Case Law: Roe VS. Wade

Passed in the year 1973, Roe vs Wade was a landmark decision in the history of the United States Supreme Court in which it was held that right to abortion will be protected by the Constitution of the United States and will be considered as a constitutional right of every woman. This decision struck down many debates regarding abortion laws that were going around in the United States concerning the legality of the abortion laws and to the extent it should be permitted. Many angles like moral, religious, political, and practical views were involved in deciding the legality of this case. However, it was overruled in the year 2022, giving an end to the constitutional right to abortion.

There is no debate in the fact that the abortion is a very debatable and controversial topic in every jurisdiction and this case was of no exception. Norma McCorvey known for her case name “Jane Roe” was chosen by two attorneys – Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee to fight for the abortion laws of women. In 1970, a lawsuit was filed against the Dallas County District Attorney, Henry Wade, who represented the State of Texas by Coffee and Weddington in the United States District Court. The case was heard by a three-judge panel of district court judges. The Wade had stated that he will continue prosecuting people who perform abortions and an injunction will be applicable on McCorvey to get an abortion.

Legal Issues Involved

• Texas Defending the Abortion Restrictions: Putting forth an interest in safeguarding health, maintaining medical standards, and protecting prenatal life was the argument put forth by the Texas lawyer. This includes the health of the mother as well as the child during the period of pregnancy. The Supreme Court had analysed the developments of medical procedures and technology used in abortions and traced it back to the history of the Roman law.
• Constitutional Right to Privacy: One the major issues involved in the case of Roe vs. Wade was if the Constitution provides a right to privacy to women who are willing to opt for abortion as their right. This right was termed as fundamental and was put forth to be considered separate from government interference. It further stated that regardless of the provisions involved, the U.S. Constitution guarantees a right to privacy to protect a pregnant women’s decision whether to abort or continue with the pregnancy. Introduced in the 14 Amendment, the right to privacy was founded in the laws of the country. The court also reasoned that outlawing the abortion would infringe a pregnant woman’s right to privacy for several reasons.

Final Judgment

The Supreme Court’s decision was split into two arguments being presented. Firstly, they recognized that abortion does fall under the scope of right to privacy which was introduced in Dual Process Clause of the 14 Amendment. The Dual Process Clause do not expressly state that Americans have a right to privacy, but the Supreme Court recognized that right going back to 1891, a year before Roe’s case. It was established that the meaning of term ‘Liberty’ is much broader than interpretated and it extends the right to control over pregnancy.

It was also acknowledged that being forced to continue a pregnancy outside the willingness of a mother puts lots of pressure and risk on physical health, mental health, financial burdens and societal conditions. The opposition has argued that Constitutional protection commences from the process of conception and does not define a person per se. Post analyzing other cases relating to unborn children, it was concluded by the Supreme Court that an unborn child is never recognized as a person in whole sense by the law before.

This case also provided a different view on the fact when a life actual commences and had taken into view many faiths and doctor’s opinion. The Supreme Court did not agreed to the fact that the Constitution guarantees an absolute right to abortion within the framework of privacy rights and prevent them from putting some regulations or restrictions over it.

After much contemplation and debate, a framework was created to balance the state’s interest with privacy rights considering that the rights of pregnant people might conflict with the rights of the state in order to protect a potential human life. The Court has divided the rights into three parts of 12-week trimester:

• A. First Trimester: During a pregnant woman’s first trimester, the Supreme Court held that a state cannot regulate abortion when the abortion procedure can be performed by a licensed doctor in a medically safe condition.
• B. Second Trimester: During a pregnant woman’s second trimester, the Supreme Court held that a state might regulate abortion if the law is reasonably related to the health of the pregnant woman.
• C. Third Trimester: In the last trimester, it was held that the State’s interest in protecting the potential human life is more than the right to privacy and hence, abortion can be prohibited unless it is necessary to save the life or health of the pregnant person.

Many people are of the view that Roe vs Wade is the case that legalized abortion, however, that was not the case, it was changed the way how the government can regulate an abortion and its process without infringing the constitutional rights of a woman.

Subsequent Judicial Developments

Roe vs Wade was not the last case where the Supreme Court addresses abortion rights, there are many other cases where same issue was handled and privacy right was given a supremacy until 2022, when the case was overruled.

Whole Woman’s Health vs Hellerstedt

In the year 2016, the Supreme Court had evaluated abortion laws once again pursuant to Texas putting a series of restrictions on abortion clinics in the state in 2013. The abortion providers were required to have admitted privileges at a hospital not more than 30 miles away and doctors should have an ability to admit their patients in those hospitals as if they are employed in those hospitals and treat them without procuring any approval from another doctor at the hospital. This resulted in a reduced number of abortion clinics in Texas from 42 to 19. After the death of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, the case reached the Supreme Court, and it was held that the State cannot place restrictions on abortion clinics which creates an “undue burden” on the woman seeking an abortion.

Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health

In the case of Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health, the Supreme Court was looking at a banned abortion law after 15 weeks of pregnancy of Mississippi. Mississippi had asked the Court to completely overturn Roe vs Wade case and the same was overturned on June 2022 with a 6-3 vote. Post this decision, many states have tightened their abortion laws resulting in getting the abortion by women very difficult.

After this case, the legal expert Neal Kumar Katyal suggested that instead of leaving abortion laws up to the courts, the Congress can make a law that protects abortion rights and counteract the threat posed by the Mississippi case, protecting the rights of pregnant women.

Impact and Legacy

Since the Supreme Court’s decision became a law of the land there are annual protests regarding the decision on every anniversary because in the United States, access to abortion is more about social, religious and family values rather than legalities. The public opinion over abortion has remained unchanged over the years as per the CNN survey. Till date 38% of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in every situation involved, 42% think that it should be availed only in selected circumstances and 20% believe it should never be allowed. This data has been unchanged for the last 15 years.

After this case, there was 4.5% decline in births in the state and this case is overturned it will increase the fertility to 11% because then mothers will not travel to those states where abortions are legal. It also impacted in lower deaths of pregnant women due to increased physician skills, improved medical technology, and earlier termination of pregnancy. As pe the statistics and study, the legalized abortion also lead to reduction in the crime rate. Some people opposing this case have also stated that abortion is laid in civil rights rather than human rights, which is much more broader and would require governmental authorities to take active measures to ensure every woman has an access to abortion.