Sarah Weddington: Roe vs. Wade :: Essays Papers

Sarah Weddington roe vs. Wade St. Olaf Colleges theme for Womens History Month is Women in Politics. The feature guest speaker was Sarah Weddington, the attorney who, in 1973, argued the winning side of roe vs. Wade before the United States Supreme Court. This decision significantly influenced womens procreative rights by overturning the Texas interpretation of abortion law and making abortion legal in the United States. The Roe vs. Wade decision held that a woman, with her doctor, could cull abortion in earlier months of pregnancy without restriction, and with restrictions in later months, establish on the right to privacy. It invalidated all state laws limiting womens gate to abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy based on the Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a part of the Bill of Rights. The Courts decision in this case was that the Ninth Amendment, the register in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or upon othe rs retained by the people, protected a persons right to privacy. The alias Jane Roe was used for Norma McCorvey, on whose behalf the suit was originally filed, alleging that the abortion law in Texas violated her constitutional rights and the rights of other women. The defendant was the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas, enthalpy B. Wade. Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee were the plaintiffs lawyers. John Tolle, Jay Floyd and Robert Flowers were the defendants lawyers. Those on the Supreme Court in co-occurrence of the Roe vs. Wade decision were Harry Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Chief Justice rabbit warren Burger, William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, Lewis Powell and Potter Stewart. Those in the dissent were William Rehnquist and Byron White. Although abortion has been legal for more than 30 years, the Roe vs. Wade decision is currently in jeopardy of world overturned by the Bush administration. Weddington divulged her personal fears about the decision organism overtur ned by the court on any grounds. She stated that the abuse will be long lasting and many women will suffer. Currently, there is a big effort by those opposed to abortion to give back the fetus rights. Recent Bush administration regulations want to declare that a fetus is a child under the establishments State Childrens Health insurance Program. This change would refute one of Weddingtons arguments in Roe vs. Wade that the government has never treated the fetus as a person.