Texas’ Near-Ban on Abortions Takes Effect After Supreme Court Fails to Act

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.

This lesson includes a variety of activities and primary source excerpts, providing students with a comprehensive study of federalism. Through the Constitution’s system of federalism, power is divided between national and subnational governments. Federalism allows citizens to make policy decisions at state and local levels. Decentralization draws individuals out of private life and compels civic engagement.

This Homework Help narrative explores the history of the Founding of the U.S. and the reasons why federalism was created as an important part of our constitutional system. The video challenges viewers to consider this question: why we have a system with local, state, and federal laws?