ROE v. WADE Essays (693 words) - Sexual Revolution,

Name: Course: Title: Date: THE CURRENT NINE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT 1.Antonin Scalia 1986-present 2.Anthony Kennedy 1988- present 3.Clarence Thomas 1991-present 4.Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1993-present 5.Stephen Bayer 1994-present 6.John G. Robert 2005-present 7.Samuel Alito 2006-present 8.Sonia Sotomayor 2009-present 9.Elena Kagan 2010-present CASES SUMMARY ROE v. WADE Roe (P), a pregnant single woman, brought a class action suit challenging the constitutionality of the Texas abortion laws. These laws made it a crime to obtain or attempt an abortion except on medical advice to save the life of the mother. Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit included Hallford, a doctor who faced criminal prosecution for violating the state abortion laws; and the Does, a married couple with no children, who sought an injunction against enforcement of the laws on the grounds that they were unconstitutional. The defendant was county District Attorney Wade (D). Roe and Hallford won their lawsuits at trial. The district court held that the Texas abortion statutes were void as vague and for over broadly infringing the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of the plaintiffs. The Does lost, however, because the district court ruled that injunctive relief against enforcement of the laws was not warranted. The Does appealed directly to the Supreme Court of the United States and W ade cross-appealed the district courts judgment in favor of Roe and Hallford. ISSUES IN THIS CASE INCLUDES Do abortion laws that criminalize all abortions, except those required on medical advice to save the life of the mother, violate the Constitution of the United States? Does the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution protect the right to privacy, including the right to obtain an abortion? Are there any circumstances where a state may enact laws prohibiting abortion? Did the fact that Roes pregnancy had already terminated naturally before this case was decided by the Supreme Court render her lawsuit moot? Was the district court correct in denying injunctive relief? The Court held that, in regard to abortions during the first trimester, the decision must be left to the judgment of the pregnant womans doctor. In regard to second trimester pregnancies, states may promote their interests in the mothers health by regulating abortion procedures related to the health of the mother. Regarding third trimester pregnancies, states may promote their interests in the potentiality of human life by regulating or even prohibiting abortion, except when necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother.The Supreme Court held that litigation involving pregnancy, which is capable of repetition, yet evading review, is an exception to the general rule that an actual controversy must exist at each stage of judicial review, and not merely when the action is initiated. The Court held that while 28 U.S.C. 1253 does not authorize a party seeking only declaratory relief to appeal directly to the Supreme Court, review is not foreclosed when the case is brought on appeal from specific denial of injunctive relief and the arguments on the issues of both injunctive and declaratory relief are necessarily identical.The Does complaint seeking injunctive relief was based on contingencies which might or might not occur and was therefore too speculative to present an actual case or controversy. It was unnecessary for the Court to decide Hallfords case for injunctive relief because once the Court found the laws unconstitutional, the Texas authorities were prohibited from enforcing them. HOW THE RULING IN THE CASE IMPACTS THE LIVES OF AMERICANS Roe has come to be known as the case that legalized abortion nationwide. At the time the decision was handed down, nearly all states outlawed abortion except to save a womans life or for limited reasons such as preserving the womans health, or instances of rape, incest, or fetal anomaly. Roe rendered these laws unconstitutional, making abortion services vastly safer and more accessible to women throughout the country. The decision also set a legal precedent that affected more than 30 subsequent Supreme Court cases involving restrictions on access to abortion. References: 1.http://articles.latimes.com/1989-06-18/books/bk-3553_1_linda-coffee-norma-mccorvey-untold-story 2.http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/3013/9611/5870/Abortion_Roe_History.pdf