Roe vs. Wade: A New Perspective

In my senior year of high school, the most engrossing and difficult assignment was a full length research paper on the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court case. What surprised me was that they were not looking for the moral debate I would have been happy to give. Rather, they were looking for a legal presentation. They wanted me to tell them whether or not Roe vs. Wade was legal in light of the U.S. Constitution. Now this was intriguing. So much so, that I wanted to share what my research led me to. This paper taught me more about law and the American legal system than an entire textbook did. This case is an astounding example of American law.

Roe vs. Wade shook the nation to its very core. While the moral debate may rage on, both sides should pay closer attention to different angle of this argument. Though perhaps the most referenced and most discussed case in U.S. history, Roe vs. Wade is questionable at best, and most don't even know it. A solid and confident decision based on equally solid and confident evidence was never found. While the people were distracted by their brutal moral arguments, the courts were doing what they do best, disregarding the law. This is why I think that while morality should always be scrutinized, we as a people should be paying far more attention to what is actually legal in our country. If we as a people watched our government more closely and refused to allow such blatant indescrepencies, our country may be a more fair and favorable place for all.

The Roe vs. Wade case was rushed. Facts were presented with weak references, historical evidence was omitted or wrongfully interpreted. Basic questions were never asked, problems were danced around until they were forgotten. In many cases, it almost seemed as though the court were trying to convince itself that the social issue at hand was more important than the constitutional. They referenced the opinions and attitudes of societies such as medical associations as support for their interpretation of the constitution. These issues should never have been tolerated in our nation's highest court of law. Yet, we stand by their verdict to this day, 45 years later.