Roe V Wade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Roe V Wade - Essay Example Roe’s claim charged that the abortion law in Texas was in violation of the constitutional rights of her and all other pregnant women. The Supreme Court decided for Roe effectively making abortion legal in the U.S. in the landmark case. The decision invalidated any state law that restricted a women to have or a doctor to perform an abortion during the first three months (first trimester) of a pregnancy. It also restricted abortions during the second-trimester unless a woman’s health was in jeopardy (Gale, 1997: 312). Though the case was then and remains today controversial, the Court’s decision was correct from a constitutional context. Critics of the decision have generally made arguments based on personal moral beliefs which are irrelevant when the language of the Constitution is examined. Their moral arguments against the Roe decision can be quickly invalidated by weighing the precedents of constitutional decisions reached by the Supreme Court in addition to reading the specific wordage contained in the Constitution. There are, however, valid questions regarding the Constitutional issues of the Roe decision that deserve answering. When most people speak disapprovingly of the Roe decision, they base their objection purely on moral grounds but scholars, lawyers and especially judges who condemn the decision should only do so based on constitutional grounds in addition to voicing their moral objections. The argument against the decision should address the 9th Amendment which states, â€Å"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people† (â€Å"Bill of Rights†, 2006). Those opposed have said that the ninth, or any other amendment, does not specifically mention abortion therefore the Constitution is not applicable when attempting to determine the legality of abortion rights. This opinion, however, very obviously