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Roe v. Wade

Jane Roe was a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey, an unmarried pregnant Texas woman who sought an abortion but was denied under Texas law. Roe, with the help of attorneys, filed a federal lawsuit seeking to have the Texas law thrown out as unconstitutional. She argued that a law prohibiting her from obtaining an abortion violated her constitutional right to privacy. The Supreme Court, voting 7-2, agreed with Roe that the law criminalizing abortion violated her right to privacy. But the Court held that states do have an interest in ensuring the safety and well-being of pregnant women as well as the potential of human life. Acknowledging that the rights of pregnant women may conflict with the rights of the state to protect potential human life, the Court defined the rights of each party by dividing the pregnancy into three 12-week trimesters. During a pregnant woman’s first trimester, the Court held, a state cannot regulate abortion beyond requiring that the procedure be performed by a licensed doctor in medically safe conditions. During the second trimester, the Court held, a state may regulate abortion if the regulations are reasonably related to the health of the pregnant woman. During the third trimester of pregnancy, the state’s interest in protecting the potential human life outweighs the woman’s right to privacy, and the state may prohibit abortions unless abortion is necessary to save the life or health of the mother. The Court further held that a fetus is not a person protected by the constitution.


Inside Roe v. Wade