Roe Vs Wade Case Summary
Roe v. Wade: A case summary
By: Susan Brown
Roe v. Wade is one of the most recognized decisions made by the Supreme Court even though it is in no way there most important one. In 1970 Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington brought a lawsuit on behalf of a pregnant women who was a resident of Dallas named Norma L. McCorvey (“Jane Roe”). They claimed that the Texas law that criminalized most abortions violated Roe’s constitutional rights. Before this case was brought to court abortions could only be done if it was to save the life of the mother and most states had heavy restrictions or even banned the practice of abortion all together. Roe’s life was in no way endangered but she could not afford to travel to another state and she felt she had a right to terminate her pregnancy in a safe medical environment. The lawsuit was filed against Henry Wade who was the Dallas County District Attorney in a Texas federal court (PBS, 2006). The court in Texas did rule that the law violated the constitution but Wade appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court which toke them 2 years to review (PBS, 2006).
The decision came on January 22, …show more content…
She was hoping to finish the case in time to have the abortion but when that became impossible she was still determined to do it for other women. Later that child was also given up for adoption (West 's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2005). In 1989, McCorvey went public and became allies with the abortion movement but by doing this she was the target of many incidents of harassment. She gave many speeches and traveled a lot to speak to people promoting the reproductive rights of women (West 's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2005). It wasn’t until 1995 upon meeting a Reverend Philip Benham that she changed her mind about abortion and became pro-life (West 's Encyclopedia of American Law,
By: Susan Brown
Roe v. Wade is one of the most recognized decisions made by the Supreme Court even though it is in no way there most important one. In 1970 Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington brought a lawsuit on behalf of a pregnant women who was a resident of Dallas named Norma L. McCorvey (“Jane Roe”). They claimed that the Texas law that criminalized most abortions violated Roe’s constitutional rights. Before this case was brought to court abortions could only be done if it was to save the life of the mother and most states had heavy restrictions or even banned the practice of abortion all together. Roe’s life was in no way endangered but she could not afford to travel to another state and she felt she had a right to terminate her pregnancy in a safe medical environment. The lawsuit was filed against Henry Wade who was the Dallas County District Attorney in a Texas federal court (PBS, 2006). The court in Texas did rule that the law violated the constitution but Wade appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court which toke them 2 years to review (PBS, 2006).
The decision came on January 22, …show more content…
She was hoping to finish the case in time to have the abortion but when that became impossible she was still determined to do it for other women. Later that child was also given up for adoption (West 's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2005). In 1989, McCorvey went public and became allies with the abortion movement but by doing this she was the target of many incidents of harassment. She gave many speeches and traveled a lot to speak to people promoting the reproductive rights of women (West 's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2005). It wasn’t until 1995 upon meeting a Reverend Philip Benham that she changed her mind about abortion and became pro-life (West 's Encyclopedia of American Law,