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Roe V. Wade Case Analysis

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The Supreme Court of the United States was created in 1789 by Article III of the Constitution. A key precedent of the Court was established in 1803 through the case of Marbury v. Madison. Since then the Court has ruled on the constitutionality of laws throughout the United States. Two more recent landmark cases are Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. These cases focused on women’s reproductive rights, such as abortion and a state’s rights to restrict abortions based on the constitutional rights.

Roe v. Wade took place in the early 1970’s. The 1960’s were a time of hippies, peace and “flower power.” Going into the 1970’s women were demanding respect and equal rights. (“Roe v. Wade.” United States History) Norma McCorvey, also known as …show more content…
McCorvey wanted to abort her pregnancy, but Texas law prohibited abortions except to save a pregnant woman’s life. ("Roe v. Wade (1973)." PBS / “Roe v. Wade.” Oyez) McCorvey’s lawyers, Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, claimed that the Texas laws against abortion violated her constitutional rights. ("Roe v. Wade (1973)." PBS) The case was first taken to the district court in northern Texas in 1970 where they ruled in favor of Roe. Henry Wade, the district attorney, then appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. ("Roe v. Wade – Case Brief Summary." Lawnix) Roe v. Wade was first argued before the Supreme Court in December 1971. The justices were not impressed by the oral arguments presented. Also, the Court was undergoing changes during the time of the first oral argument. Two justices, Byron White and John Harlan, had resigned from the Court in September and President Nixon was in the process of appointing two new justices. Chief Justice Warren Burger suggested that the case be reargued once the Court was at its full strength again. Roe v. Wade was reargued in October 1972. (“Roe v. Wade.” United States History) Weddington improved her constitutional argument and her

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