Supreme Court Landmarks | Jane Roe | 7

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2020

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1970, a 22-year-old woman in Texas named Norma McCorvey tried and failed to get an abortion from her doctor. Abortion was illegal in Texas, just as it was in most states. Women hoping to terminate their pregnancies had few options, and many resorted to risky back-alley procedures.

McCorvey was soon introduced to a pair of young lawyers who hoped to go to court to challenge the Texas law banning abortion. Before long, McCorvey became the plaintiff known only as “Jane Roe.”

Her case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, where the Justices would rule on whether the constitutional right to privacy applied to abortion. The Court’s landmark ruling changed the lives of American women, and unleashed intense controversy, dividing the nation for decades to come.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon Music,
0:05.6	download the app today.
0:09.4	Imagine you're in Dallas, Texas in September 1969.
0:22.0	You're sitting in the office of your OBGYN, who has just confirmed your suspicions.
0:26.8	You were pregnant.
0:28.4	You stare the cold, sterile, examining room in a day until the doctor snaps you out
0:32.8	of it.
0:33.8	Now, I want to see you again next month for a checkup.
0:36.3	The nurse will show you out.
0:40.0	The doctor glances at his watch and walks toward the door to leave.
0:43.7	Next month.
0:44.7	And with that, it suddenly becomes real.
0:47.5	You start to take deep, gasping breaths, but you can't seem to get enough air.
0:51.9	Feels like a thousand pounds of pressure is weighing on your chest.
0:56.7	The doctor closes the door and turns back to you.
0:59.6	You feel a hand on your shoulder, guiding you down toward the floor.
1:02.8	Here, here.
1:03.8	Put your head down between your knees.
1:06.0	You take several deep, shuddering breaths.
1:08.4	Gradually your heartbeat slows.
1:10.4	There.
1:11.4	Better?
	...

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