Information about the case
Argued: December 13, 1971.
Reargued: October 11, 1972.
Decided: January 22, 1973.
Reargued: October 11, 1972.
Decided: January 22, 1973.
The Case: During the 1970's, Texas' laws against abortion were simple, no abortion was legal, at any time, for any reason, except of course if the mother's life was at risk. A pregnant woman challenged the Texas law going by the name "Jane Roe" to conceal her identity throughout the case. Two years of evidence later, and reasoning from a prior case, Griswold v. Connecticut, and the justices agreed that an abortion within the first trimester of a pregnancy was legal because of a woman's right to privacy granted in the ninth and 14th amendments.
The Decision: With a 7-2 vote, the court decided that the law against abortion violated a woman's ninth and 14th amendment rights. These rights protected a woman's right to have an abortion during the first trimester, three months, of a pregnancy.
Why is this important and who did it even affect? This case gave woman the legal backings to have an abortion within the first three months of pregnancy. With Texas' law changing, many other states began to follow suit, legalizing certain abortions based on how far along the baby was. Feminist groups were thrilled with the ruling, but any issue involving legal and moral challenges will always cause debate. There is a constant, even to this day, struggle between a babies right to life, and a woman's right to choose. With the Catholic Church forbidding almost all abortions, and the approval from the state, many woman are left to choose between what's allowed by their country, and what's allowed by their faith, what's allowed by their God. This case effected those woman who, had this case not been tried, would have had to seek out black market abortions by unlicensed doctors, or people. This case also affected the people of the Catholic Church and drew the line between pro-choice and pro-life people making it more distinct than ever. Lastly, this case affected the lives of all the millions of babies who were aborted by their mothers before they ever had a chance to live.