What is Roe v. Wade?
Informative Speech
Laurie Swede
Being stripped of the freedom of choice by your own government and forced to make a detrimental decision regarding your own body is what many women have to face in today’s society. Conservative lawmakers, usually being old white men, like Henry Wade in the Supreme Court Case of Roe v. Wade, should not have the authority to decide what women do with their bodies or have a say in the abortion process, which is the process of removing a fetus before it is born, because they have no idea what women have to go through during this process and base their decisions on religion which is usually not factually supported. Roe v. Wade was a key turning point in the progression of women’s rights within the United States. Though abortion access should be available nationwide, it is not due to individual state regulations and restrictions regarding the abortion process. With about 43 states prohibiting abortion up until a certain point, the accessibility of abortions has always been a controversial topic throughout the past few decades, and the Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade was the first-ever case where this issue was addressed.
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In 1973, Jane Roe sought out an abortion for her unwanted pregnancy and was refused one due to the regulations of her state. Roe lived in Texas, where there was the Texas Penal Code, which limited abortions in cases deemed “for the purpose of saving the life of the mother” (“Cases”). Regarding restriction, Roe wrote a claim against her district attorney of Dallas County, Henry Wade. She claimed that this law violated her 14th Amendment right to privacy from the government regarding her own personal liberties. The court of appeals upheld this case, eventually making it to the Supreme Court, and the final decision was a 7-2 majority vote in favor of Roe. (“Cases”).
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The ultimate ruling of this case was that it is unconstitutional for abortion to become criminalized because it violates women’s right to privacy granted by the Fourteenth Amendment (“Cases”). Though the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jane Roe who fought for her right to privacy, according to journalist Nina Liss-Schultz, “since then, states have enacted more than 1,200 restrictions on abortion--more than a third of them since 2010--casting them as measures to protect women's health, parental rights, or religious freedom”. Though the states claim that these restrictions are to protect mothers, they are sadly stripping said mothers of their choice to choose to have an abortion. These restrictions actively hinder women who wish to terminate their pregnancy but are left unable to do so because of these laws.
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Conservatives argue that after Roe v. Wade and the legalization of abortion, the right to privacy was fabricated and not supported by the actual text of the Constitution and, therefore, not viable (Greenlee). By taking away a woman's right to abortion, her constitutional freedoms are infringed upon, which then emphasizes the issue of gender equality and the autonomy of women. The 20-week ban, which is being pushed by conservative lawmakers, against the rulings of Roe v. Wade, is a ban on abortions after 20-weeks into pregnancy due to "viability" even though pregnancies are generally viable at 24-26 weeks according to journalist, Greenlee. Even if a woman needed an abortion for a particular medical ailment, she would not be able to receive one, and the outcome could be detrimental to her health. Any laws against abortion concerning pre-viability are unconstitutional because it is a blatant violation of women's rights to their bodies and privacy, the key factor in the deciding of Roe v. Wade, which is supported by the Fourteenth Amendment. As stated by Greenlee, "it has been "black letter law"—or an established legal rule—for 40 years that abortion cannot be banned before viability with or without exceptions". These lawmakers are going directly against this law that an abortion cannot be prohibited before viability by trying to push the 20-week ban, and these lawmakers are also attempting to break down Roe v. Wade rulings of the right to safe abortions.
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Roe v. Wade sought to establish these simple choices for women: women should have complete freedom to do as they please with their own bodies without government interference. Women should be able to choose abortion without having to navigate the restrictions of their states. Women should have access to safe abortion to prevent the worst outcome. Roe v. Wade established that the government should not have the ability to strip the freedom of choice from women. Roe v. Wade established that the government should not restrict the privacy of women, and the government should not place any restrictions on safe abortion access. Roe v. Wade, one of the most vital Supreme Court cases, ruled that women have the right to their own privacy; the Fourteenth Amendment ensures our privacy through due process of the law and also promotes personal autonomy. This Supreme Court case shapes the future for women, progresses their civil rights, and emphasizes the concept of individual autonomy.
Annotated Bibliography
“Cases - Roe v. Wade.” Landmark Supreme Court Cases, www.landmarkcases.org/cases/roe-v- wade.
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Roe v. Wade is the Supreme Court case discussed in this article. This document provides the reader with an overview of the whole case in a brief summary and then an in-depth perspective into the ruling on the case. This article could be v
ery useful in the understanding of the Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade.
Greenlee, Cynthia. “Three Constitutional Basics Every Abortion Rights Supporter Should Know.” Rewire.News, Rewire.News, 17 June 2016, rewire.news/article/2016/06/17/three- constitutional- basics-every-abortion-rights-supporter-know/.
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This article provides great information about the basic abortion rights within the government and the Constitution. It addresses a variety of court cases regarding abortion, their rulings, and how this impacted the tense controversy of abortion. This document goes in-depth about certain cases and provides the reader with a thorough understanding of the topic. This article is very useful in understanding the Constitutionality of state restrictions regarding abortions.
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Liss-Schultz, Nina. "C PLAN." Mother Jones, Sept.-Oct. 2019, p. 20+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A597963588/GPS? u=va_p_wakef_s&sid=GPS&xid=af0e98a5. Accessed 17 Sept. 2019.
This document addresses the idea of abortion clinics and underground abortions. It highlights
that if abortion access is taken away altogether, then those seeking abortions will turn to unsafe
and risky ways of getting rid of a pregnancy. This article also illustrates state laws regarding abortions. I think this article will be very useful in my thesis because it provides an insight into underground abortions which hasn’t been covered by many other articles.