Roe's End Of The Road

Roe was argued by the defense with little preparation and poor medical technology to use as evidence. Since 1973, the medical field has made strides in research with the ultrasound and just recently the 4D ultrasound.  The Court is overdue to rehear arguments on the abortion issue.  If the Court chose to hear arguments on another abortion lawsuit, we could very well see the overturn of Roe v. Wade in the near future, and the lives of unborn children could once again be legally protect in America. 

McCorvey and Weddington after Supreme Court Victory

The Supreme Court rendered a landmark decision in Roe v. Wade which made abortion legal in the United States.   Roe was argued by the defense with little preparation and poor medical technology to use as evidence.  The Roe decision undemocratically redefined America’s moral standards, culture, and society.  A series of feminist reforms spreading across the United States during the 1960s ignited the Roe case.  Laws such as the Texas Penal Codes and Statues prevented abortions from being performed except in cases to save the mother’s life.  They criminalized those who administered or attempted to perform an abortion.  Those who furnished the means to procuring an abortion would be considered accomplices to the crime of killing the child.  

Sarah Weddington, a fresh lawyer from the University of Texas,felt very strongly about the legalization of abortion.  She had obtained an illegal abortion of her own in Mexico during college.  Weddington thought of ways to challenge the Texas abortion statute.  However, because of her inexperience, Weddington looked for a partner.  She called prior law school classmate Linda Coffee, who had previously clerked for Federal District Judge Sarah Hughes and was currently working at a bankruptcy law firm.  Linda felt very excited about the prospects of a suit and readily agreed to become Weddington’s partner.  They began actively searching for a plaintiff for their case.

Norma Nelson experienced an abusive, difficult childhood. Her family fought and moved a lot.  After she married Woody McCorvey on June 17, 1964, she soon became pregnant.  Her husband beat her, doubting his paternity.  Norma McCorvey filed for a divorce and gave birth to a little girl named Melissa.  McCorvey’s mother deceived her into relinquishing full custody of the child to her mother.  Afterwards, McCorvey went through a depressed period in her life, became pregnant again, and placed the child for adoption.  She never saw her child after its birth.  When Norma McCorvey became pregnant again in 1969, she panicked and was unsure what to do.  McCorvey called the doctor who delivered her other two children.  He no longer practiced gynecology and obstetrics but agreed to see her anyway.  Henry McCluskey gave her the names of two lawyers whom he explained were interested in finding someone who wanted an abortion for a suit.  

Defendant Henry Wade

Roe v. Wade beganin a little pizza restaurant called Columbo’s.  Norma McCorvey met there with Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee.  After McCorvey explained her dilemma, Weddington explained what a lawsuit would entail.  McCorvey did not understand all the legal language, but she was excited by Weddington’s passion.  Weddington told lurid stories about woman who had received illegal abortions.  She persuaded McCorvey to become the plaintiff for the case, and McCorvey signed her name on legal papers anonymously as Jane Roe.  The plaintiffs filed a suit of $50,000 against Henry Wade, the Dallas County District Attorney in charge of prosecuting offenders.  However, when Wade received the papers which notified him of the suit, his office gave them little validity and almost forgot about them.  The DA’s office was unprepared for a suit against the abortion statutes which had been in place 63 years with little objections.  Wade assigned John Tolle and Jay Floyd to defend the statutes.

          Plaintiff Dr. James Hallford joined the Roe lawsuit with representing lawyers Fred Bruner and Roy Merrill.  Hallford had been indicted for administering illegal abortions.  This made Roe a class-action suit.  The oral hearing was scheduled to be heard by the Fifth Circuit Court on May 23, 1970 by a three judge panel of Judge William Taylor, Judge Sarah Hughes, and Justice Irving Goldberg.  Hughes was a liberal feminist and also Coffee’s former boss.  This personal relationship would no doubt give the plaintiffs an advantage.  After hearing oral arguments, the Dallas Circuit Court decision issued a declaration that the statutes were unconstitutional but denied injunctive relief.  The statues could still be enforced.  At a press conference, Henry Wade warned that his office would still prosecute abortionists.  Because of Wade’s proclamation, the plaintiffs were given a direct appeal route to the Supreme Court.  Pro-abortion lawyer Roy Lucas offered use of the James Madison Library to conduct research.  He possessed the experience and connections the plaintiffs lacked, so when he offered to write the appeal, Coffee and Weddington accepted.  On May 21, 1971 the Court announced it would hear Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton.  Doe challenged a Georgia law which required a board of doctors to approve an abortion before it could be performed.  Roe was scheduled to be argued on December 13, 1971.

Supreme Court Justices

          Less than one month after Roe was argued in the Supreme Court, President Richard Nixon appointed Justices William Rehnquist and Lewis Powell, and they joined the Court on January 7, 1972.  Justice Harry Blackmun felt that the issue of abortion was very significant and a full panel of justices should hear Roe and Doe. The court scheduled Roe v. Wade to be reargued on October 11, 1972.  Attorney Robert Flowers replaced Jay Floyd for the defense.  However, Flowers was unable to spend much time on the case. Weddington focused her oral argument on a woman’s constitutional right to choice while Flowers chose to center his argument on the state’s interest in preventing abortion.  He reasoned that life began at conception, consequently giving the fetus personhood and protection of the constitution; but he lacked medical evidence to support his view because of the limited medical technology of the time.  Justice White asked Weddington “If it were established that an unborn fetus is a person, you would have almost an impossible case here, would you not?”  Weddington replied by saying, “I would have a very difficult case.”  Justice Blackmun wrote the majority of the Roe decision.  The Court chose to silence the majority voice of the people that had implemented laws to protect the unborn and declared the Texas Statutes unconstitutional.  Abortion became legal across America.  The judgment was made in a seven to two majority vote on January 22, 1973.  Justices Rehnquist and White dissented; and Justices Burger, Douglas, and Stewart concurred.  

McCorvey speaking at pro-life rally

Even today, society still experiences repercussions from the Roe decision.  An estimated 55,000,000 abortions have been successfully performed in America over the forty-two years of legal abortion.  The Roe decision also influenced other countries dealing with abortion issues.  Abortion not only changed the course of America’s history, but the world.  In recent years, public opinion has been shifting to support the end of abortion.  Norma McCorvey has publicly joined the pro-life side.  The medical field has made strides in research with the ultrasound and just recently the 4D ultrasound.  The Court is overdue to rehear arguments on the abortion issue.  If the Court chose to hear arguments on another abortion lawsuit, we could very well see the overturn of Roe v. Wade in the near future, and the lives of unborn children could once again be legally protect in America.