Title: What was the US Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade? - Answers
Headings: What was the US Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade
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What was the US Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade?
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Content: What was the US Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade? - Answers
What was the US Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade? Top Answer
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Answered 2011-04-05 15:29:31
Roe v. Wade, (1973), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case establishing that most laws against abortion violate a constitutional right to privacy, and overturning all state laws outlawing or unduly restricting abortion. It is one of the most controversial decisions in US Supreme Court history. More Information
The Texas law that was challenged (and struck down) in Roe v. Wade criminalized abortion in all cases except where it was a life-saving procedure. The United States Supreme Court found that such a restrictive statute violated the 14th Amendment Due Process Clause and that states could exercise varying degrees of discretion in regulating abortion, depending upon the stage of pregnancy. The Court also held the law violated the liberty right to privacy under substantive due process, based on the precedent set in Griswold v. Connecticut, (1965). Privacy rights are inferred from the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Ninth Amendments. During approximately the first trimester, states could not limit the right to abortion--that was to be left to the "medical judgment of the pregnant woman's attending physician." From the end of the first trimester to viability, the state could "regulate abortion in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health".