SANDRA DAY O CONNOR FAMILY FREE

Though abortion is conduct, it does not follow that the State is entitled to proscribe it in all instances. It is an act fraught with consequences for others: for the woman who must live with the implications of her decision for the persons who perform and assist in the procedure for the spouse, family, and society which must confront the knowledge that these procedures exist, procedures some deem nothing short of an act of violence against innocent human life and, depending on one's beliefs, for the life or potential life that is aborted. 'These considerations begin our analysis of the woman's interest in terminating her pregnancy but cannot end it, for this reason: though the abortion decision may originate within the zone of conscience and belief, it is more than a philosophic exercise. Beliefs about these matters could not define the attributes of personhood were they formed under compulsion of the State. At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.

SANDRA DAY O CONNOR FAMILY FREE

… Our cases recognize 'the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwarranted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision whether to bear or beget a child.' … Our precedents 'have respected the private realm of family life which the state cannot enter.' … These matters, involving the most intimate and personal choices a person may make in a lifetime, choices central to personal dignity and autonomy, are central to the liberty protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. 'Our law affords constitutional protection to personal decisions relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, child rearing and education. Casey, which she co-authored with Justices Anthony Kennedy and David Souter. It is summed up succinctly in this excerpt from Planned Parenthood v. The issue would arise several times during her time on the court. As such, she would allow reasonable controls set by the states. She believed that the government should have limited say over the most private of decisions.īut she had also been a state legislator and believed in states' rights to set their own laws. O'Connor sided with the majority in upholding the concept of Roe v. Casey, challenging a Pennsylvania law that imposed restrictions on abortion, such as waiting periods, parental consent and spousal consent. The biggest abortion case that O'Connor ruled on was 1992's Planned Parenthood v. Texas, which overturned state sodomy laws - that is, laws that targeted gay sex. Wade, notably Antonin Scalia, who would bring it up in discussion of other decisions, such as Lawrence v. 'Too frequent overturning of precedent, she felt, undercut the court,' said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. And because O'Connor was a woman who had presided over the Arizona state Senate when it decriminalized abortion in that state, she was suspect, even though she declared her personal abhorrence for abortion.īut O'Connor had respect for opinions handed down by the Supreme Court, and she believed there needed to be good reason to overturn them.įrequent swing vote: Sandra Day O'Connor was no 'blank check' But it was under constant attack from the religious right - then as now. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that legalized abortion, had been the law of the land for eight years. When O'Connor sat in her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1981, the national debate turned to a woman's right to choose an abortion.

Sandra day o connor family