term paper

General Term Paper Information

This assignment is one in which you will examine one of the Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century that impacted civil rights and freedoms. Generally speaking, the Supreme Court was much more active in expanding civil liberties and protections in the twentieth century than during any other period of U.S. history.

For this paper, you will analyze a single Supreme Court decision from almost any point in this course (1914 through 2000). The only topics you need to avoid are subjects that do not fall within the time frame for this assignment or that limit civil liberties in the United States (e.g.
Korematsu v. United States). Also,
Roe v. Wade is not an option for this assignment because I provided a sample of the term paper below that used this court case. A list of pre-approved court cases has been provided for you below, but you are not limited to these topics. If there is another topic of interest, please contact me for approval before you begin your research. As a bit of advice, a lot of former students choose very large cases like Brown v. Board with the thought that the more resources available the better, but the amount of information out there can be overwhelming and hamper your research (so you might find selecting a less well-known case makes for an easier paper).

Below you will find a list of some of the various Supreme Court decisions, broken down into categories, which expanded civil rights during the time frame of this class. By no means is the following list intended to cover every possible case of the 20th century, but hopefully this will give you some ideas of where you can go with this research paper. If you find a potential topic that is not on the list, suggest it!

Ideas for Term Paper Topics x

Download Ideas for Term Paper Topics x

Term Paper Structure

The paper will consist of multiple distinct and individual sections which focus on your selected Supreme Court case.

1.
Cover Page – The top page of your submission should be the cover/title page of your paper. The cover page consists of the subject of your paper in the center, with your name and any other information you want to include in the bottom right. Feel free to include a title for your paper to give it some personality, but this is optional.

2.
Body of Essay – Each of the three sections should be clearly marked with a title as a new section. For example, Section I would be titled “Background” and Section III would be titled “Significance.” This is a very basic example, so feel free to get creative on titles, etc. The titles should be regular sized font, but centered, bolded, and/or underlined to make it clear. If Section I is two and a half pages, you should end the section there (mid-page), start a new page, and add the title at the top of the new page to indicate the beginning of Section II.

·
Section I – This section should provide a short background of the case, including the circumstances of the initial arrest, incident, or challenge to established law. Include any information you feel is important for the reader to know in order to understand your subject. This section should be a minimum of 350 words (about 1 page) in length.

·
Section II – This section should explain the decision by the court. This will include the motivations for the decision as well as an explanation of the dissenting votes. If your case was decided on a unanimous vote, you would analyze the legal arguments presented by the losing side in the case. This section should be a minimum of 350 words (about 1 page) in length.

·
Section III. This section will analyze the significance of the case on civil liberties and should much more extensively researched than the first two sections (which are largely explanatory). Examine the outcomes of the decision in terms of immediate changes and their impact on other cases, if relevant. This section should be a minimum of 700 words (about 2 pages) in length.

3.
Works Cited – The final page of your paper is the works cited page. The works cited page should be on its own page and includes the full citation of the sources you have used in the paper in Chicago style. Please see the handout on citations and Chicago formatting.

I have included a sample student paper below. It is not perfect, but this should give you an idea of how you should format the final submission. Since I am giving you an example of
Roe v. Wade, you cannot do this case for the assignment.

Student Sample 1 x

Download Student Sample 1 x

Required Submissions

Topic Approval (optional)

If you have decided to write on a Supreme Court case which is listed on the handout above, you can skip this step.

If you have decided to write on a decision that is not listed on the handout, you must submit a prospectus (formal proposal) that includes a detailed description of your project. The goal of a prospectus is to explain the main components of your paper, the key evidence, and the sources of that evidence. The prospectus must include the subject of your research paper and a brief summary of the impacts and significance of the case. You must also include the specific sources where you found the information in your preliminary research. This is an ungraded assignment, but the subject of all papers not listed on the handout must be approved to receive credit for the other submissions listed below. Any papers submitted with a non-approved topic will not be graded and will be marked as “No credit.” If you have chosen a topic from the approved list, but you would like me to look over your sources and early research, feel free to send me a prospectus. There is no location within Canvas to upload the prospectus, so please submit the prospectus via email as a Word attachment.

Rough Draft – Due Week 6

In order to keep on track, you should have Section I and II completed and starting to work on Section III of your court case.

For this assignment, you need to submit a rough draft of your term paper that includes a completed Section I & II, and everything you have completed for Section III. Anything that you have not fully completed in Section III should be put in a detailed outline so that I can see where you are going for the rest of the paper. Avoid generalizations in the outlined section and be as detailed as possible. The last page should be a Works Cited page including any sources you have used for the paper.

This is a rough draft so you can always edit later before your final submission, but you should have Section I & II completed and only need minor changes like word selection, punctuation, etc., if anything at all. This means all formatting and footnoting should be complete for the first two sections. Your submission should be a minimum of 350 words for Section I, 350 words for Section II, and one page of detailed outline for Section III (or at least 1 page of a completed Section III), which is a total of three pages plus a works cited page. The last page of detailed outline needs to include the structure, specific evidence, and sources of this research, otherwise only partial credit will be given due to short/missing components. This assignment will be returned with comments indicating the larger issues, but is not intended to be comprehensive.

PLEASE NOTE

– There are only three grades given for this assignment. Credit for the Term Paper Rough Draft assignment will be given as 50 points for a completed submission, 30 points for submissions with short/missing components, and 0 points for submissions with very short/multiple missing components. The rough draft will be accepted late for up to one week with a 5 point deduction for each day or any portion thereof.

Final Draft – Due Week 10

The total submission is a minimum of about four double spaced pages (must meet minimum word counts for each section), which means four full pages of essay not including footnotes, titles, etc. The format should follow what is described in the “Term Paper Structure” above.

·
Final Draft Submission Format and Requirements

Essay should be 12 point Times New Roman font with standard 1” margins on all sides. Do not put your name on each page or skip extra lines between paragraphs or titles. Writing should be tight and have a good flow (e.g. avoiding dropped quotes and having topic sentences).

You should use Chicago style formatting for all citations, which means you must include footnotes for the evidence used in your paper (not endnotes or parenthetical citations). There is a very specific way to insert footnotes, so please read the citations handout in Canvas. Failure to cite sources can be construed as plagiarism – please see the syllabus and college catalog for details. Any direct quotes five or more lines in length need to be cited as block quotes but as a general rule, five lines is too long anyway and you should try to paraphrase or only use part of the quote.

Late papers are accepted, but they will receive a one grade (15 point) deduction for each day they are late, or any portion thereof. The last submission date for late papers is five days after the due date, at which point the assignment will be graded as “No credit.”

Term Paper Grading

One of my professors once told me that it is called a term paper because you are supposed to complete it over the entire term, otherwise it would be called a weekend paper. In retrospect and now that I am a professor, I know what he meant. There is a clear and very obvious difference between those papers which were researched over the quarter and those that were thrown together in the last week. My advice is to start early and dedicate a regular amount of time each week to reading about your topic.

Students sometimes do not understand how a paper is graded, especially in subjective writing assignments. Below you will find a grading rubric to outline the basic elements for each grade level. Please note that term papers are graded in 5% (7.5 point) increments and failure to meet minimum requirements will result in a non-passing grade.

As you review the rubric below, keep in mind that the basic grade of a paper derives from its content while the difference between the higher and lower grades may depend on issues such as presentation. In other words, just because a submission has some characteristics of an “A,” it might not receive that grade due to other factors. These categories are not intended to be completely definitive in assigning grades, but they should provide you a good guideline of how each grade is determined.

Evaluation Rubric for Term Paper x

Download Evaluation Rubric for Term Paper x

A – Outstanding (135-150 points)

· Section I & II – Effective historical description to make your case vivid and interesting.

· Section III – Strong analysis, based on historical documentation, of the impacts of the case. You have a clear opinion about how and why this subject is significant at the time and today (if relevant). Full explanations of your examples show why they are important for the reader to consider.

· Research – Factual information is correct and corroborated by material from your sources. Detailed examples illustrate your points. Source materials are appropriate for a college paper and do not include non-academic sources.

· Writing – Well written essay with full sentences and paragraphs. No punctuation, spelling, or grammatical issues present. Writing is tightly organized and has clearly been revised through several drafts. Essay written in past tense.

· Presentation – Includes all the required components and formatting guidelines such as title page, works cited page, each section starts on a new page, correct font, proper margins, etc. No errors in citations or works cited page.

B – Above Average/Very Good (120-135 points)

· Section I & II – Good historical description of the case but could leave some unanswered questions or gaps in background.

· Section III – Good analysis, based on historical documentation, of the impacts of the case. Some areas of subject unexplored, but covers most important issues

· Research – Factual information is correct and corroborated by material from your sources. Detailed examples illustrate your points. Majority of source materials are appropriate for a college paper and do not include non-academic sources.

· Writing – Good essay with full sentences and paragraphs. Minimal punctuation, spelling, or grammatical issues present, but do not distract from content of paper. Writing is good, but essay would benefit from a revised draft. Some minor problems moving in and out of past tense.

· Presentation – Includes most required components, but could be missing one component or does not follow all formatting guidelines. Minimal errors in citations or work cited page.

C – Average/Satisfactory (105-120 points)

· Section I & II – Historical description is general and covers basic elements of case.

· Section III – Needs more analysis of significance or impacts of the case. Touches on most obvious impacts, but misses the secondary issues.

· Research – Could include inaccurate or unsupported information. General or vague examples and evidence. Relies on minimal source materials or materials which are inappropriate for a college paper or includes non-academic sources.

· Writing – Average essay with full sentences and paragraphs. Some punctuation, spelling, or grammatical errors that distract from content. Writing or organization issues to the degree that it appears to have not been proofread or gone through multiple drafts. Inconsistent in use of past tense.

· Presentation – Missing some components or does not follow all formatting guidelines. Multiple errors in citations or works cited page, or missing citations.

D – Below Average/Unsatisfactory (90-105 points)

· Section I & II – Poorly researched background description. Does not meet minimum length requirement.

· Section III – Poor analysis of the impacts of the case which misses some important impacts. Does not meet minimum length requirement.

· Research – Could include inaccurate information or rely on conjecture or personal experiences. General or vague examples and evidence. Poorly researched and includes source materials not appropriate for a college paper or non-academic sources.

· Writing – Problematic essay with sentence and paragraph issues. Multiple punctuation, spelling, or grammatical errors that distract from content. Writing and organization issues to the degree that it appears to have not been proofread or undergone more than one draft. Very inconsistent in use of past tense.

· Presentation – Missing components and does not follow formatting guidelines. Multiple errors in citations or works cited page, and missing citations.

F – Far Below Average/Failing (37.5-90 points)

· Section I & II – Poorly researched background description. Does not meet minimum length requirement.
· Section III – Poor analysis of the impacts of the case which misses some important impacts. Does not meet minimum length requirement.

· Research – Includes inaccurate information or relies on conjecture or personal experiences. Poor and vague examples and evidence. Poorly researched and includes source materials not appropriate for a college paper and non-academic sources.

· Writing – Poorly written essay with significant sentence and paragraph issues. Difficult to understand multiple points due to repeated spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors. Writing and organization issues to the degree that it appears to have been quickly completed and not undergone any drafts revisions. Frequently in wrong tense.

· Presentation – Missing most components and does not follow formatting guidelines. Multiple errors in citations or works cited page, and missing citations.

No Credit (0 points)

Did not submit, plagiarized/academic integrity violation, or submitted an unapproved topic.

Ideas for term paper topics

Freedom of Religion

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1968)

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association (1988)

Desegregation/Racial Discrimination

Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada (1938)

Smith v. Allwright (1944)

Morgan v. Virginia (1946)

Mendez v. Westminster (1946)

Oyama v. California (1948)

Sweatt v. Painter (1950)

Sei Fujii v. California (1952)

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

Hernandez v. Texas (1954)

Cooper v. Aaron (1958)

Bailey v. Patterson (1962)

Heart of Atlanta Motel Inc. v. United States (1964)

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. (1968)

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971)

Gender/Sexual Equality

Frontiero v. Richardson (1973)

Craig v. Boren (1976)

Romer v. Evans (1996)

Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. (1998)

Sexual Harassment

Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986)

Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools (1992)

Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. (1998)

Voting Rights

Smith v. Allwright (1944)

Reynolds v. Sims (1964)

Education Rights

Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925)
Mendez v. Westminster (1946)

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

Lau v. Nichols (1974)

Plyler v. Doe (1982)

Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools (1992)

United States v. Virginia (1996)

Employment Discrimination

Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations (1937)

Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971)

University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978)

International Union, UAW v. Johnson Controls, Inc. (1991)

Criminal Justice Protections

Powell v. Alabama (1932)

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Katz v. United States (1967)

Terry v. Ohio (1968)

Furman v. Georgia (1972)

In re Gault (1976)

Batson v. Kentucky (1986)

Women’s Rights

Adkins v. Children’s Hospital (1923)

Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations (1937)

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp. (1971)

Reed v. Reed (1971)

Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur (1974)

International Union, UAW v. Johnson Controls, Inc. (1991)

Native American/Tribal Rights

Menominee Tribe v. United States (1968)

United States v. Antelope (1977)

Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez (1978)

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield (1989)

Coyote v. US Fish and Wildlife Service (1992)

Freedom of Press, Speech, and Assembly

Near v. Minnesota (1931)

De Jonge v. Oregon (1937)

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)

Kent v. Dulles (1958)

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Term Paper

: Comment by Steve Batham: Cover Page consists of title and court case

.

Notice that “versus” is always abbreviated as “v.” and not “vs.” in legal documents

Analysis of
Roe v. Wade

John Student Comment by Steve Batham: Name and any other information you want to include here. You should not have your name on every page

Hist 17C

Term Paper

Professor Batham

Section 1: Background Comment by Steve Batham: Section one starts on new page. Title at top is normal 12 point font, but underlined or bolded (or both) to clearly indicate the beginning of a new section.

This case began when a pregnant single woman, Norma McCorvey (“Roe” in this case) in Texas brought a class action law suit to challenge the constitutionality of criminal abortion laws in Texas. At the time, the laws prevented abortions from occurring except in cases of rape, incest, or where the life of the mother was deemed by a physician to be in danger[footnoteRef:0]. Initially, McCorvey had claimed she was raped in order to obtain a legal abortion and when this failed also tried to obtain an illegal abortion. Neither of her attempts were successful. At a similar time of Roe’s suit, another couple called the “Does” also filed a lawsuit against the same anti-abortion laws in Texas. The Does were pursuing a different line of reasoning than McCorvey was in arguing against the anti-abortion laws. The Does were suing because they believed that the law could create injury based on the future possibilities of contraception failing, unpreparedness for parenthood, or danger to the wife’s health[footnoteRef:1]. At the time of the lawsuit, Norma McCorvey was pregnant, but the “Does” were not pregnant, and this would play a significant role in the outcomes of the two different lawsuits. Comment by Steve Batham: Paragraphs are indented. Text is 12 point Times New Roman font and double spaced. Margins are 1” on all sides. Comment by Steve Batham: Footnotes inserted using footnote function and not simply adding a superscript number. See Chicago handout for instructions. [0: Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)] [1: Ibid.]

The case was brought to a 3-judge district court by lawyers Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington on behalf of McCorvey and the Does. After hearing arguments, the 3-judge court made several determinations for the case. This court first decided that Roe and her physician, Hallford, both had standing to file the lawsuit, but that the “Does” did not have standing because their argument was based on future possibilities that were too vague to make judgements about[footnoteRef:2]. Though the Does argued that the future possibility of pregnancy was just as harmful as actually being pregnant, the panel of judges found that they in fact did not have standing because they were not immediately affected by the law, and their arguments about the future impact were too indefinite to constitute a legal ruling. After deciding to hear the case the court determined that the abortion statutes were void because they were too vague and infringed on the plaintiff’s Ninth and Fourteenth amendment rights. In making this initial decision the district court cited the case of
Griswold v. Connecticut, claiming that the abortion laws in Texas were void in part because of the right to privacy found in the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendment in the Constitution[footnoteRef:3]. After this determination the case was heard on appeal by the Supreme Court. Comment by Steve Batham: No extra spaces between paragraphs. [2: Ibid.] [3: Ibid.]

The Supreme Court determined that only Roe had standing to file a lawsuit and that Hallford, her physician, did not[footnoteRef:4]. One of the issues in determining standing was the fact that McCorvey had already given birth to her child before the decision of the Supreme Court was made. The Supreme Court decided to hear the case because most cases cannot go through the appeals process in a period of time that is shorter than the term of a pregnancy[footnoteRef:5]. This meant that the mootness doctrine which could be used to argue that McCorvey did not have standing in the case was invalid because it would be impossible to go through the appeals process in a period of time that was shorter than the pregnancy. Thus she was granted standing and the case proceeded through the Supreme Court. Comment by Steve Batham: Section I exceeds 350 word minimum of text, excluding footnotes and long quotes Comment by Steve Batham: Section I ends and Section II begins on a new page [4: Ibid.] [5: Ibid.]

Section
II: The Decision Comment by Steve Batham: Section II starts on new page with same formatting for Section I

The Supreme Court decided in favor of the plaintiff McCorvey basing its decision on matters of privacy protected by the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Blackmun wrote the majority opinion and based his argument on a framework of trimesters and the concept of protecting the privacy of doctor’s to make their determinations based on their own expertise and not to be coerced by state laws. Blackmun’s opinion was presented more from the perspective of protecting the privacy of doctors and was less concerned with the idea of a woman having the right to ‘bodily autonomy.’

The structure of the decision was based around the idea of trimesters when determining whether or not an abortion was permissible. The ruling stated that in the first trimester the ‘woman has the exclusive right to pursue an abortion’ outside of any state interventions, meaning that a woman’s right to an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy was absolute and to be determined only by herself and her physician and that no laws could prevent an abortion during this time[footnoteRef:6]. In the second trimester, the ruling decided that the state could not intervene or create laws restricting access to abortion except to protect the health of the mother and that these would be the only acceptable regulations for abortion. In the third trimester, the focus shifts to the protection of the ‘potentiality’ of the fetus and its viability, and so during this time period the state could “if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe abortion except where necessary, in appropriate medical judgement for the preservation of the life or health of the mother[footnoteRef:7].” Essentially, in the third trimester abortion could be limited to cases where it would be legal only if the life of the mother were at risk. [6: Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)] [7: Ibid.]

In total, seven of the Supreme Court Justices formed the majority opinion, but several of them had additional opinions to express in addition to Blackmun’s perspective. Justice Douglas argued that it was specifically the 14th Amendment rather than the 9th Amendment which was the source of the right to privacy which was the determining factor in this case. Justice Stewart believed that the right to privacy was specifically found in the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. Finally, Justice Burger believed that the opinions of two doctors should be required before an abortion could be performed[footnoteRef:8]. [8: Ibid.]

The two Justices who dissented in this case were Justices Rehnquist and White. Each Justice wrote his own opinion dissenting with the other Justices’ majority opinion. White argued that the use of the trimester framework was inappropriate for this case because it had no basis in constitutional or legal framework. He also believed that this represented an overreach of judicial power and that the more appropriate way to determine this issue was through a political process—having new laws created through Congress—rather than through the judicial system[footnoteRef:9]. Justice Rehnquist formed his argument by researching the law that existed in the 19th century during the time of the creation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Rehnquist looked at the abortion laws present when the Fourteenth Amendment came into effect and found that there were laws prohibiting abortion at the time, and so he argued that those who created the Fourteenth Amendment never considered that it could create rights to protect privacy in matters of abortion[footnoteRef:10]. Therefore, Justice Rehnquist believed that it was inappropriate to use the Fourteenth Amendment to create a protection for abortion procedures. Comment by Steve Batham: Section I exceeds 350 word minimum of text, excluding footnotes and long quotes [9: Ibid.] [10: Ibid.]

Section III: Significance

Roe v. Wade had several instant consequences when it was decided by the Supreme Court in 1973. At the time the decision was made, nearly two-third of states had laws prohibiting abortions[footnoteRef:11]. As an immediate consequence this opened accessibility to women for abortions throughout the United States. This was seen as an expansion of civil liberties because the right of women to access abortions allows them to plan their families and to direct the course of their educational and professional lives. As a response to the decision, the United States has seen a significant resistance formed against
Roe v. Wade and many efforts have been successful in limiting women’s access to abortions since the initial ruling. The decision resulted in the creation of the National Right to Life Committee, which is dedicated to protecting the rights of fetuses and embryos because members believe that life begins at conception[footnoteRef:12] and thus these fetuses deserve protection by the law. Comment by Steve Batham: Section III begins on new page Comment by Steve Batham: Notice how repeated citations look different. See Chicago handout. [11: Jenny Hontz and Estelle Rogers. “25 Years Later: The Impact of “Roe v. Wade”.” Human Rights 25, no. 2 (1998): 8. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27880095.] [12: Hontz and Rogers, “25 Years Later,” 9.]

In the long term the United States has seen many decisions that have resulted in restriction on access to abortions partially from the framework of the decision created by the Supreme Court. The argument behind the Supreme Court’s decision claimed that states can have an interest in the potentiality of life of the fetus and that it can balance this potential against the life of the mother. This right has also been affected by the 1992 case of
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey[footnoteRef:13]. In this case the Supreme Court declared that before, states had to show a compelling interest in the life of the fetus in order to intervene in any decision made by the mother, but with this case switched the burden of interest to the mother resulting in mother’s needing to show that state’s restrictions place an undue burden on the right of a mother to choose what happens to her body[footnoteRef:14]. Essentially, this has forced pregnant mothers to convince the state that they have a vested interest in terminating their pregnancy that outweighs the interest of the fetus’ right to life. These restriction are more prevalent in conservative states rather than liberal states. This has resulted in many restrictions placed on the practice of abortion, especially when it comes to the federal government’s involvement in the issue. For example, the federal government does not offer access to abortion for its employees through any of its health plans, does not support any federal research into stem-cells or embryos, and limits federal funds for fetal tissue and cloning research[footnoteRef:15]. This is significant because many of these areas show promise in providing solutions to many harmful diseases facing the human population such as Parkinson’s disease, and the damage caused by strokes and heart attacks. This has also resulted in cases where the state can take a significant interest and control over embryos once the well-being of the mother is no longer an issue, such as with
in vitro fertilization clinics. The impact here is clear in Louisiana where embryos are considered persons[footnoteRef:16]. Therefore, at
in vitro fertilization clinics any extra embryos that are created which are not used cannot be destroyed because they are protected under the law. This creates unusual circumstances and criteria. For example, the clinics are prevented by law from destroying any extra embryos they are holding from a fertility treatment, but if mother’s were to implant the embryos, however, they would have the right to abort them, which shows a conflict between the decision of
Roe v. Wade and state regulations that have come into place since then. [13: Hontz and Rogers, “25 Years Later,” 9.] [14: Hontz and Rogers, “25 Years Later,” 9.] [15: Hontz and Rogers, “25 Years Later,” 11.] [16: Hontz and Rogers, “25 Years Later,” 11.]

Roe v. Wade has also had a significant impact on decisions in other areas as well. The reasoning about rights to privacy in
Roe v. Wade have been used to support the right to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment or the right not to have that treatment withdrawn. It has also allowed inmates at psychiatric hospitals the right to refuse antipsychotic drugs, and has also affected decisions about physician assisted suicide[footnoteRef:17]. In the case of
Casey v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, the Supreme Court found, in part based on the decision of
Roe v. Wade that a woman who was in a persistent vegetative state could not have her life-sustaining treatments removed at the request of her parents. The Supreme Court made this decision in part because of the patient’s right to privacy found and sustained by the decision of
Roe v. Wade. Essentially, because the patient’s desires were not made clear before her accident, it was not possible to assume that without clear evidence her wishes would be the same as her parents and thus they did not have the right to terminate her life-sustaining medical treatments because of the patient’s right to privacy[footnoteRef:18][footnoteRef:19]. [17: Hontz and Rogers, “25 Years Later,” 10.] [18: “Cruzan by Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health,” Oyez, 24 Mar. 2018, www.oyez.org/cases/1989/88-1503.] [19: ]

The decision made in
Roe v. Wade continues to be controversial in contemporary America with many groups fighting to place more restrictions on access to abortions and others fighting to maintain and increase access. In addition,
Roe v. Wade has impacted many other decisions dealing with rights to privacy concerning the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments and likely will continue to have an impact on future cases. It is important to understand how this decision was made in order to understand subsequent decisions of the Supreme Court. Comment by Steve Batham: Text exceeds 700 word minimum in Section III

Works Cited Comment by Steve Batham: Works cited collects all sources cited in paper, listed in alphabetical order, and single spaced. Notice that these citations look different than footnote citations. See Chicago handout.

.

Hontz, Jenny, and Estelle Rogers. “25 Years Later: The Impact of “Roe v.

Wade”.” 
Human Rights 25, no. 2 (1998): 8-11. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27880095. Accessed 16 Mar. 2018.

Oyez. “Cruzan by Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health.” Oyez, 24 Mar. 2018,

www.oyez.org/cases/1989/88-1503. Accessed 15 Mar. 2018

Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)