Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade
Name	Roe v. Wade
Arguedate	December 13, 1971
Rearguedate	October 11, 1972
Decidedate	January 22, 1973
Fullname	Jane Roe, et al. v. Henry Wade, District Attorney of Dallas County
Citations	410 U.S. 113 (1973)
Scotus	1972
Majority	Blackmun
Joinmajority	Burger, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell
Concurrence	Burger, Douglas, Stewart
Dissent	White, Rehnquist
Lawsapplied	U.S. Const. amend. XIV; Tex. Penal Code arts. 1191–1194, 1196

Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States generally protected a right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many U.S. state and federal abortion laws, and fueled an ongoing national debate in the United States about abortion. The case was filed in 1970 by Norma McCorvey—known in court documents as Jane Roe—against Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas.

Background and legal context

In the late 1960s, a movement to reform and repeal abortion laws was gaining momentum across the United States, influenced by feminist activism and public health concerns. Norma McCorvey, a pregnant single woman in Texas, sought an abortion but was unable to obtain one legally under Texas law, which criminalized abortion except to save the mother's life. Her attorneys, Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, filed a lawsuit in federal district court on her behalf, challenging the constitutionality of the Texas Penal Code. The district court ruled in McCorvey's favor, citing the Ninth Amendment, but declined to issue an injunction against enforcing the law, prompting an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. This legal challenge occurred amidst other significant privacy rulings, such as Griswold v. Connecticut.

Supreme Court decision

The case was first argued before the Supreme Court in December 1971, with Sarah Weddington representing Jane Roe. After the retirements of Hugo Black and John Marshall Harlan II, the case was reargued in October 1972 with a full bench, including newly appointed Justices Lewis F. Powell Jr. and William Rehnquist. On January 22, 1973, the Court issued a 7–2 decision, holding that the Fourteenth Amendment's concept of personal liberty and right to privacy encompassed a woman's decision to terminate her pregnancy.

Majority opinion and reasoning

Justice Harry Blackmun authored the majority opinion. The Court rejected the argument that a fetus is a "person" under the Fourteenth Amendment. It established a framework balancing the woman's right to privacy against the state's interests in regulating abortion, which shifted based on fetal viability. This framework divided pregnancy into three trimesters: during the first trimester, the abortion decision was left to the woman and her physician; in the second trimester, states could regulate abortion to protect maternal health; after viability, states could prohibit abortion except when necessary to protect the woman's life or health. The opinion drew upon historical legal and medical perspectives, citing sources like the American Medical Association and English common law.

Dissenting opinions

Justices Byron White and William Rehnquist authored dissenting opinions. Justice White criticized the majority for inventing a right not found in the Constitution and for its "exercise of raw judicial power." Justice Rehnquist argued that the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause was historically concerned with procedural fairness, not substantive rights like abortion, and that the issue should have been left to the democratic processes of the individual states.

Impact and legacy

The ruling immediately invalidated abortion laws in 46 states and triggered profound political, social, and legal changes. It galvanized the anti-abortion movement, leading to the formation of powerful political organizations like the National Right to Life Committee. Conversely, it was championed by reproductive rights groups such as the National Organization for Women and Planned Parenthood. The decision placed abortion at the center of American political discourse, influencing confirmation battles for the Supreme Court and becoming a litmus test for politicians. It also established a precedent cited in subsequent privacy cases, including Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Subsequent developments and overturning

For decades, the core holding was reaffirmed but also modified by subsequent rulings, most notably the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which replaced the trimester framework with the "undue burden" standard but upheld the central right. Political efforts to overturn the precedent intensified, leading to the appointment of justices by Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Donald Trump, and others who were critical of the decision. In the 2022 case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Supreme Court, in a 6–3 decision authored by Justice Samuel Alito, explicitly overturned it, ruling that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion and returning the authority to regulate abortion to the states and their elected representatives.

Category:United States Supreme Court cases Category:Abortion in the United States Category:1973 in United States case law