold v. Connecticut ("prenumbras" in which the right to privacy falls) and is protected by the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling allowed women to have complete control over the pregnancy during the first trimester. As the viability of the fetus increases, so does the state's compelling interest. During the second trimester of the pregnancy, the state can regulate access to abortions, within reason and during the third trimester, states can limit or even prohibit abortions if a woman's life is not in danger. This controversial ruling will ultimately be upheld in future cases such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Quote from majority opinion: "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. The detriment that the State would impose upon the pregnant woman by denying this choice altogether is apparent."
Summary of the dissent: There is nothing in the language or history of the constitution that supports the Court's ruling. The constitution does not warrant the value of the convenience of the mother over the continued existence and development of the potential life she carries.
Six-word summary: Abortion part of right to privacy.
Year decided: 1973
Result: 7-2, in favor of Roe
Related constitutional issue/amendment: Ninth Amendment (right to privacy, abortion)
Civil rights or civil liberties: civil liberties
Significance/precedent: The Court found that a woman's right to an abortion is part of her right to privacy, recognized in Griswold v. Connecticut ("prenumbras" in which the right to privacy falls) and is protected by the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling allowed women to have complete control over the pregnancy during the first trimester. As the viability of the fetus increases, so does the state's compelling interest. During the second trimester of the pregnancy, the state can regulate access to abortions, within reason and during the third trimester, states can limit or even prohibit abortions if a woman's life is not in danger. This controversial ruling will ultimately be upheld in future cases such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Quote from majority opinion: "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. The detriment that the State would impose upon the pregnant woman by denying this choice altogether is apparent."
Summary of the dissent: There is nothing in the language or history of the constitution that supports the Court's ruling. The constitution does not warrant the value of the convenience of the mother over the continued existence and development of the potential life she carries.
Six-word summary: Abortion part of right to privacy.