The Ethical Issue Of Abortion: Judicial History

“3 in 10 American women will have terminated at least one pregnancy; about half of all US women who have an abortion have already had a prior abortion; excluding miscarriages, 21 percent of pregnancies end in abortion.” (Pollitt page 18). One of the biggest ethical issues this country faces is abortion. It is an issue that divides our nation into being pro-choice or pro-life, and not many people fall in the middle. People who are pro-choice believe that a woman has a right to their own body and can make decisions according to their situation. Whereas, people who are pro-life believe that all humans including an unborn child have a right to life. How do we as a nation come together to make laws and regulations that more people can agree on.

I believe abortions to be a rather interesting topic. Ethically speaking, neither of the two sides involved is technically wrong. I find this fact rather fascinating. Also, being a young woman, to a certain extent this topic affects me directly. Having the choice and freedom to control what happens in one’s own body is important to me. I find myself quite interested to learn more about the reasonings behind two very extreme sides.

In the United States abortions have a very long judicial history. It begins in 1970, when a women name Norma MCorvey took federal action against Henry Wade. Henry was the district attorney in the county of Texas where Norma lived. She used the name “Jane Roe” in order to protect her identity. This began the case of Roe v. Wade; the case that would set the standard for abortion in American.

This case technically starts in June of 1969, when Norma McCovery discovered she was pregnant. She was a single mother with two children and for own personal reasons did not want another. The law in Texas, at the time, would only allow abortions for rape, insects, or if it was to save the life of the mother. When Norma visited a local attorney to help her put the child up for adoption, the attorney referred her to two recent Texas law school graduates, Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington. Coffee and Weddington then filled a law suit on Norma’s behalf. Withiin these proceedings Norma had begun going by Jane Roe. The Northern Texas District Court found in their favor and ruled that the statute in question violated Norma’s (Roe’s) constitutional rights.