Roe V Wade: Its Significance In African Modern Society

Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling on US abortion rights has been reportedly considered by the apex court of the country to be reviewed and set to be overruled, this decision has not got down well with the populace as they express contrary opinion to what the bench considered as a new vital development in US legal system. In Africa such rights on abortion are recognized subject to restricted guidelines, discussing abortion in African traditional society is viewed as a taboo but modernity has erased such stigma, this is the area of law the west has intervened and seek to portray the right approach to a healthy society when women started to demand right on their bodies despite divergent opinions regarding to such issue.

Roe v Wade, a landmark judgement delivered by U.S Supreme Court which ruled in favour that the Constitution of United  States protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction, this was the principle established in Roe v Wade, and have since then be a followed precedent until recently created uproar which didn’t go down with the populace and if such decision is overturned in the U.S by the apex court other countries will follow suit in modelling their views towards such observation despite the masses disproval, expressing the mainstream that “it is our body”, the question whether the conduct of your personal affairs can shine light on the societal values and norms is what the bench will look at in making major switch.

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Roe v Wade, Jane Roe later identified as Norma McCorvey, was a Texas mother who sought an abortion after becoming pregnant with her third child. At the material time, Texas state law banned the procedure unless pregnancy posed a threat to woman’s life. She launched a legal challenge against the state. Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Henry Wade represented the state against Roe, leading to the case’s title. McCorvey’s case supported by pro-abortion rights groups and made its way through several hearings and appeals before arriving at the Supreme Court. The court ruled in majority favour that the Texas law was unconstitutional, by the time, Roe had already given birth to her third child, but the apex court decided to proceed with the case, ruling her challenge was “capable of repetition” and therefore overcame the “mootness doctrine”.

It has gone beyond what anybody conceives about their body, it now drags many elements into it, legality, moral and religious views will be considered in raising the bar, on what extent abortion rights should be limited or stretched. Under the U.S constitution this falls under right to privacy which protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose whether to have an abortion, although this right is not absolute and must work in tandem against the government’s interests in protecting women’s health and protecting prenatal life. In Planned Parenthood v Casey, another U.S landmark case bothered on abortion which partially altered the principle upheld in Roe v Wade, which based its ruling on that the standard of analyzing restrictions on that right, crafting the undue burden standard for abortion restrictions.

The leaked majority opinion penned by Justice Samuel Alito suggesting that the Supreme Court seeks to overturn the precedent established in Roe v Casey in pending final decision on Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The leaked draft has created reaction from the Democrats and Republicans, although it did not represent the official decision on the matter, in a White House statement “Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned.” The Republicans praised the draft ruling and condemned the leak of the draft ruling “I will say, if this is the Court’s opinion, it’s a heck of an opinion. Voluminously researched, tightly argued, morally powerful.” Said Republican Senator Josh Hawley.

Many countries in Africa have recognized abortion right, subject to the exception of when it is done in accordance with recommended guidelines, this is to prioritize women lives, as many women undergo unsafe procedure that put their well-being at risk. It is a question whether widely speculated overturning ruling on Roe v Wade will get to see the light of the day, as it tends to make even bigger announcement in African legal system, it will establish unwanted precedent in U.S but will see wide persuasion in Africa as they model their reasoning based on the decisions of the Western bench.