icon backReturn to Entries

Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade (1973) and Doe v. Bolton (1973) are two U.S. Supreme Court cases that use the judicially created right to privacy to affirm a woman's right to an abortion under certain circumstances. Although Doe focused on the constitutionality of a liberalized Georgia abortion statute that permitted abortion in cases where the mother's health was in jeopardy, the fetus would be born with a birth defect, or the pregnancy was caused by rape, Roe arose out of a challenge to a Texas statute passed in 1960 prohibiting all forms of abortion.

Road to the Supreme Court

Norma McCorvey—known in court by the pseudonym Jane Roe—was an itinerant circus worker who was unable to care for her first child. When she became pregnant again, ...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles