What are the influences on the decision making process of the US Supreme Court - A public choice analysis

Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject Economics - Micro-economics, grade: 2,0, , language: English, abstract: On the 24th of june the US-Supreme Court overruled the 50 year long standing right to abortion for women. Now it depends on the states whether women have the right to abort. Not surprisingly the overturn of Roe v. Wade from 1973 triggered a wave of protest because it is a major cut in the rights of women and thousands were protesting on the streets and in front of the capitol. The motion by Norma Mc Corvey, aka Jane Roe, was filed on March 3, 1970. The judges had to address the question of whether abortion could be prohibited by law. The arguments to be considered in this case were the following: A ban on abortion protects the health of the mother and the life of the fetus; therefore, such a ban does not seem arbitrary because it is a justifiable means of achieving legitimate state goals. On the other hand, a woman's freedom with respect to her own pregnancy seemed to be a fundamental interest, in which case the legislature needs, first, a compelling reason, and second, the means of achieving that interest must be as least intrusive as possible. Although 'privacy' does not appear literally in the Constitution, the justices agreed that such a right was fundamental, although there was no consensus on the extent of that right. Moreover, the due process clause prohibits the state from punishing an abortion. Thus, the interpretation was not primarily according to the wording of the Constitution, but according to the worldview of the supervising judges. The decision came on January 22, 1973, when the Texas state law banning abortion was declared unconstitutional in the spirit of a liberal decision. The 5th Amendment was used as justification: No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or Property to be taken without due process. Chief Justice Harry Blackmun, referred to this right to privacy as implicit in other constitutional provisions. At the same time, in the parallel case of Dow v. Bolton, it was ruled that it was also unconstitutional for only certain hospitals to perform abortions in order to make this option more difficult for the women involved.