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).

     A three-judge District Court panel tried the cases together and held that Roe and Hallford had standing to sue and presented justiciable controversies, and that declaratory relief was warranted. The court also ruled however that injunctive relief was not warranted and that the Does’ complaint was not justiciable.

     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 Wade cross-appealed the district court’s judgment in favor of Roe and Hallford.

     The Roe v. Wade decision changed the lives of women forever, it allowed women to be in control of their bodies, and it gave women the right to make a decision without having to break the law. Women would not have to seek dangerous practices to terminate a pregnancy.  Not every woman agrees with the decision, some of us who are pro-life, we believe that the courts made the incorrect decision. 

     I chose this topic because I believe that without Roe V. Wade, women’s rights would be stagnant, we would have not been able to enjoy the freedom we have and would not be able to exercise our rights.  Roe v. Wade’s decision opened up new doors to women rights and for it, I’m really grateful.