Another ethical issue surrounding abortion revolves around the rights of the mother versus the rights of the fetus. The idea of choice that a woman has a right to choose what she does with her body comes in here. But is a woman’s right to choose greater than a fetus’s right to life? In the pro-choice view, a common argument is that abortion is legally permissible, regardless of the morality involved. A woman has a basic right to make up her own mind about choices of pregnancy or abortion, and her right to bodily integrity prevails any potential rights that the fetus may or may not have (Baird & Rosenbaum 2001). In terms of personhood, a fetus is not aware of self, does not think, and is dependent on the mother. Therefore, the rights of the fetus cannot morally infringe on the choice that the mother has …show more content…
In the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973, the United States Supreme Court ratified the legalization of abortion nationwide and decreed that all women had a right to safe legal abortions on demand without state interference. This meant that, the unborn child was not a person in the eyes of the law and was therefore not entitled to protection guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution until it reached the point of viability. The Roe decision defined viability as occurring between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation (Wood 1980). The case involved an unmarried pregnant woman who was given the pseudonym “Jane Roe” in order to maintain her anonymity, but who has since publicly identified herself as Norma McCorvey. Jane Roe, a resident of Texas, wished to terminate her pregnancy by seeking the services of a competent, licensed physician, under a safe medical environment. However, the existing Texas abortion statute, originally passed in 1857, prevented her from doing so since her life did not appear to be under any form of threat by the continuation of her
CASE BRIEF Student's name : Elise Piallo and Sarah Rahmani • Case name : Roe v. Wade (Full name : Jane Roe, et al. v. Henry Wade, District Attorney of Dallas County) • Citation : 410.US.113 (1973) • Fact of the case : Appellant Jane Roe (Norma McCorvey) was a pregnant woman who wanted to obtain an abortion.
There is no need to risk a woman’s health and livelihood by taking away her choice; only the mother-to-be can know her own situation thoroughly enough to make the best possible decision about her future. This is further supported by the nation’s judicial system during the Roe vs. Wade case in 1973 where Harry Blackmun stated that the “fundamental right of single women and married persons to choose whether or not to have children is protected by the Ninth Amendment, through the Fourteenth Amendment.” This court ruling made abortions decidedly legal in the United States, but many women are still being denied the right to terminate their pregnancies. When the ability to choose a safe and legal option is taken away, women that still seek an abortion
Prior to the case it was the state that determined the legality of abortions. Jane Roe, (alias), was an unmarried and pregnant Texas citizen in 1970. She wanted to have an abortion, but Texas abortion law made it a felony to abort a fetus unless “on medical advice for the purpose of saving the life of the mother.” Roe filed suit against Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas to challenge the law outlawing abortion. At the time, many states had outlawed abortion except in cases where the mother’s life was in danger.
The Roe v. Wade case is one of the most significant legal cases in American history. This landmark case, which was decided by the Supreme Court in 1973, has had a profound impact on the abortion debate in the United States. In this essay, we will examine the background of the case, the arguments presented by both sides, and the ultimate outcome of the case. Background of the Case: In 1970, a woman named Norma McCorvey, who used the pseudonym Jane Roe, filed a lawsuit against Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas.
Jane Roe was pregnant and unmarried in the state of Texas in which it was illegal to receive an abortion unless her life is at stake. Roe said she has the right decide whether to have an abortion or not to have an abortion. According to the Court, privacy is important and one of the principal values of the Bill of Rights. C. Vote count 7-2. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment did not have the intent to protect privacy, and protect the decision-making of a woman.
This shows how aborted babies are left out of experiencing life, and how abortion violates the unborn baby’s right to life. The fact that unborn babies are to see the world is reason enough for women to not practice abortion. Opponents advocate that humans are created with some genes that he or she brings with throughout his or her life. The right to life is essential to many people (abortion.procon.org). To add on to unborn babies to be able to see the world, the impact of abortion resulted in different religions to find abortion to be considered a sin.
As humans, we are given different rights that are meant to provide us with a chance at a good life. However, these rights can become compromised when it comes to conflicts between a pregnant woman and her fetus. The right of the fetus to live is seen as inferior to the right of the mother to have an abortion. Although each of the rights is different, it is not appropriate to say that one citizen’s rights are more superior than another citizen’s rights.
The Right to Abortion On January 22, 1973, in a 7-2 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down it’s landmark decision in the case of Roe v. Wade, which recognized that the constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman’s right to make her own personal medical decisions — including the decision to have an abortion without interference from politicians (Planned Parenthood). There are many moments in history when Roe v. Wade has been so close to being overturned, yet it is still in place. Abortion should stay legal, or not overturned, for the health of women everywhere. First, this important case took place at the time of abortion being illegal in most states, including Texas, where Roe v. Wade began.
Before Roe v. wade the number of deaths from illegal abortions was around 5000 and in the 50s and 60s the number of illegal abortions ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year. These illegal abortions pose major health risks to the life of the woman including damage to the bladder, intestines as well as rupturing of the uterus. The choice to become a mother must be given to the woman most importantly because it’s her body, her health, and she will be taking on a great responsibility. A woman’s choice to choose abortion should not be restricted by anyone; there are multiple reasons why abortion will be the more sensible decision for the female.
Patrick Lee and Robert George assert that abortion is objectively immoral. One of Lee and George’s main reason for coming to this conclusion is that human embryos are living human beings. This essentially validates that abortion is indeed the process of killing a human. Another main point said by the two is a rebuttal to a common argument used in favor of abortion, which states that a potential mother has full parental responsibilities only if she has voluntarily assumed them. The rebuttal to this was that the potential mother does indeed have special responsibilities to raise the child.
Doris Gudino Professor Chounlamountry Political Science 1 27 July 2015 Pro-Choice Anyone? A woman has, undoubtedly, the freedom to procreate, but once a woman chooses to retreat from that freedom, a commotion arises. Abortion is a woman’s choice for many reasons. It’s her body, therefore, no one else can decide for said person.
Pro-choice advocates suggest it is irresponsible for women to give birth to a child that she is unable to take care of (Shaw 2016, para. 1). Moreover, pro-abortion groups, argue that fetuses are not capable of surviving outside the mother’s womb before the 22nd week of pregnancy, thus, should not be considered a ‘person’ (Foer 1997, para. 4). The main positive impacts of abortion on the society can be seen in the decline in crime rates and how it eases the problem of overpopulation. On the contrary, pro-life advocates are against abortion. Pro-life groups claim that life begins at conception and abortion would be murdering the fetus (Alcorn n.d).
In contrast, some people feel that women should have the right to choose abortion, they should have the power to manage a decision as significant as parenthood, since they are the one who suffer the burdens (Anderson 1). Moreover, Peter K. McInerney contradicts Marquis’s statement by saying that abortion is not wrong because “killing a fetus is morally very different from killing a normal adult human” (268). Fetuses are not the same as normal adult human and young infants as well, since “a fetus at an early stage of development has neither a mental life of feelings, beliefs, and desires nor a developed brain and nervous system” (McInerney 266). Therefore, killing a fetus is not morally wrong since the fetus does not have a “future like ours”
(Tanner) Pro-choice defenders also say that it is the woman 's right to choose to have the baby or not, forgetting the baby 's rights. The life of a human being begins at the moment of conception, and it is not the fetus´s fault if the mother wasn 't ready to have a baby or if the situation in which baby was conceived wasn 't ideal. For example, if the baby is conceived by rape, the baby should not pay the consequences of other people, he or she has not done anything wrong .”Compassion for the mothers is extremely important, but it is never
On January 22nd, 1973, the historic case of Roe V. Wade was battled in front of the United States Supreme Court. The court ruled 7-2 that a right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman’s decision to have an abortion, however even today the issue of unequal access to abortions for low income women is becoming an even greater problem in the United States. According to an analysis done by Guttmacher Institute, published in The Lancet Public Health “Nationally, half of all women of reproductive age lived within 11 miles of the nearest abortion clinic in 2014. However, a substantial minority of women, particularly those in rural areas, lived significantly farther away.