Case 2: In 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled that in o

Question

Case 2: In 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled that in order to provide protection to women about their right to privacy in making decisions about their bodies, states could not prohibit abortions except in the second trimester if the abortive method could be shown to be hazardous to the mother, and in the third trimester as long as therapeutic abortions were allowed to protect the woman from harm. The Court reasoned that two past decisions by SCOTUS courts provided precedents for the legal extension of such protections. One decision, Skinner v. Oklahoma struck down a state law that required mandatory sterilization of third time felons because such a law unfairly discriminated against a particular segment of society concerning the choice to reproduce. The second legal precedent, Griswold v. Connecticut declared unconstitutional a state law that prohibited married couples from obtaining contraceptive advice and/or materials because said law unfairly discriminated against an individual’s right to not reproduce.

5. What type of right is being protected by SCOTUS?

a. Negative rights            b. Positive rights             c. Both                  d. Neither

6. What type of argument is SCOTUS relying upon for its decision?

a. Analogical                      b. Causal              c. Generalization             d. Inference to the best explanation

7. The assessment of this argument is premised upon what criteria?

                a. The similarities between the types of rights being protected in past decisions.

                b. The moral standing of abortion.

                c. The differences between abortion, sterilization, and contraception.

                d. State rights

8. Opponents and advocates critically object to what aspect of this decision?

                a. The advocacy of therapeutic abortions.

                b. The restriction of state rights.

                c. The use of trimesters to resolve the issue of fetal-maternal priority

                d. Legal intrusion into private matters

Explanation / Answer

5. The correct answer is Option A. SCOTUS protects negative rights.

6. The correct answer is Option A. SCOTUS is relying upon analogical argument for its decision.

7. The correct answer is Option A. The assessment of this argument is premised upon the similarities between the types of rights being protected in past decisions.

8. The correct answer is Option D. Opponents and advocates critically object to legal intrusion into private matters.

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