# data[].attributes.body
Roe v. Wade was the first time that the Supreme Court ruled that woman had the right to privacy, which they ruled is “is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy”. This case essentially legalized abortions nationwide and is very important today. This case made it illegal for individual states to make it illegal to get an abortion during the first trimester.

# data[].attributes.body
Justices William Rehnquist and Byron White both wrote dissenting opinions to the ruling.  Justice White believed that abortions "be left with the people and the political processes the people have devised to govern their affairs."

Several justices including Potter Stewart, William O. Douglas, and Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.  Justice Stewart wrote concurring opinions and decided that a woman's right to have an abortion followed the Constitution's substantive due process clause.  Justice Douglas stated that it was a fundamental right but should be pulled from the ninth amendment, not the fourteenth.  Lastly, Chief Justice Burger wrote that at least two physicians should be present before an abortion was performed.

# data[].attributes.body
The decision of Roe v. Wade is a example of judicial activism because it overturned previous laws set in place and stated that states can not infringe on the right of an abortion within the first trimester. It is individual state's opinion to place regulations in the second trimester ad can even prohibit them in the third trimester.

# data[].attributes.body
The lower court rule because the law was vague and it violated a woman's right to terminate and they argued that Texas had a more clear law than D.C.

Vuitach v. the United States rule that they could only be preformed in life or death situations.

A doctor can only assume that the woman's life is at risk.

The 14th Amendment granted woman the right to privacy which would include having an abortion.

# data[].attributes.body
It is constitutional for the states to regulate abortions.

It is the woman's choice to become pregnant, one should not seek to become pregnant if they can not support the child.

Rosen v. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners case, and in Corkey v. Edwards were both lower court cases that have been adopted by the Supreme Court.

# data[].attributes.body
Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices:
William O. Douglas
William J. Brennan Jr.
Potter Stewart ·
Byron White
Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
William Rehnquist

# data[].attributes.body
In 1970, Jane Roe (real name Norma McCorvey) sought to get an abortion of an unwanted pregnancy.

At the time, in Texas abortions were illegal except in life-saving situations.  After attempting to get an illegal abortion, McCorvey was referred to Texas attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington who were interested in challenging the anti-abortion laws.

Henry Wade at the time was the district attorney of Dallas Country.

# data[].attributes.body
The US District Court for the Northern District of Texas decided on the case with a three-judge panel. They ruled on McCorvey's side. The state of Texas the appealed the ruling and brought it straight to the Supreme Court, in which they agreed to hear it.

# data[].attributes.body
Justice Harry Blackmun delivered the opinion for the 7-2 majority of the Court.  Inherent in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is a fundamental “right to privacy” that protects a pregnant woman’s choice whether to have an abortion. However, this right is balanced against the government’s interests in protecting women's health and protecting “the potentiality of human life.” The Texas law challenged in this case violated this right.

# data[].attributes.body
Q: The Supreme Court was trying to answer the question if the Constitution recognizes a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion?
A: In the end, the court ruled that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is a fundamental “right to privacy” that protects a pregnant woman’s choice whether to have an abortion.