Roe v. Wade ruling question?

Question

After reading a bunch of jibberish about the Roe v. Wade case, I was wondering if someone could please sum it up for me. If it did not make abortion legal, what did it do then?

Answer 1

It says that no state can outlaw abortion.

Answer 2

It did not make abortion legal. It just prevents the government from making laws that restrict access to abortion. It continues to be challenged in various ways.

Answer 3

There are a couple of things to remember that are always forgotten when people get emotional about Roe v Wade.

When the decision was handed down, science wasn't anything like it is today. Sonograms for example didn't exist.

They were guessing about "viability."  They used an arbitrary date and Justice Blackmun, who wrote the majority decision, was never happy about that. Or the decision itself.

Most legal scholars, even the most liberal, have never been happy with the decision for various reasons.  Even Harvard Law professor Lawrence Tribe, often mentioned as a possible Supreme Court nominee in a Democratic Administration, and for whom Obama did legal research on a book about the abortion issue, said, "One of the most curious things about Roe is that, behind its own verbal smokescreen, the substantive judgment on which it rests is nowhere to be found."

Many people say there simply is NO Constitutional grounds for the decision.

Roe does NOT guarantee the right to an abortion.  It only prevents the government from making laws restricting someone from having an abortion before the fetus is viable. That is somewhere around 24 to 28 weeks with current medical science.

That is where the fighting starts over what constitutes the "mental health" of the mother, partial birth abortion, what happens when a botched abortion results in a live birth, etc.

It also opens up questions of taxpayer funding and all sorts of issues that special interest groups have attempted to extrapolate from this single case.

Legal scholars on the left and right would like this case pitched out and a "clean case"substituted, much like they had hoped that the Heller case might settle Second Amendment questions.

It would surely stop a lot of bitterness and misunderstanding.

No, all abortions are not legal.

Interestingly, in Europe, abortion is illegal in most countries and it is quite difficult to obtain one.

Perhaps if people stopped shouting here, we could look at the issue rationally and figure out a kind and compassionate solution.

Both extremes are nuts IMHO.

Answer 4

First, we are a nation of laws. And equally important we are a democracy, not a benevolent dictatorship. To be a democracy under the rule of law it is essential that the courts do not make the law but instead interpret the law.

Very simply, Roe vs. Wade was an incredible reach of judicial activism -  it was not a legal based decision based - just that it was a political decision.

But when the judicial system shortcuts the political system, we are no longer a democracy. We are no longer a nation of laws. Instead we are a country dictated to by an unelected, unaccountable, rouge gang.

Second, when to allow abortions is a political decision. It goes to the core of each person's beliefs, their religious beliefs and their moral beliefs. A decision like this must, in a healthy democratic society, be made in the political arena.

By shortcutting this process the court not only pulled this from the political decision making process, but it also stopped the country from working through it's beliefs on this subject. Instead of working it through, the court decision poisoned the political discussion as it allowed both camps to retreat to extremist positions because their political positions were irrelevant. (Operation Rescue might never have existed if this was left as a political decision.)

Third, it hurt democracy in other areas. I find it unlikely any state would have put an amendment on the ballot outlawing g*y marriage if not for Roe vs. Wade. It's Roe vs. Wade and the legal efforts made in numerous states to force the legalization of g*y marriage through the courts that made many feel the amendments were necessary to stop judicial activism.

Without this concern, its unlikely the amendments would have occurred. Instead people would have argued this out and worked it out and most likely over the next 10 years g*y marriage would be slowly legalized throughout the country. However, with the existing amendments, it will now require more than a majority in many states to legalize g*y marriage. Roe vs. Wade, and the approach of gaining rights through the courts instead of the legislature, has delayed the adoption of g*y marriage.

Fourth, Roe vs. Wade has been devastating for the Democratic party. Because the legislature has no control over abortion, candidates can get elected who have a very conservative agenda that includes support for absolutely no abortions. And their abortion stand is irrelevant to the vast majority of the electorate.

However, if legislators did control who could have an abortion and when, suddenly their stance on this issue becomes very important to a very large segment of the electorate. Instead of being able to pay lip service to this issue, the Republican candidates would have to try to appeal to a majority of the voters (who want at least some form of legalized abortion) as well as their base (many of whom view any form of abortion as totally unacceptable).

This would be as wrenching for the Republicans as civil rights was for the Democrats. And it would force the Republicans to face up to a deeply moral question that they have so far been able to dance around.

And finally to those that say the right to abortion is so important, that in this case judicial activism is called for I ask - are you willing to accept also that the court could find that a fetus is human at the point of conception and that no law could ever make abortion legal? The sword cuts both ways.

Answer 5

Obviously Roe v. Wade was a landmark case in U.S. Supreme Court history.

Most laws against abortion in the United States violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision overturned all state and federal laws outlawing or restricting abortion that were inconsistent with its holdings.

The central holding of Roe v. Wade was that abortions are permissible for any reason a woman chooses, up until the "point at which the fetus becomes ‘viable,’ that is, potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks."[1] The Court also held that abortion after viability must be available when needed to protect a woman's health, which the Court defined broadly in the companion case of Doe v. Bolton. These court rulings affected laws in 46 states.[3]

Answer 6

It took power away from the govt and restored it in the people.

It made various anti-abortion legislation illegal on grounds of constitutional rights.  It did not "legalize abortion" because "viable" life was still not allowed to be aborted so long as the mothers health wasn't in jeopardy.

Answer 7

If Im not mistaken it made it a federal issue rather than a states issue. alot of people believe that this issue should be left up to the states rather than the federal government.  That is my understanding.

Answer 8

It said laws prohibiting abortions were unconstitutional because they violated ones right to privacy.

Answer 9

According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Answer 10

It made it illegal for a state to ban abortion.

If it were overturned, abortion would not become illegal in this country, but individual states would have the ability to limit or outlaw it.

Answer 11

It held that states cannot restrict a woman's right to an abortion up to fetal viability (point at which a fetus could survive outside the womb)-about 7 months.  Any abortion after this point must be necessary to protect the life of the mother.  

This the law of the land as a result of the 1973 case.   It cannot be changed except by being overturned by the Supreme Court.   That will not happen with the Court we have now.  John McCain and Sarah Palin cannot outlaw abortion, no matter what Obama says on tv.   The only way to change the law is for one or more justices on the Court to be replaced with abortion foes.   McCain's appointments will have to be confirmed by the Senate.   They will never confirm a Judge who is hostile to the law in Roe.

Answer 12

According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision overturned all state and federal laws outlawing or restricting abortion that were inconsistent with its holdings. Roe v. Wade is one of the most controversial and politically significant cases in U.S. Supreme Court history. Its lesser-known companion case, Doe v. Bolton, was decided at the same time.[2]

The central holding of Roe v. Wade was that abortions are permissible for any reason a woman chooses, up until the "point at which the fetus becomes ‘viable,’ that is, potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks."[1] The Court also held that abortion after viability must be available when needed to protect a woman's health, which the Court defined broadly in the companion case of Doe v. Bolton. These court rulings affected laws in 46 states.[3]

The Roe v. Wade decision prompted national debate that continues to the present day. Debated subjects include whether and to what extent abortion should be illegal, who should decide whether or not abortion is illegal, what methods the Supreme Court should use in constitutional adjudication, and what the role should be of religious and moral views in the political sphere. Roe v. Wade reshaped national politics, dividing much of the nation into pro-Roe (mostly "pro-choice") and anti-Roe (mostly "pro-life") camps, and inspiring grassroots activism on both sides.

Answer 13

it said its our body, our choice

Answer 14

I believe it said that the court/government had no right to make a decision about a woman's body.  In essence, the woman has a right to choose.

Answer 15

It made it illegal for the government to regulate abortion, at least up to a certain point in a pregnancy but I don't remember the exact number of weeks..