Name: Caroline Deng

LBS HOMEWORK SHEET

Prepare a separate homework sheet for each case that you have been assigned to read for
class. Professor will collect these homework sheets at the end of each class session.
Name of Case in Proper Legal Citation Format
Roe et al. v. Wade, District Attorney of Dallas County
Who is/are the plaintiff(s) (i.e. consumer, company, employee, government) and what type
of legal relief is/are the plaintiff(s) seeking?
Plaintiff: Jane Roe (anonymous), who argued that the Texas criminal abortion statues were
unconstitutional because they abridged her right of personal privacy, protected by the First,
Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments.
What legal question must the court decide, and what is the common law rule, constitutional
provision or statute that the question will turn on?
The court must decide if the right to have an abortion is contained under the right to personal
liberty that emanates everywhere within the Constitution.
What is the courts reasoning? (Might include reliance on precedent, statutory
interpretation and legislative history & societal considerations)
The court cited cases such as Griswold v. Connecticut and Eisenstadt v. Baird to bring forth the
concept of personal liberty embodied in the Fourteenth Amendments Due Process Clause.
They also reviewed the arguments of Dallas County, which cited historical examples of abortion
preventing illicit sexual conduct, noted abortion as a hazardous medical procedure, and argued
that anti-abortion laws protected prenatal life. However, the court dismissed these arguments by
talking about modern medical advances and the meaning of the word persons, according to the
Constitution. They argued that based on the Constitutions use of the word person, a fetus does
not count as one because it is unborn. That being said, they did maintain that states are allowed
to regulate past the first trimester, for the safety of the mother.
What is the precedent or holding established by the courts ruling that will be followed in
subsequent similar cases? Not just what the court does such as reverses the decision of
the court below or awards damages to plaintiff but what is the proposition for which
another party might cite the case?
This case legalized abortion, and opened up a large debate on abortion that was not present
before. Additionally, the vagueness and indecision in the language of the ruling have also
become points of contention.