Case Description
The abortion rights case of Roe v. Wade was chosen, which was a historic decision made by the Supreme Court of the United States. The background of the case is that in 1969 Norma McCorvey discovered an unwanted pregnancy and decided to claim rape, which would allow her under the law to have an abortion (Ziegler, 2020). However, this plan could not be initially implemented; McCorvey later sued the state of Texas for the criminalization of abortion laws with the help of lawyers and under the pseudonym of Roe in the court of insolvency (Ziegler, 2020). The lawsuit was accepted, but the ban on the law was not implemented.
Consequently, the case was filed with the Supreme Court, even though the woman had already given birth (Ziegler, 2020). One side argued that there was no legal way for women to terminate a pregnancy in Texas (Ziegler, 2020). The McCorvey side claimed that she had the right to abortion by personal privacy rights (Ziegler, 2020). The outcome of the case was that the court ruled in favor of the woman and overturned the anti-abortion law.
Case Significance
This case has become one of the most high-profile precedents in pregnancies and health-related decisions. I believe that the overturn of the abortion ban was a crucial step in establishing proper healthcare services and promoting fundamental rights for women. As a result of the Roe v. Wade case, it was possible to not only provide safe procedures but also decrease the number of deaths and sepsis (Reagan, 2022).
Moreover, I view this case as crucial since it gave women safety and eradicated prosecutions for their choices, which is essential for democracy. Crime rates decreased in the next three decades with the ability of women to have legal abortions (Donohue & Levitt, 2020). However, nowadays, it has become a pressing issue yet again due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which enabled bans on abortions and put the health of women at risk (Bernard, 2023). As a result, more measures need to be taken to protect women.
References
Bernard, R. (2023). Responding to the overturning of Roe v. Wade: 6 immediate actions for primary care internists. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 38(1), 219-220. Web.
Donohue, J. J., & Levitt, S. (2020). The impact of legalized abortion on crime over the last two decades. American Law and Economics Review, 22(2), 241-302. Web.
Reagan, L. J. (2022). When abortion was a crime: Women, medicine, and law in the United States, 1867-1973. University of California Press.
Roe v. Wade and its impact. (n.d.). US History. Web.
Ziegler, M. (2020). Abortion and the law in America. Cambridge University Press.