Abortion

8 Pages 1986 Words

tions were still carried out, at the risk of the woman. By 1965 all fifty states banned abortion, leaving exceptions up to each state to decide. Some of the exceptions were to save the life of the mother, if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest, or if the fetus was deformed (Lewis, n.d. para 6). In 1973 the first and only landmark case was brought forth to the Supreme Court. The case was Roe v. Wade. The Court ruled that a woman’s right to an abortion fell within the right to privacy, protected under the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision outlined the Laws for abortion in the United States. According to the law, a woman may abort in the first trimester, and with doctors consent abort in the second trimester. The court took middle ground in this landmark case. The Supreme Court ruled that a woman’s right to control her body and a fetus’s right to life, must be balanced. The ruling of Roe v. Wade stands today but this right is conditional and limited. In 1992 another landmark case was seen before the Supreme Court. The case was Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. This case involved state level legislation, regarding a woman’s right to privacy. The ruling upheld Roe v. Wade, however it allowed state imposed sanctions on a woman’s privacy rights. Under the ruling, any minor seeking an abortion had to get at least one parents consent, and that all abortions must be conducted after a 24 hour “cooling off” period. (Britann...