| On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court ruled on the landmark case Roe v. Wade. The Court determined that the states' century-old criminal abortion laws and the subsequently enacted reform laws were unconstitutional. The Court's decision gave state governments board interpretive latitude with the result that a number of them enacted legislation restricting a woman's right to obtain an abortion. The Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern PA v. Casey in 1992 clarified that states could further restrict abortions as long as the restrictions did not cause "undue burden" to the woman.; What goes unrecognized for many casual observers is how the states' right to interpret the law has put at risk a woman's right to choose. Many states have enacted legislation which restricts access to an abortion. This dissertation looks at the latest stage in the abortion debate; abortion restrictions which not only cause "undue burden" to women, but also cause a financial "undue burden" to society. This debate illustrates how Roe v. Wade was not the last word on abortion rights, but in fact, left a woman's right to choose at risk. |
