Roe v. Wade (1973)

 Back in 1973, Jane Roe (a pseudonym) challenged the Texas law that prohibited abortions except for when the life of the child's mother was in danger. Roe was a a young woman who wished to have an abortion although her life was not being put in danger. Roe fought that the Fourteenth Amendment could not protect the life of her baby because a fetus is not considered a person according to the law. She also argued that her abortion should be kept private which is protected by the Bill of Rights.
The Court easily voted, 7 to 2, in favor of both of Roe's arguments. Being rather conservative, people were surprised to see Justice Harry A. Blackmun's response. He explained that the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments address that a woman has "the right to activities relating to marriage..., procreation..., and contraception..." This confirms that Roe has the right to do what she wants with anything that relates to these situations. Pregnancy and abortion are both linked to all of these situations. Justice Blackmun also adds that the right to privacy of course includes a woman's decision on whether or not to have an abortion.
It is interesting to consider what does and does not qualify as a person. How can one say that a fetus isn't a person if we know that it is destined to become one in just a short period of time? The court draws a line at the second trimester, which is the first 3 months of pregnancy. After the second trimester is up, the woman must give birth to her baby. It gets to a stage where the baby is developed enough to be considered an actual human being and to have an abortion at that point is considered murder. I agree that there should be a limit on how late an abortion can be done. I feel that if a woman truly feels unprepared to properly raise a baby, it is better off that the baby is not brought into the world in the first place. There is still much controversy considering this topic but many women today are getting abortions who feel unprepared or not ready to have a child.

Here is a video presenting the stories of three young women dealing with abortion and how the court decision in favor Roe has positively effected them as it has for many women across America.