Transcript Same-Sex Marriage

Abortion: The Legal
Perspective
The Progression of the “Women’s
Rights” Movement
• Believe it or not, less than a century ago, birth
control and all forms of contraceptives were
illegal.
• Merely advocating for birth control was
viewed as uncouth and detrimental to society.
• Margaret Sanger, informal founder of Planned
Parenthood, was indicted for publishing
literature that encouraged birth control.
Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479
(1965)
• In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court struck
down a Connecticut statute that prohibited
“any drug, medicinal article or instrument for
the purpose of preventing conception” on the
grounds that it violated the due process clause
of the fourteenth amendment.
• In effect, this decision legalized birth control in
a marriage.
“The constitution more so protects a
woman’s right to choose than it
does the child’s right to life.”
-Justice William Brennan
•
•
•
•
Jane Roe, et al v. Henry Wade, District
Attorney of Dallas County, 410 U.S.
113 (1973)
Struck down abortion restrictions in 46 states.
A “fundamental right”
Trimester regulations and the “right to life”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q5AgCzP
IuA
Stare Decisis
Upholding Roe: Planned Parenthood of
Eastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S.
833 (1992)
• Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act
– required doctors to provide women with information
about the health risks and possible complications of having
an abortion before one could be performed
– “spousal notification" rule required women to
give prior notice to their husbands
– “parental consent" rule required minors to receive consent
from a parent or guardian prior to an abortion (law
allowed judicial bypass procedure).
– imposed a 24-hour waiting period before obtaining an
abortion
– imposition of certain reporting requirements on facilities
providing abortion services
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (cont.)
• As amicus curiae, Bush administration
requested for Roe to be overturned.
• Plurality opinion delivered by Justices
Kennedy, Souter, and O’Connor.
• Established “undue burden” standard:
“substantial obstacle in the path of a woman
seeking an abortion before the fetus attains
viability”
The Roberts Court: Gonzalez v.
Carhart, 550 U.S. 124 (2007)
• "Thus, legal challenges to undue restrictions on abortion
procedures do not seek to vindicate some generalized notion
of privacy; rather, they center on a woman's autonomy to
determine her life's course, and thus to enjoy equal
citizenship stature.”
– Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Opposing Legal Views: Originalism and
the Tenth Amendment
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LOGpnbZ
rMk
IMPLAUSIBLE
NONSENSE
Overturning Roe and Casey v. Reality
Justice Sotomayor and the
Confirmation Process
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3EIWrE2
vQw
“Never forget that everything
Hitler did in Germany was legal.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.