roe v. wade
... regulating abortion, passed in the 1820s and 1830s, were actually poison-control laws: the sale of commercial abortifacients was banned, but abortion itself was not outlawed. Despite these new laws, the abortion business was booming by the 1840's, including the sale of illegal drugs, which were widely advertised in the popular press. However, this trend would soon change. Following the 1840's, abortion would soon be under attack, and a string of anti-abortion laws would be passed until the twentieth century. The leading force behind the criminalization of abortion was physicians and the American Medical Association. The AMA was founded in 1847, and the illegalization of abortion was one of its highest priorities. To the growing movement, "abortion was both an immoral act and a medically dangerous one, given the incompetence of many of the practitioners then" (Joffe 28). However, the opposition went beyond these factors. To many people during the end of the nineteenth century, abortion represented a threat to male authority and the traditional role of a woman in the time period. Abortion was a symbol of unbridled female sexuality, expressing selfish and self-indulgent qualities. The AMA's Committee on Criminal Abortion expressed this view blatantly in 1871. "She yields to the pleasures - but shrinks from the pains and responsibilities of maternity; and, destitute of all delicacy and refinement, resigns herself, body and soul, into the hands of unscrupulous and wicked men" (Joffe 29). As the twentieth century dawned, over forty states had completely outlawed abortion unless the mother's life was in direct harm, and many others had placed strict regulations. However despite these emerging laws, people still performed abortions illegally for decades until the Roe vs. Wade decision. A study performed by Frederick Taussig in 1936 recorded an estimated half million illegal abortions. In 1953, ninety percent of all premarital pregnancies were aborted illegally, and twenty percent of married couples performed abortions. Illegal abortions rose to over a million a year until Roe vs. Wade. Although the law dictated the morality of abortion, abortion was still a considerable aspect of society. The Roe vs. Wade decision was first argued in December 1971, and had been before the Supreme Court for over a year. Although this decision would later be intensely analyzed and debated, little attention was brought upon the case at the time. Chief Justice Burger opened the Court's oral arguments, and each side had only thirty minutes to present their case and answer questions. Sarah Weddington, the head lawyer defending Norma McCorvey argued that abortion needed to be legalized beyond in the case where a woman's life is threatened. The physiological and psychological harms also warranted an abortion. However, since the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction over public policy, Weddington argued that current abortion laws violated the fourteenth amendment. The fourteenth amendment guarantees the right to liberty without due process of law, and the decision contended this right was extended to a woman's right to choose to be pregnant. In her closing argument, Weddington stated if "liberty is meaningful... that liberty to these women would mean liberty from being forced to continue the unwanted pregnancy" (Craig and O'Brien 17). Jay Floyd, the assistant attorney general of Texas, next presented his case against the legalization of abortion. Weddington had argued that many women had no other choice besides abortion because of their socioeconomic status. However, Floyd contended that despite external factors, each person had free autonomy. "Now I think she makes her choice prior to the time she becomes pregnant. That is the time of her choice. It's like, more or less, the first three or four years of our life we don't remember anything. But once a child is born, a woman no longer has a choice, and I think pregnancy then determines that choice" (Craig and O'Brien 17). Thus, Floyd contended, the fourteenth amendment was not violated since pregnancy was based on free will, and liberty was not denied. If pregnancy was a deliberate choice on the woman's part, then abortion was not warranted. Another crucial aspect of the Roe vs. Wade trial was the status of when a fetus is guaranteed constitutional rights. In response to Texas' harsh abortion restrictions, Floyd explained that Texas "recognized the humanness of the embryo, or the fetus" and had "a compelling interest because of the protection of fetal life" (Craig and O'Brien 17). However, there were several flaws with this statement in the court. First, the topic of the Court was not the constitutional rights of embryos, but whether abortion violated a person's right to liberty. Second, no state law or court decision had equated abortion with murder. Thus, Floyd's contention amounted to a mere personal opinion, with no bearing on the case. The Court needed to uphold the constitutional rights of the woman before protecting the "rights" of the unborn fetus. The fourteenth amendment applies only "to all persons born or naturalized in the United States," and if the Court guaranteed the fourteenth amendment to unborn children, it would be an extreme case of judicial activism (Craig and O'Brien 20). After two years listening to arguments, the Supreme Court finally made its decision. The right to privacy and liberty was broad enough to encompass a woman's decision for abortion. The fourteenth amendment guaranteed personal liberty, which includes a woman's body and unborn fetus. Although the Court established the legality of abortion, they left the responsibility of implementation to the states. Like Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka, a general decision on constitutionality needed to be interpreted and implemented by local governments. "Where certain 'fundamental rights' are involved, the Court has held that regulation limiting these rights may be justified only by a 'compelling state interest,' and that legi...