Introduce, Discuss, and Analyze Constitutional Legal Decisions, Specifically: Roe versus Wade
The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the topic of constitutional legal decisions. Specifically it will discuss the case Roe versus Wade, first decided in the 1973. Roe versus Wade is a controversial decision that has been challenged in the courts many times, and overturned by some states. It decided that a woman has the right to an abortion, up to a certain time limit in her pregnancy, and that the woman's right to terminate her pregnancy outweighs any rights the unborn fetus might possess. The ruling has been controversial from the beginning, and has split the country down the middle, with those who support the ruling on one side, and those who disagree with it on the other.Roe versus Wade, commonly referred to as Roe, began as a Texas case over a law that forbid any type of abortion unless the mother's life was at stake. The court's decision ruled against Texas and in favor of the rights of the woman, and in doing so, legalized abortion in the country for the first time. As one writer note
The two groups often go to battle, literally, over their beliefs, and many incidents of violence have occurred at abortion clinics throughout the country, including the murder of some doctors who worked in those clinics. What many regard as the nation's most divisive issue has taken on a language of its own, based on the Court's decision in Roe, subsequent eases, and prevailing social and legal thought" (Roy, 2003, p. The other group is the "free to choose" group, who believes it is a woman's right to choose whether to terminate a pregnancy or not. Another author notes, "The primary argument against the right to choose has it that 'personhood' begins at 'conception,' that fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses are 'persons' or 'unborn persons. ' This is a view with very little historical precedent, essentially a Vatican invention in the latter part of the nineteenth century" (Doerr, 2003, p. In effect, the court ruled for the individual liberty and the constitutional right of the mother and her right to control her own body and destiny. One was a group that has come to be known as "right to life" advocates. However, with a conservative administration, control of Congress, and now the Supreme Court, many believe the administration will attempt to overturn Roe versus Wade before President Bush leaves office. Whatever happens in the future, it is clear the country will continue to be divided over the issue of abortion and how it is regulated in this country. Another writer notes, "But by now, it should be clear that no member of the Court--past or present--believes that the unborn child is a 'person,' as that term is used in Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment" (Linton, 2002, p. Many believe that recent appointments to the Supreme Court will test the legality of the decision once and for all. Author Doerr continues, "But the greatest threats to choice, to reproductive health care, and to freedom of conscience are the accession to power of George W. Most right to life groups center their argument on the unborn child being a "person" at conception, but even many supporters of right to life do not believe this definition is the way to overturn the law.
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