Roe V. Wade Case Study

Roe v. Wade (1973) is a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. A pregnant single woman, the plaintiff Norma McCorvey, brought a class action lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Texas criminal abortion laws. These laws made it illegal to have or attempt an abortion, except on medical advice for the purpose of saving a mothers life. Mrs. McCorvey, using the pseudonym Jane Roe, was a young woman, divorced, unemployed at the time, and searching for a solution to her unplanned pregnancy. Roe made the assertion that prohibiting abortion at any time before birth violated a woman’s constitutional right to privacy. In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in agreement with Mrs. McCorvey, justifying the …show more content…
Wade was the case of Griswold vs. Connecticut (1965). The law during the time made the use of any drug, instrument, or article, to prevent contraception, illegal. However, the court majority opinion determined the laws preventing contraception as unconstitutional and a violation of the right to privacy. The Court said that families have a right to privacy in their decisions about having children and sexual relationships. Implied in the first, third, fourth, and ninth amendments (Hall and Patrick --) the Griswold case gave justices the opportunity to define the right to privacy extended in Roe vs. Wade (1973) which made intergenerational conflict more intense than it had ever been. Roe vs. Wade was a case where such tension turned frustration into legal …show more content…
Wade decision has affected all aspects of society, from the role of the Supreme Court to the human status of an unborn fetus. Many scholars refer to the case as the Dred Scott of the twentieth century. The decision sparked a national discussion on judicial activism, and the role the Supreme Court has on public policy. No other case like Roe vs. Wade has had such a direct impact on public law. Furthermore, the case drew an imaginary line, dividing the country into either the pro-life or pro-choice category. As a result, abortion still remains a pressing political, social and moral issue. Hence the title, landmark, no other subject has resonated such disparity and importance in American politics. Roe vs. Wade decision is considered a representation of the changing society during the 1970’s. A very conservative approach, highly restricted and opposed abortion in the past, however since this decision, a marked rise in liberalism and the significance of individual freedom was relayed upon government, politics, and

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