Roe v.

Wade in the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court heard the arguments of Roe v. Wade in 1972. The decision came shortly
thereafter on January 22, 1973. In a 7-to-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Roe. The
two dissenting votes came from Justices Byron White and William Rehnquist.
The Court argued that the mother has the constitutional right to abortion without being subject to a
criminal offense under the Fourteenth Amendment, more specifically, the due process clause,
which provides privacy to Americans and their personal decisions. However, the Court argued that
the right to abortion must be balanced with the life of the child and the health of the mother. The
state had the right to intervene if an abortion would cause harm or death to the mother, or the child
had developed past a certain time frame.
The Supreme Court later altered the framework with which the state could intervene to protect the
child. The Court argued that a woman's right to abortion is legal until the child reaches 'viability.' This
meant that once it was deemed that a child could successfully live outside of the mother