The decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Roe v. Wade can be called a fundamental decision in the US legal system that gave women the right to have an abortion. According to the Court’s ruling on January 22, 1972, the rule to privacy protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution covered women’s right to have an abortion, only in cases when their health and the potentiality of human life was not undermined (Roe v. Wade, n.d., para. 1).
The decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey reaffirmed the previous decision in Roe v. Wade as to women’s right to have an abortion. However, there was a turn from the initial decision pertaining to the legality of abortion in the third trimester (Planned Parenthood of Southeastern PA. v. Casey, n.d., para. 1). Therefore, such a ruling encouraged women to be more thoughtful about their decision and not to undermine the viability of the fetus.
The immediate political and social effect of the Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey decisions related to the conflict between governmental bodies and political parties that oppose the right to abortion. Most notably, the decision of the Supreme Court has contributed to the creation of the split in the political opinions of the Democratic and Republican parties, having either a pro-choice or anti-choice position. The controversial decision of the Supreme Court influenced the powers of some governmental branches, especially the court system, challenged by the nationwide debate (Lagasse, 2016).
The US healthcare system is a governmental branch that experienced the most shifts and changes over the years. For example, in the 1960’s, abortion was such a dangerous procedure that seventeen percent of pregnancy-related deaths were caused by illegal abortion (Planned Parenthood, 2014, p. 2). However, after the Roe v. Wade ruling, the government had invested in facilitating safe abortion procedures that did not undermine women’s health. As to women’s decisions to have an abortion at the same time with preserving health remains a primary concern for the majority of governmental branches.
Roe v. Wade decision remains a subject of many political, legal, and social disputes on whether it should be overruled. Because the language of the Supreme Court decision did not include any strict guidelines on the time in which the pregnancy can be terminated, some portion of the public supports its overruling. Also, the Supreme Court decision is surrounded by major fallacy and misconception, for example, it is thought that Roe v. Wade overruling would give the states the power to decide on their regulations on abortion, an opinion not supported by evidence (Fallon, 2007, p. 612).
Despite the debates about overruling Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, it is highly unlikely that the overruling will occur because of the tremendous impact it would have on the US society. A large portion of American women regards abortion as an acceptable method of terminating an unwanted pregnancy. Also, 53% of women choose to proceed with an unwanted pregnancy, which speaks volumes about the importance of choice (Sedler, 2006, p. 1211). The overruling of the decision will be only possible if subsequent decisions weakened the initial ruling, or in cases when some inconsistencies between new and old decision appear.
References
Fallon, R. (2007). If Roe were overruled: Abortion and the Constitution in a post-Roe World. Saint Louis University Law Journal, 51, 611-654.
Lagasse, P. (Ed). (2016). The Columbia Encyclopedia (Vol. 6). New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Planned Parenthood. (2014). Roe v. Wade: Its history and impact.
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern PA. v. Casey. (n.d.).
Roe v. Wade. (n.d.)
Sedler, R. (2006). The Supreme Court will not overrule Roe v. Wade. Hofstra Law Review, 34, 1207-1213.