What was the ratio of Conservative vs. Liberal Scotus members when Roe vs. Wade was ruled on ?....and what was the vote count ?
On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court issued a 7–2 decision in favor of Roe that held that women in the United States have a fundamental right to choose whether or not to have abortions and therefore struck down Texas's abortion ban as unconstitutional. The decision was issued together with a companion case, Doe v. Bolton, that involved a similar challenge to Georgia's abortion laws.
Though not often discussed, the Court's opinion first addressed the issues of standing and mootness.
Under the traditional interpretation of these rules, Jane Roe's appeal was "moot" because she had already given birth to her child and thus would not be affected by the ruling; she also lacked "standing" to assert the rights of other pregnant women. As she did not present an "actual case or controversy" (a grievance and a demand for relief), any opinion issued by the Supreme Court
would constitute an advisory opinion.
William Rehnquist and Byron White voted against Roe, both holding much more conservative views than the rest of judges on the supreme court.
The majority decision
In a 7-2 decision, the court held that a woman's right to an abortion was protected by her
right to privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision allowed a woman to decide whether to keep or abort the fetus/unborn child during the first trimester. This affected the laws of 46 states. Justice Harry Blackmun wrote the majority opinion.
“We … acknowledge our awareness of the sensitive and emotional nature of the abortion controversy, of the vigorous opposing views, even among physicians, and of the deep and seemingly absolute convictions that the subject inspires.” — Justice Blackmun
Dissenting opinion
The dissenting opinion was written by Justice William Rehnquist. He objected to the majority decision giving several reasons.
He first pointed out there was no legitimate plaintiff in the case and that was a requirement to hear the case. A legitimate plaintiff would be a woman in her first trimester of her pregnancy at some point while the case was being tried. McCorvey (Jane Roe) did not fit that qualification and so the ruling had no application to the case.
The court recognized a woman's right to abortion under the general "right to privacy from previous cases. But he argued, "A transaction such as this is hardly 'private' in the ordinary usage of the word."
The majority opinion was vague on where exactly the right to privacy was located in the Constitution. Several amendments were mentioned, but none were specifically identified to contain the right to privacy.
The word privacy is not found in the Constitution.
Additional problems include the court acting as a legislature in breaking pregnancy into three trimesters and outlining the permissible restrictions states may make. Rehnquist pointed out that 36 of the 37 states in 1868, when the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, had laws against abortion, including Texas. He wrote "...The only conclusion possible from this history is that the drafters did not intend to have the Fourteenth Amendment withdraw from the States the power to legislate with respect to this matter."
Dissenting justices White and Rehnquist voiced their disgust, calling the court's decision an "exercise of raw judicial power . . .(with no Constitutional support). The court simply fashions and announces a new constitutional right for pregnant mothers .
THOSE WHO RULED IN FAVOR OF ROE:
Warren Burger (appointed by Richard Nixon)
Throughout his law career, Burger had been a notable conservative. His stances included opposition to gay rights and a belief in checks and balances in the government. The most controversial ruling of the Burger court remains Roe v. Wade, when Burger, who had previously opposed abortion, voted to legalize abortion with the majority.
William O. Douglas (appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt)
He was appointed by the Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1939, succeeding Louis Brandeis. Douglas championed for civil libertarianism, heavily advocating for the Bill of Rights and opposed the Vietnam War and government wiretapping. Douglas was also an advocate for the outdoors and an outspoken environmentalist. Being a liberal, William O. Douglas voted to legalize abortion.