Roe v. Wade Viewing Guide
Access our Homework Help video on the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case and use the following lesson to help your students understand the material!
Overview
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 a woman’s right to privacy in having an abortion is protected by the Constitution. In a 7-2 decision, the Court ruled the right to an abortion fell within the right to privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. To this day, the ruling in Roe v. Wade remains one of the most controversial Supreme Court decisions.
Viewing Questions
- Under what circumstances were abortions allowed in Texas in 1969?
- What did the Texas district court judges rule in Wade’s legal case?
- What constitutional arguments did Coffee and Weddington (Roe’s lawyers) use?
- What did the Supreme Court rule?
- What constitutional arguments did the dissenting justices make?
- Do you agree with the Supreme Court’s ruling? Why or why not? Use evidence from the video to support your answer.
- Do you think the Court settled the issue of abortion?