Supreme Court gives states green light to ban abortion, overturning Roe

Asks students to decide what the role of the Supreme Court is in determining the constitutionality of laws.

Do women have a right to privacy when deciding whether to have an abortion? In 1969, a woman under the alias “Jane Roe” challenged a Texas law that outlawed abortions. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court, where Roe argued that the Constitution protects a woman’s right to privacy in having an abortion. In a 7-2 decision, the Court ruled the right to an abortion fell within the right to privacy protected by the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause. Like other Supreme Court cases related to the Due Process Clause, incorporation played a part in the Roe v. Wade ruling. Incorporation suggests that states must adhere to the protections granted in the Bill of Rights. To this day, the ruling in Roe v. Wade remains one of the most controversial Supreme Court decisions.

Case background and primary source documents concerning the Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade. Dealing with a citizen's Constitutional right to privacy and liberty, this lesson asks students to evaluate the Court's constitutional reasoning in Roe v. Wade.