IN 1970,under the alias of “Jane Roe”, a 22-year-faded woman named Norma McCorvey sued the state of Texas for violating what she regarded as her constitutional right to end her pregnancy. Ms McCorvey (who later in life changed her intellect and joined the anti-abortion movement) won her case, or Roe v Wade,one of the most controversial Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century. By a 7-2 vote, the Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that the “right of privacy...founded in the Fourteenth Amendment's concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action” embraces “a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy". This week, and more than four decades after Roe was decided,another Texas law regarding abortion comes before the Supreme Court. On the morning of March 2nd, the question will be not whether the structure protects abortion choice but how far states may go in making that choice more difficult to exercise.
Roe sought to balance women’s rights with the...
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Source: economist.com