Reference no: EM13736111

THE  ART  OF  ARGUMENT 

ROE V WADE, ABORTION RIGHTS

Follow the instructions on essay-writing in Instructions in Writing an Essay.

Remember that I do not want background information or introductions, and I do not want your opinions about abortion  --  this is an analysis of a rather sophisticated argument, whether you agree with it or not.

In Roe v Wade, Justice Blackmun, writing for the majority of the Supreme Court, ruled (argued, in reality) that a woman has a right under the US Constitution to choose an abortion in many circumstances, although not all.  This was a major reshaping of the laws of abortion, which before Roe v Wade were decided by the legislature of each individual state and which were generally tough against abortion.

Two of the main arguments made by Blackmun are as follows:  first, that the history of abortion laws shows that the Roe v Wade change in the law is not so extreme, that various Western or English and American laws and views on abortion have been fairly flexible; second, that deciding whether or not to have an abortion is an important element of a woman's right to privacy, while the moral issues about human life and when it begins and their relation to the decision to have an abortion are complicated and uncertain  --  and these issues are central to the government's ("the state's") interest in preventing abortions.

Pick ONLY 1 of these arguments and describe it in detail:  what information is available and how does the information support a woman's right to decide to have an abortion.

I realize that abortion is still a controversial issue, and I am not asking you to decide whether abortion should be allowed or is a constitutional right.  I am simply asking you to describe arguments used by Blackmun to explain why there is (or should be) a right for a woman to choose an abortion as protected by the US Constitution.

The Introduction, as usual, should be only 1 sentence briefly describing the controversy.  Save your words for explaining specific arguments.

You should use Blackmun's opinion in Roe v Wade.  You may use Wikipedia information about how the states just before Roe v Wade  (1970-73) made laws regarding abortion, to reinforce the 1^st of Blackmun's arguments.

DO NOT DISCUSS THE ISSUE OF WHAT PART OF THE CONSTITUTION RECOGNIZES A RIGHT OF PRIVACY (OR CREATES THAT RIGHT).  DO NOT DISCUSS IN ROE V WADE WHETHER THE CONSTITUTION PROTECTS THE RIGHTS OF AN UNBORN CHILD.  Both of those issues are too complicated as legal argument for you to be able to handle them.

You will lose points if your description of the facts or of the argument is inaccurate.  (Remember Racism in the English Language for its inaccuracies and wrong conclusions.) 

About 400-600 words,