Consequently, in deciding the cases, the Justices were flying blind. And most of the oral arguments dealt with jurisdiction rather than rights.
A second round occurred on October 11, 1972, after those vacancies had been filled.īecause the question before the Court was procedural, rather than substantive-that is, whether a federal court had the jurisdiction to intervene in state prosecutions for abortion rather than whether abortion was a fundamental right-the cases came before the Justices with no trial or factual records. The first round of oral arguments took place on December 13, when the Court had two vacancies. The Justices voted to hear Roe and Doe on April 22 in order to determine whether, as a matter of procedure, Younger could be applied to state criminal prosecutions for abortion. Harris, which limited the power of federal courts to interfere with pending state criminal investigations. On February 23, 1971, the Court handed down its decision in Younger v. A unique feature of this book is the extensive use of archival material from the papers of eight of the nine justices who decided the case, some of which has only recently become available to researchers.įorsythe argues that the Supreme Court’s hearing of Roe and Doe was mistaken from the start. Forsythe is Senior Counsel at Americans United for Life, and this book is the culmination of over 25 years of research into the legal, medical, and political aspects of America’s abortion debate.
Forsythe argues that the Supreme Court reached the wrong decision in both cases in his new book, Abuse of Discretion. The United States is now one of only ten nations (out of 195) that permit abortion after 14 weeks, and one of only four that permit it for any reason after viability.Ĭlarke D. State laws prohibiting or restricting abortion were struck down, and a right to abortion at any time for any reason was established. The effect of those decisions was immediate and radical. On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down decisions in two abortion-related cases, Roe v.
Forsythe, Abuse of Discretion: The Inside Story of Roe v.
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