11/13/1971 • 5 views
Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Pivotal Abortion Case Roe v. Wade
On November 13, 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case that would become Roe v. Wade, a landmark challenge to state abortion laws brought by 'Jane Roe' (Norma McCorvey) against Texas. The case raised constitutional questions about privacy and state regulation of abortion.
Procedural background: Roe had been filed in federal district court in 1970. After the district court dismissed the complaint, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision and remanded for further proceedings, setting the stage for Supreme Court review. The central legal issue presented to the justices was whether the Constitution protects a woman’s right to obtain an abortion and, if so, how that right interacts with states’ interests in regulating medical procedures and protecting potential life.
Legal arguments: Counsel for Roe argued that state laws criminalizing abortion violated a woman’s right to privacy as protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. They relied on precedent recognizing privacy interests in matters such as contraception (Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965) and aspects of family and marital relations. The state, represented by counsel and the district attorney’s office, defended its statutes as valid exercises of the state’s authority to protect health and safety and to regulate medical practice. The state also contended that the Constitution did not create a broad right to terminate a pregnancy.
The Court’s inquiry extended to medical and factual claims presented in briefs and arguments: the risks to women’s health from illegal abortions, differing medical views about fetal development and viability, and the historical and common-law treatment of abortion regulation. Amicus briefs and lower-court records included testimony from physicians and public-health experts concerning medical standards and outcomes.
Decision and significance (contextual summary): The Court’s decision would not be issued until January 22, 1973, when a majority held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment encompasses a right to privacy that is “broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.” The Court established a trimester framework to balance the woman’s privacy rights and the state’s interests, striking down many state prohibitions on abortion as unconstitutional. Roe v. Wade reshaped constitutional law, medical practice, and public debate in the United States. It also generated enduring political and legal disputes, including challenges to its reasoning and scope in subsequent years.
Historical notes and cautions: The names and facts in the record are well documented, but some aspects of the case—such as later personal statements by participants—have been the subject of reinterpretation and controversy. The summary above focuses on the proceedings and legal issues argued before the justices on November 13, 1971, and on the legal significance that followed when the Court issued its ruling in 1973.