Volume 1, Issue 1
ROE V. WADE, 1973
Abortion
Pro-Life or Pro-Choice?
by Caitlin Riopelle
A fetus
http://www.zavaj.com/pictures/
nature/embryo/
The argument over abor-
tion has rapidly progressed
into a national debate of le-
gal issues and moral values.
Even with such a growing
sensitivity to the issue, many
are still uninformed as to
what abortion actually is.
An abortion is when an
embryo or fetus in a womb is
terminated. This can refer to
a miscarriage or a purposely
induced termination. It is the
knowledgeable killing of the
embryo or fetus that is cur-
rently under debate.
Abortions that are deliber-
ately caused fall into one of
the following categories:
therapeutic or elective abor-
tion. Therapeutic abortion is
most commonly used to save
the life of the mother, to pre-
serve her physical or mental
health, or in cases of rape or
incest. Those abortions that
are performed for any other
reason are considered elec-
tive.
While both of these types
of abortion come under fire
from the public, many
people are only against elec-
tive abortion.
(Abortion continued on page 2)
T H E D A I L Y J U S T I C E April 2, 2006
W e d d i n g t o n v. F l o w e r s
T h e A r g u m e n t
b y B a r b a r a R a d u l e s c u
Representing plaintiff Jane Roe, 26-year-old Sarah A major component in her
Weddington spoke out against the Texas anti-abortion argument was her defense of
laws. She assertively and eloquently defended a woman's women who were left preg-
choice in being a mother. She not only spoke for her client nant as the result of rape or
but for all the women in Texas who were seemingly op- incest, both of which were
pressed by the anti-abortion laws. Women would often be not exceptions to the Texas
forced to drop out of schools if found pregnant and suf- laws.
fered further social problems. She argued that an abortion Representing defendant
carried less risk than contraceptives and that women Henry Wade in this argument
should not be obligated to use them in order to avoid an was Robert C. Flowers. He
unwanted pregnancy.
argued that Texas wished to
protect fetuses and embryos
and allow the unborn chil-
dren “life, liberty, and pursuit
of happiness.” In response
to Weddington, he stated
that actual birth and contra-
ceptives were less risky that
abortions. In a final attempt
Abortion protest to salvage his case, he
http://www.juneauempire.com/ (Argument continued on page 2)
AbortionAntLR.jpg
B e f o r e t h e C a s e
T h e S t o r y B e h i n d t h e C o n t r o v e r s y
by Elizabeth Hardy
The controversial case of Roe v. Wade took place in 1974. But what happened be-
fore the court rulings occurred? The events leading to the case actually began about
four years before. The center player of the controversy, known in court as Jane Roe for
anonymity, was a woman named Norma McCorvey. The Louisiana-born McCorvey was
pregnant at age twenty-three.
During this time the woman was living in Texas. The state had established strict anti-
abortion laws, which only allowed the procedure to be done in extreme cases. The legis-
lation stated that abortions were illegal unless the medical well-being of the prospective
mother was in jeopardy.
The issue, however, was that McCorvey had, at the time, claimed she was raped. This
(Background continued on page 2)

(Background continued from page 1)
led to the argument of whether
or not the abortion procedure
could be used legally.
When the argument was exam-
ined further, the Texas law was
put into question. It was then
accused of being unconstitu-
tional towards the rights of
women. What’s more, the law
was accused of going against
the “right of privacy” ruling of
the 1965 case, Griswold v.
Connecticut.
Sarah Weddington
http://www.wired.com/news me-
diaplayer/roevwade_1971C00.html
Amendments
The Right of Privacy
by Briana Hattabaugh
In the 1973 Supreme Court
case Roe v. Wade, Jane Roe
and her attorneys went to court
claiming that the Texas laws,
which did not allow Roe to have
an abortion, were unconstitu-
tional. Roe and her attorneys
claimed that her constitutional
right to privacy was violated
due to the restrictions of the
state law. Traces of support for
the right of an individual’s pri-
vacy were found in the 1st, 4th,
5th, 9th, and 14th Amend-
ments of the Constitution, of
which Roe was able to support
her argument and win the case.
Aftermath (Argument continued from page 1)
The Court’s Decision argued that the father of the
by Angelique Crest
child should have a say in the
The Supreme Court issued its decision on January matter. Flowers spoke in an
22, 1973, with a 7 to 2 majority voting to strike down unassertive manner in contrast
Texas’s abortion laws. State laws outlawing abortion
to Weddington, and didn’t have
were set aside by the Court, permitting abortions
throughout pregnancy. The opinion of the Court, written many reasons for his support of
by Justice Harry Blackmun, stated that the word the Texas anti-abortion laws.
“person” in the Constitution “does not include the un-
born.” The court found support for a constitutional right The Constitutional
of privacy in the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Four- Question
teenth Amendments, and decided that this “right of pri- Right or Wrong
vacy” was “broad enough to encompass a woman’s de- by Kathy Larson
cision whether to terminate her pregnancy.”
Justices Byron R. White and William H. Rehnquist
wrote dissenting opin-
ions in the Roe v. Wade
case. Justice White
stated that he “found
nothing in the language
or history of the Constitu- Two Choices
http://www.msu.edu/
tion to support the
Court’s judgment” and
The
that he could not agree
constitutional issue questioned
with the majority of other
in the Roe v. Wade case was if
Justices in their decision Constitution
the Constitution permitted a
because he believed http://www.juris.uqam.ca/images/
deuxieme_amendement_2.jpg woman to terminate her preg-
that the Court valued
nancy by abortion within the
“the convenience of the
first trimester. The justices
pregnant mother more than the continued existence
concluded that an abortion
and development of the life or potential life that she
was a personal and private de-
carries.” Justice Rehnquist elaborated on White’s dis-
cision for a woman to make.
senting opinion by saying, “To reach its result the Court
Although the outcome of the
necessarily has had to find within the scope of the Four-
case resolved several issues,
teenth Amendment a right that was apparently com-
abortion will continue to be a
pletely unknown to the drafters of the Amendment.”
personal and difficult decision
Both Justices represented the minority opinion regard-
and action that will always be
ing the Court’s decision concerning the landmark Roe v.
considered controversial.
Wade Court case.
(Abortion continued from page 1)
Feeling that the fetus is a human being with the right to live, these people have been
labeled as pro-life. Those who are pro-choice, however, believe that women have the
right to decide what to do with their own bodies. Some merely feel that restrictions
should be placed on abortion. Such people think that therapeutic abortion, rather than
elective, should be allowed.
Due to the fact that morals seem to cling tightly to this topic, people often become
fierce in their opinion. Feeling that the mothers consenting to elective abortions are mur-
derers, extreme pro-lifers hold mass protests and use shock factors, such as pictures of
botched abortions, to gain support. Those who are pro-choice conduct protests as well,
and fight for the rights of women.
It was the case of Roe vs. Wade that add much fuel to these debates. In the case of
Roe vs. Wade, elective abortion was made legal in the first trimester and limited in the
second. Many rejoiced over the verdict of this case while others redoubled their efforts
to overturn it. Even though the court case was a landmark decision in the history of abor-
tion, the debate still lingers.