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Roe V. Wade: A Supreme Court Case Legalized Abortion

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In 1973, a Supreme Court case called Roe v. Wade case legalized abortions nationwide. Jane Roe was unmarried and pregnant, living in Texas. She wanted to have an abortion, but couldn’t due to Texas’ laws saying she wasn’t able to have one unless her life was in danger. She challenged the law by suing Wade, the district attorney where she lived. Roe argued that she had the right to privacy and should have the right to choose to have the operation done or not. She said the right to privacy comes from combining all of the other rights listed in the Bill of Rights. Texas argued that “the right to life of the unborn child is superior to the right to privacy of the mother” and that this topic “should be left to the legislatures to decide how to handle,”

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