Question

Civil Liberties Assignment

Coose from any of the following cases and answer the questions:

Roe vs. Wade (1973)

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

Background of case: including who was involved, what happened to bring case to court, where the case took place, when the case took place, other important to know background. Why was this case important? What Constitutional issues were questioned in this case? What were other cases related to this case (either before or after) that were affected? Who wrote the important opinions (both Dissenting and Majority), and what important Constitutional points came from these?

Answer 1

Roe vs. Wade case (1973)

In 1972, Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) filed a lawsuit claiming that a Texas law criminalizing most abortions violated her constitutional rights. The Texas state law banned abortions except to save the life of the mother. The Court ruled that the states were forbidden from outlawing or regulating any aspect of abortion performed during the first trimester of pregnancy, could only enact abortion regulations reasonably related to maternal health in the second and third trimesters, and could enact abortion laws protecting the life of the fetus only in the third trimester. However, Roe claimed that while her life was not threatened, she could not afford to travel out of her state and had a right to terminate her pregnancy in a safe medical environment within Texas. The lawsuit was filed against Henry Wade, Dallas Country District Attorney, in a Texas federal court. The Texas court ruled that the law violated the Constitution and Wade appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reviewed the case between 1971 and 1972.

In a decision written by Justice Harry Blackmun , the Supreme Court ruled that the Texas statute violated Jane Roe's constitutional right to privacy as enlisted in the Constitution's First, Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The Court argued that the "zone of privacy" mentioned in the Constitution was "broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy."

The case presents a controversial piece of judgement which continues to inspire heated debates, politics between the conservatives and anti-abortionists on one side and the liberals and pro abortionists on the other side. The case represents the Supreme Court's most important decision with respect to civil liberty and privacy.