ROE v. WADE

Opinion of U.S. District Court, N.D. Texas, June 17, 1970 . . . . . . . .499

Briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court

Brief for Appellant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .505

Brief for Appellee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .517

Supplemental Brief for Appellants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .535

Opinion of the Supreme Court, January 22, 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .542

ISSUE

Abortion

HOW TO USE MILESTONES IN THE LAW

This section allows readers to investigate the facts, the arguments, and the legal reasoning that produced the Roe v. Wade decision. It also sheds light on the roles and required skills of attorneys and judges in resolving disputes.

As you read this section, you may wish to consider the following issues:

• How did the appellant's description of the issues before the Court, or questions presented, differ from the appellee's descriptions?
• How did the courts and the two parties differ in describing the meaning of particular prior cases to the present case?
• How did the holdings (conclusions of law) of the district court differ from those of the Supreme Court?
• On what points in the Supreme Court's majority opinion do the concurring and dissenting justices agree and disagree?
• How would you decide this case?

THIS CASE IN HISTORY

Roe versus Wade may be the most well known and the most controversial decision of the modern Supreme Court. With this decision, the Court recognized a woman's right to obtain an abortion under certain circumstances. Virtually from the moment it was handed down, Roe v. Wade has divided lawyers, politicians, and the public into those who support the decision and those who would like it overturned, either by the Supreme Court itself or by act of the legislature. A judge's or politician's position on the subject of abortion has played a major role in countless appointments and elections. After the decision and for the rest of his life, the opinion brought its author, Justice Harry Blackmun, an unending stream of mail both praising and vilifying him for the decision.