An Overview of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Decision

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court handed down its historic decision in Roe v. Wade, overturning a Texas interpretation of abortion law and making abortion legal in the United States.  It was a turning point in  womens reproductive rights and has remained a hot-button issue within United States politics ever since. The Roe v. Wade decision held that a woman, with her doctor, could choose abortion in earlier months of pregnancy without legal restriction, based primarily on the right to privacy. In later trimesters, state restrictions could be applied. Fast Facts: Roe v. Wade Case Argued: December 13, 1971; October 11, 1972Decision Issued:  January 22, 1973Petitioner:  Jane Roe (appellant)Respondent:  Henry Wade (appellee)Key Questions: Does the Constitution embrace a womans right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion?Majority Decision: Justices Burger, Douglas, Brennan, Stuart, Marshall, Blackmun, and PowellDissenting: Justices White and RehnquistRuling:  A womans right to an abortion falls within the right to privacy as protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. However, while decision gave women autonomy during the first trimester of pregnancy, different levels of state interest for the second and third trimesters were allowed.   Facts of the Case   In 1969, Texan Norma McCorvey was a poor, working class 22-year-old woman, unmarried and looking to end an unwanted pregnancy. But in Texas, abortion was illegal unless it was for the purpose of saving the life of the mother.† She was eventually referred to attorneys Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, who were looking for a plaintiff to challenge the Texas law. On their advice, McCorvey, using the pseudonym Jane Roe, filed a lawsuit against the Dallas County district attorney Henry Wade, an official responsible for enforcing criminal laws, including anti-abortion statutes. The suit said the law was unconstitutional because it was an invasion of her privacy; she sought the overturn of the law and an injunction so she could go ahead with the abortion.   The district court agreed with McCorvey that the law was unconstitutionally vague and violated her right to privacy under the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments, but refused to issue an injunction. McCorvey appealed and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, along with another case called Doe v. Bolton, lodged against a similar Georgia statute. The Supreme Court case filing occurred on March 3, 1970, when McCorvey was six months pregnant; she eventually gave birth and that child was adopted. She said she wanted to continue with the case to support other womens rights. Arguments for Roe v. Wade began on December 13, 1971. Weddington and Coffee were the plaintiffs lawyers. John Tolle, Jay Floyd, and Robert Flowers were the defendants lawyers. Constitutional Issues   The Roe v. Wade case was argued for the plaintiff Jane Roe on the grounds that the Texas abortion law violated the Fourteenth and Ninth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law to all citizens and, in particular, required that laws be clearly written.   Previous cases challenging abortion laws usually cited the Fourteenth Amendment, claiming that the law was not specific enough when a womans life might be threatened by pregnancy and childbirth. However, since attorneys Coffee and Weddington wanted a decision that rested on a pregnant womans right to decide for herself whether or not an abortion was necessary, they based their argument on the Ninth Amendment, which states: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. The framers of the Constitution had recognized that new rights might be developed in years to come and they wanted to be able to protect those rights. The state prepared its case primarily on the basis that a fetus had legal rights, which ought to be protected. The Arguments The argument for the plaintiff Jane Doe stated that, under the U.S. Bill of Rights, a woman has the right to terminate her pregnancy. It is improper for a State to impose on a womans right to privacy in personal, marital, familial, and sexual decisions. There is no case in the Courts history that declares that a fetus—a developing infant in the womb—is a person. Therefore, the fetus cannot be said to have any legal right to life. Because it is unduly intrusive, the Texas law is unconstitutional and should be overturned. The argument for the State rested on its duty to protect prenatal life. The unborn are people, and as such are entitled to protection under the Constitution because life is present at the moment of conception. The Texas law was, therefore, a valid exercise of police powers reserved to the States in order to protect the health and safety of citizens, including the unborn. The law is constitutional and should be upheld. Majority Opinion   On Jan. 22, 1973, the Supreme Court handed down their ruling, holding that a womans right to an abortion falls within the right to privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision gave a woman a right to abortion during the entirety of the pregnancy and defined different levels of state interest for regulating abortion in the second and third trimesters.   In the first trimester, the state (that is, any government) could treat abortion only as a medical decision, leaving medical judgment to the womans physician.In the second trimester (before viability), the states interest was seen as legitimate when it was protecting the health of the mother.After the viability of the fetus (the likely ability of the fetus to survive outside of and separated from the uterus), the potential of human life could be considered as a legitimate state interest. The state could choose to regulate, or even proscribe abortion as long as the life and health of the mother was protected. Majority: Harry A. Blackmun (for The Court), William J. Brennan, Lewis F. Powell Jr., Thurgood Marshall. Concurring: Warren Burger, William Orville Douglas, Potter Stewart Dissenting Opinion In his dissenting opinion, Justice William H. Rehnquist argued that the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment did not intend it to protect a right of privacy, a right which they did not recognize and that they definitely did not intend for it to protect a woman’s decision to have an abortion. Justice Rehnquist further argued that the only right to privacy is that which is protected by the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures. The Ninth Amendment does not apply here.   Finally, he concluded that because this issue required a careful balance of the interests of the woman against the interests of the state, it was not an appropriate decision for the Court to make, but instead was a question that should have been left up to state legislatures to resolve. Dissenting: William H. Rehnquist (for The Court), Byron R. White The Impact The Texas statute was struck down as a whole, and further, Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the United States, which was not legal at all in many states and was limited by law in others. All state laws limiting womens access to abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy were invalidated by the Roe v. Wade decision. State laws limiting such access during the second trimester were upheld only when the restrictions were for the purpose of protecting the health of the pregnant woman.   As for Norma McCorvey, four days after the decision, she publicly identified herself as Jane Roe. Living in a happy lesbian relationship in Dallas, she stayed relatively unknown until 1983, when she began volunteering at a womens health center. As an activist, she eventually helped establish the Jane Roe Foundation and the Jane Roe Womens Center, to help poor Texas women obtain legal abortions.   In 1995, McCorvey connected with a pro-life group and renounced abortion rights, helping co-create a new Texas nonprofit, Roe No More Ministry. Although she continued to live with her partner Connie Gonzalez, she also publicly rejected homosexuality. McCorvey died in 2017.   Sources Greenhouse, Linda, and Reva B. Siegel. Before (and after) Roe V. Wade: New Questions About Backlash. The Yale Law Journal 120.8 (2011): 2028-87. Print.Joffe, Carole. Roe V. Wade at 30: What Are the Prospects for Abortion Provision? Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 35.1 (2003): 29-33. Print.Klorman, Renee, and Laura Butterbaugh. Roe V. Wade Turns 25. Off Our Backs 28.2 (1998): 14-15. Print.Langer, Emily. Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide, dies at 69. The Washington Post February 28, 2017.  Ã‚  Prager, Joshua. The Accidental Activist. Vanity Fair Hive February 2013.  Skelton, Chris. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973). Justia.  Supreme Court Cases: Roe v. Wade. The Interactive Constitution of the United States. Prentice-Hall 2003.Ziegler, Mary. The Framing of a Right to Choose: Roe V. Wade and the Changing Debate on Abortion Law. Law and History Review 27.2 (2009): 281-330. Print.

The Victorian Time Period - 1108 Words

Many Victorians thought they were living in a time of great change. Queen Victoria’s long reign occurred during political and social stability. But this stability was established before Victoria and most of her subjects were even born. Britain was free of war between Napoleon’s defeat in 1815 and World War I in 1914. While in power, Victoria was queen-empress of over 200 million people not living in Great Britain. At the same time the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century was expanding. New towns, goods, wealth and jobs for those that were climbing through the middle class. Middle-class and working-class politicians were put into power, allowing all to have a say while still remaining a monarchy. Thomas Babington Macaulay helped show the middle class attitude of the time government, history, and civilization. To Macaulay, history was related to progress and progress was defined as actual improvements that the person could physically see or touch. 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The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 4 Free Essays

He frowned a little. â€Å"What’s real y going on. What Riley’s up to. We will write a custom essay sample on The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 4 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Why he keeps bringing the most random kids to her. Why it doesn’t seem to matter to Riley if it’s someone like you or if it’s someone like that idiot Kevin.† It sounded like he didn’t know Riley any better than I did. â€Å"What do you mean, someone like me?† I asked. â€Å"You’re the kind that Riley should be looking for – the smart ones – not just these stupid gang-bangers that Raoul keeps bringing in. I bet you weren’t some junkie ho when you were human.† I shifted uneasily at the last word. Diego kept waiting for my answer, like he hadn’t said anything weird. I took a deep breath and thought back. â€Å"I was close enough,† I admitted after a few seconds of his patient watching. â€Å"Not there yet, but in a few more weeks†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I shrugged. â€Å"You know, I don’t remember much, but I do remember thinking there was nothing more powerful on this planet than just plain old hunger. Turns out, thirst is worst.† He laughed. â€Å"Sing it, sister.† â€Å"What about you? You weren’t a troubled teen runaway like the rest of us?† â€Å"Oh, I was troubled, al right.† He stopped talking. But I could sit around and wait for the answers to inappropriate questions, too. I just stared at him. He sighed. The scent of his breath was nice. Everybody smel ed sweet, but Diego had a little something extra – some spice like cinnamon or cloves. â€Å"I tried to stay away from al that junk. Studied hard. I was gonna get out of the ghetto, you know. Go to col ege. Make something of myself. But there was a guy – not much different than Raoul. Join or die, that was his motto. I wasn’t having any, so I stayed away from his group. I was careful. Stayed alive.† He stopped, closing his eyes. I wasn’t done being pushy. â€Å"And?† â€Å"My kid brother wasn’t as careful.† I was about to ask if his brother had joined or died, but the expression on his face made asking unnecessary. I looked away, not sure how to respond. I couldn’t real y understand his loss, the pain it stil clearly caused him to feel. I hadn’t left anything behind that I stil missed. Was that the difference? Was that why he dwel ed on memories that the rest of us shunned? I stil didn’t see how Riley came into this. Riley and the cheeseburger of pain. I wanted that part of the story, but now I felt bad for pushing him to answer. Lucky for my curiosity, Diego kept going after a minute. â€Å"I kind of lost it. Stole a gun from a friend and went hunting.† He chuckled darkly. â€Å"Wasn’t as good at it then. But I got the guy that got my brother before they got me. The rest of his crew had me cornered in an al ey. Then, suddenly, Riley was there, between me and them. I remember thinking he was the whitest guy I’d ever seen. He didn’t even look at the others when they shot him. Like the bul ets were flies. You know what he said to me? He said, Want a new life, kid?'† â€Å"Hah!† I laughed. â€Å"That’s way better than mine. Al I got was, Want a burger, kid?'† I stil remembered how Riley’d looked that night, though the image was al blurry because my eyes’d sucked back then. He was the hottest boy I’d ever seen, tal and blond and perfect, every feature. I knew his eyes must be just as beautiful behind the dark sunglasses he never took off. And his voice was so gentle, so kind. I figured I knew what he would want in exchange for the meal, and I would have given it to him, too. Not because he was so pretty to look at, but because I hadn’t eaten anything but trash for two weeks. It turned out he wanted something else, though. Diego laughed at the burger line. â€Å"You must have been pretty hungry.† â€Å"Damn straight.† â€Å"So why were you so hungry?† â€Å"Because I was stupid and ran away before I had a driver’s license. I couldn’t get a real job, and I was a bad thief.† â€Å"What were you running from?† I hesitated. The memories were a little more clear as I focused on them, and I wasn’t sure I wanted that. â€Å"Oh, c’mon,† he coaxed. â€Å"I told you mine.† â€Å"Yeah, you did. Okay. I was running from my dad. He used to knock me around a lot. Probably did the same to my mom before she took off. I was pretty little then – I didn’t know much. It got worse. I figured if I waited too long I’d end up dead. He told me if I ever ran away I’d starve. He was right about that – only thing he was ever right about as far as I’m concerned. I don’t think about it much.† Diego nodded in agreement. â€Å"Hard to remember that stuff, isn’t it? Everything’s so fuzzy and dark.† â€Å"Like trying to see with mud in your eyes.† â€Å"Good way to put it,† he complimented me. He squinted at me like he was trying to see, and rubbed his eyes. We laughed together again. Weird. â€Å"I don’t think I’ve laughed with anybody since I met Riley,† he said, echoing my thoughts. â€Å"This is nice. You’re nice. Not like the others. You ever try to have a conversation with one of them?† â€Å"Nope, I haven’t.† â€Å"You’re not missing anything. Which is my point. Wouldn’t Riley’s standard of living be a little higher if he surrounded himself with decent vampires? If we’re supposed to protect her, shouldn’t he be looking for the smart ones?† â€Å"So Riley doesn’t need brains,† I reasoned. â€Å"He needs numbers.† Diego pursed his lips, considering. â€Å"Like chess. He’s not making knights and bishops.† â€Å"We’re just pawns,† I realized. We stared at each other again for a long minute. â€Å"I don’t want to think that,† Diego said. â€Å"So what do we do?† I asked, using the plural automatical y. Like we were already a team. He thought about my question for a second, seeming uneasy, and I regretted the â€Å"we.† But then he said, â€Å"What can we do when we don’t know what’s happening?† So he didn’t mind the team thing, which made me feel real y good in a way I didn’t remember ever feeling before. â€Å"I guess we keep our eyes open, pay attention, try to figure it out.† He nodded. â€Å"We need to think about everything Riley’s told us, everything he’s done.† He paused thoughtful y. â€Å"You know, I tried to hash some of this out with Riley once, but he couldn’t have cared less. Told me to keep my mind on more important things – like thirst. Which was al I could think about then, of course. He sent me out hunting, and I stopped worrying†¦.† I watched him thinking about Riley, his eyes unfocused as he relived the memory, and I wondered. Diego was my first friend in this life, but I wasn’t his. Suddenly his focus snapped back to me. â€Å"So what have we learned from Riley?† I concentrated, running through the last three months in my head. â€Å"He real y doesn’t tel us much, you know. Just the vampire basics.† â€Å"We’l have to listen more careful y.† We sat in silence, pondering this. I mostly thought about how much I didn’t know. And why hadn’t I worried about everything I didn’t know before now? It was like talking to Diego had cleared my head. For the first time in three months, blood was not the main thing in there. The silence lasted for a while. The black hole I’d felt funneling fresh air into the cave wasn’t black anymore. It was dark gray now and getting infinitesimal y lighter with each second. Diego noticed me eyeing it nervously. â€Å"Don’t worry,† he said. â€Å"Some dim light gets in here on sunny days. It doesn’t hurt.† He shrugged. I scooted closer to the hole in the floor, where the water was disappearing as the tide went out. â€Å"Seriously, Bree. I’ve been down here before during the day. I told Riley about this cave – and how it was mostly fil ed with water, and he said it was cool when I needed to get out of the madhouse. Anyway, do I look like I got singed?† I hesitated, thinking about how different his relationship with Riley was than mine. His eyebrows rose, waiting for an answer. â€Å"No,† I final y said. â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Look,† he said impatiently. He crawled swiftly to the tunnel and stuck his arm in up to the shoulder. â€Å"Nothing.† I nodded once. â€Å"Relax! Do you want me to see how high I can go?† As he spoke, he stuck his head into the hole and started climbing. â€Å"Don’t, Diego.† He was already out of sight. â€Å"I’m relaxed, I swear.† He was laughing – it sounded like he was already several yards up the tunnel. I wanted to go after him, to grab his foot and yank him back, but I was frozen with stress. It would be stupid to risk my life to save some total stranger. But I hadn’t had anything close to a friend in forever. Already it would be hard to go back to having no one to talk to, after only one night. â€Å"No estoy quemando,† he cal ed down, his tone teasing. â€Å"Wait†¦ is that†¦? Ow! â€Å" â€Å"Diego?† I leaped across the cave and stuck my head into the tunnel. His face was right there, inches from mine. â€Å"Boo!† I flinched back from his proximity – just a reflex, old habit. â€Å"Funny,† I said dryly, moving away as he slid back into the cave. â€Å"You need to unwind, girl. I’ve looked into this, okay? Indirect sunlight doesn’t hurt.† â€Å"So you’re saying that I could just stand under a nice shady tree and be fine?† He hesitated for a minute, as if debating whether or not to tel me something, and then said quietly, â€Å"I did once.† I stared at him, waiting for the grin. Because this was a joke. It didn’t come. â€Å"Riley said†¦,† I started, and then my voice trailed off. â€Å"Yeah, I know what Riley said,† he agreed. â€Å"Maybe Riley doesn’t know as much as he says he does.† â€Å"But Shel y and Steve. Doug and Adam. That kid with the bright red hair. Al of them. They’re gone because they didn’t get back in time. Riley saw the ashes.† Diego’s brows pul ed together unhappily. How to cite The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 4, Essay examples

Harriet tubman 2 Essay Example For Students

Harriet tubman 2 Essay Harriet Tubman, originally named Araminta Ross, was one of 11 children born to slaves Harriet Greene and Benjamin Ross on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. She later adopted her mothers first name. Harriet was put to work at the age of five and served as a maid and a childrens nurse before becoming a field hand when she was 12. A year later, a white maneither her overseer or her masterhit her on the head with a heavy weight. The blow left her with permanent neurological damage, and she experienced sudden blackouts throughout the rest of her life. In 1844 she received permission from her master to marry John Tubman, a free black man. For the next five years Harriet Tubman lived in a state of semi-slavery: she remained legally a slave, but her master allowed her to live with her husband. However, the death of her master in 1847, followed by the death of his young son and heir in 1849, made Tubmans status uncertain. Amid rumors that the familys slaves would be sold to settle the estate, Tubman fled to the North and freedom. Her husband remained in Maryland. In 1849 Harriet Tubman moved to Pennsylvania, but returned to Maryland two years later hoping to persuade her husband to come North with her. By this time John Tubman had remarried. Harriet did not marry again until after Tubmans death. In Pennsylvania, Harriet Tubman joined the abolitionist cause, working to end slavery. She decided to become a conductor on the Underground Railroad, a network of antislavery activists who helped slaves escape from the South. On her first trip in 1850, Tubman brought her own sister and her sisters two children out of slavery in Maryland. In 1851 she rescued her brother, and in 1857 returned to Maryland to guide her aged parents to freedom. Over a period of ten years Tubman made an estimated 19 expeditions into the South and personally escorted about 300 slaves to the North. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 had created federal commissioners in every county to assist in the return of runaways and provided harsh punishments for those convicted of helping slaves to escape. Harriet Tubman was a likely target of the law, so in 1851 she moved to Saint Catharines, a city in Ontario, Canada, that was the destination of many escaped slaves. By the late 1850s a number of Northern states passed personal liberty laws that protected the rights of fugitive slaves, so Tubman was able to purchase land and move with her parents to Auburn, New York, a center of antislavery sentiment. Tubman faced great danger guiding slaves to freedom, as Southerners offered large rewards for her capture. Tubman brilliantly used disguisessometimes posing as a deranged old man and, at other times, as an old womanto avoid suspicion when traveling in slave states. She carried a sleeping powder to stop babies from crying and always had a pistol to prevent her charges from backing out once the journey to freedom had begun. Tubman constantly changed her route and her method of operation, though she almost always began her escapes on Saturday night for two reasons. First, many masters did not make their slaves work on Sundays and thus might not miss them until Monday, when the runaways had already traveled a full day and a half. Second, newspapers advertising the escape would not be published until the beginning of the week, so by the time copies reached readers, Tubman and the fugitive slaves were likely to be close to their destination in the North. Tubman never lost any of her charges and seemed to have an unusual ability to find food and shelter during these hazardous missions. Among African Americans she came to be known as Moses, after the Biblical hero who led the Hebrews out of enslavement in Egypt. .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452 , .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452 .postImageUrl , .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452 , .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452:hover , .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452:visited , .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452:active { border:0!important; } .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452:active , .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452 .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc87289196e8240dbd580ea7dc1282452:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Boys Lives Essay Tubman also served as an inspiration to both white and black abolitionists. She worked closely with black antislavery activist William Still in Philadelphia and with Underground Railroad conductor Thomas Garrett, a Quaker who lived in Wilmington, Delaware. Abolitionist John Brown gave her the title General Tubman. She consulted with Brown on his plan to start an armed .