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Roe v Wade: 37th Anniversary of Supreme Court Ruling

by Jordan Yerman | January 22, 2010 at 08:16 am

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Today is the 37th Anniversary of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court ruling, which legalized abortion in the United States. Since Roe v Wade, American women's right to abortion has been under constant attack. Here is the full text of the Roe v Wade decision. The names in the case refer to an anonymous single woman ("Jane Roe"), whose actual name is Norma L. McCorvey, and Dallas County DA Henry Wade. Henry Wade, who died in 1986, also prosecuted Jack Ruby for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald.

The gist of Roe v Wade was that Norma McCorvey was challenging the constitutionality of Texas abortion laws. Norma McCorvey had claimed that she had been raped, since that was the only way she could get a legal abortion without demonstrating that her own life was at risk should she carry the child to term. Ultimately, the Supreme Court decided that a woman may abort a pregnancy for any reason, up until "the point at which the fetus becomes viable". That last phrase defined the battleground of late-term abortions.

At the same time, a childless married couple also challenged the law, but their suit was struck down.

So this raises the question: where are the young, vibrant women supporting their pro-life or pro-choice positions? Likely, they’re at home. “Young women are still concerned about these issues, but they’re not trained to go out and protest,” says Kristy Maddux, assistant professor at the University of Maryland, who specializes in historical feminism.

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Hugh Askew

at 12:46 on January 22nd, 2010

"Millennials" (those 18-29) consider abortion to be "morally wrong" even more (58%) than Baby Boomers (those 45-64) (51%).

Generation X (those 30-44) are similar to Millennials (60% see abortion as "morally wrong"). More than 6 in 10 of the Greatest Generation (those 65+) feel the same.

In other words - if young women are out marching about abortion, they are more likely to be marching in protest that it is even legal.

snuffysmith

at 13:02 on January 22nd, 2010

I agree. And in the black community, abortion is considered racist.

snuffysmith

at 13:11 on January 22nd, 2010

Archbishop: 'We cannot fail to warn' others of 'error' of abortion

Near the end of the Mass, Archbishop Broglio had a message for the many young people present.

"You can always learn something from those who go before you," he said, adding that the first nuncio under whom he served when he was in the Vatican diplomatic corps once told him that by watching others, "you can always learn to do something, or learn how not to do something."

"You have all the possibilities to make this a better world," Archbishop Broglio said. "Draw on the strength of the sacraments and the grace of God to make this world a better place."

sharis (not verified)

at 07:05 on January 28th, 2010

I am a gen x-er and have had an abortion. My stance is this- it should be legal to keep it safe and clean, however, If I can convince ONE woman in my life time not to do it- then I will be happy. Noone told me the emotional toll it would have on me- fortunatley, 18 years later, I am handling things well.