Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center: Annotated & Rephrased
Introduction Below on the left is a copy of an excerpt of the original text in the introduction to the Supreme Court…
Introduction
Below on the left is a copy of an excerpt of the original text in the introduction to the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center. We’ve numbered the sentences. On the right, are two different versions of the text. If you click on the top arrow, you will see a summary and explanation of the case at an easier level than the original text. If you click on the bottom arrow, you’ll see an even simpler version.
Rephrase: Simple Version
Judge Alito wrote the decision of the Supreme Court with which most of the judges agreed.
There are nine Supreme Court Justices. For each case, usually one Justice writes the decision on behalf of the majority.
Rephrase: Simpler Version
Judge Alito wrote this decision.
[2] Abortion presents a profound moral issue on which Americans hold sharply conflicting views. [3] Some believe fervently that a human person comes into being at conception and that abortion ends an innocent life. [4] Others feel just as strongly that any regulation of abortion invades a woman’s right to control her own body and prevents women from achieving full equality. [5] Still others in a third group think that abortion should be allowed under some but not all circumstances, and those within this group hold a variety of views about the particular restrictions that should be imposed.
Rephrase: Simple Version
Abortion is a difficult moral question. Some people think that because life starts at conception, abortion is murder. Other people think abortion is a right because women should be allowed to control their own bodies. Other people think abortion should be allowed under certain conditions — but people don’t all agree on what conditions allow for an abortion.
Rephrase: Simpler Version
People have different opinions about abortion. Some people think it is murder so it should always be illegal. Other people think it should be a woman’s right. And other people think abortion should sometimes be allowed, depending on the circumstances.
[6] For the first 185 years after the adoption of the Constitution each State was permitted to address this issue in accordance with the views of its citizens. [7] Then, in 1973, this Court decided Roe v. Wade, 410 U. S. 113. [8] Even though the Constitution makes no mention of abortion, the Court held that it confers a broad right to obtain one.
Rephrase: Simple Version
The Constitution was established in 1788. Until 1973, every state could decide whether to make abortion legal or not. In 1973, the Supreme Court decided the case of Roe v, Wade and announced that the Constitution gives women the right to an abortion in many circumstances, even though the Constitution actually does not say anything about abortion.
Rephrase: Simpler Version
From 1788 – 1973 every state could decide for itself whether to make abortion legal or not. But then in 1973, the Supreme Court decided in a case called Roe v. Wade that abortion is a right protected by the Constitution. The Supreme Court in Roe said abortion is a Constitutional right, even though the Constitution does not say anything about abortion.
[9] It did not claim that American law or the common law had ever recognized such a right, and its survey of history ranged from the constitutionally irrelevant (its discussion of abortion in antiquity) to the plainly incorrect (its assertion that abortion was probably never a crime under the common law).
Rephrase: Simple Version
The Supreme Court in Roe did not claim that any US statute historically recognized a right to an abortion. Nor did the Supreme Court claim that common law — judge-made law traced back to England – – ever recognized abortion as a woman’s right. The Supreme Court in Roe discussed how abortion was viewed in ancient times, but that is irrelevant to the question of whether abortion is Constitutional. And the Supreme Court in Roe incorrectly concluded that abortion was not a crime according to the common law.
Rephrase: Simpler Version
The Supreme Court in Roe knew that abortion was never considered a woman’s right according to early US law and the common law – – law from cases decided by judges in England. The Court in Roe discussed abortion in ancient times but how ancient people viewed abortion is irrelevant to the US Constitution. And the Supreme Court in Roe was wrong when they said abortion was not a crime under common law.
[10] After cataloging a wealth of other information having no bearing on the meaning of the Constitution, the opinion concluded with a numbered set of rules much like those that might be found in a statute enacted by a legislature.
Rephrase: Simple Version
The Supreme Court in Roe discussed many things that were unimportant to the question of whether there is a constitutional right to an abortion. But the Supreme Court ended its decision by creating a set of rules for when women have a right under the Constitution to an abortion. The rules were written in a way that a lawmaker (such as a Congressperson) would write a statute. The rules did not sound like a judge writing about the constitutionality of abortion.
Rephrase: Simpler Version
The Supreme Court in Roe wrote about many unimportant things that do not tell us whether a woman has a constitutional right to an abortion. But finally, the Court’s decision in Roe ends with rules about when the Constitution gives women a right to an abortion. These rules don’t look like a court decision. They look like a law a legislature would write.
[11] It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.[12] “The permissibility of abortion, and the limitations, upon it, are to be resolved like most important questions in our democracy: by citizens trying to persuade one another and then voting.” Casey, 505 U. S., at 979 (Scalia, J., concurring in judgment in part and dissenting in part). [13] That is what the Constitution and the rule of law demand.
Rephrase: Simple Version
Now we must listen to the Constitution and let people vote on abortion. As Judge Scalia wrote in a prior case where he agreed with part of the decision, and disagreed with part of the decision, people should decide on abortion by debating with each other and then voting. People should vote for lawmakers who will enact laws either legalizing abortion or criminalizing abortion. The Constitution and democracy require the Supreme Court to decide that abortion is not a Constitutional right so the people in each state can choose whether or not they want abortion to be legal.
Rephrase: Simpler Version
We must follow the Constitution and democracy. People in each state should decide whether to make abortion legal or not. They can try to persuade each other and vote for what they want.