Abortion issue

• Texas law on abortion

  • Texas only permitted when necessary for medical reasons ro save the life of the mother
  • McCovery’s lawyers claimed that a woman’s rights over her own body fell into a zone of privacy, which was protected under the 9th Amendment
• Supreme Courts decision in 1973

  • During first trimester states could not prohibit abortions
  • Second and third trimester, states could not enact any bans where a woman’s health was concerned
• What did it rule

  • Foetus was not a person whose rights needed to be protected in earlier states of pregnancy
  • It supported the rights of women over their own bodies and over attitudes which denied them freedom
• American opinion

  • Challenged traditional values about women
• Traditional views supported or challenged?

  Supported: many believed that women’s responsibility is for their children

  Challenged: Massive backlash of opposition, showed how strongly the counter view was held and women’s position is society became contentious