This week, you are studying substantive due process and the rights that are recognized as “liberty” interests under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that abortion is no longer recognized as a “liberty” interest under the U.S. Constitution. The Dobbs decision overruled the earlier cases of Casey v. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Roe v. Wade, both of which recognized abortion as a liberty interest under the Constitution. For this discussion, read the Dobbs case and view the following supplemental material:
Guide to the Dobbs, Casey, and Roe cases ( https://resources.careered.com/LCMSFileSharePreview/Resources/AdobePDF/Unit%204%20Timeline%20of%20Abortion%20Cases.pdf )
Watch the following videos that discuss the issues in the Dobbs case:
SCOTUS Overturns Roe v. Wade ( https://constitutioncenter.org/news-debate/americas-town-hall-programs/scotus-overturns-roe-v-wade-in-dobbs-abortion-case-msnbcs-ali-velshi-and-jeffrey-rosen )
Dobbs v. Jackson ( https://youtu.be/_knXpoGfWdo?feature=shared )
After reading the Dobbs case and the supplemental guide and videos about the Dobbs case, respond to the following questions:
Discuss the basic facts of the Dobbs case.
Identify and explain the Court’s holding and reasoning of the majority opinion.
Analyze whether you believe the Dobbs case was correctly decided and discuss which of the opinions in the Dobbs case (majority, concurring, dissenting) is correct in your personal opinion and why. Be sure to frame your analysis using the legal tests that the Court used to analyze whether a right to an abortion is a recognized liberty interest under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
Discuss how the majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions differed in how they applied the doctrine of stare decisis in the Dobbs case and which one is correct in your opinion.
Lastly, after the Dobbs decision, a woman’s right to an abortion likely will derive from a state or federal statute rather than the Constitution. If you had the opportunity to provide input into this statute concerning abortion, what provision(s) would you like to see in your state’s statute regarding a woman’s right to an abortion? For instance, if you are pro-choice, would you impose any restrictions on abortions?
Conversely, if you take a pro-life position, would you provide any exceptions to allow abortions?
Be sure to properly cite all sources.
