Roe v. Wade (1973) ruled that, within some limits, women have constitutional right to an abortion. As Becoming Justice Blackmun makes clear, Justice Blackmun was a central figure in that decision and in fact wrote the Court’s majority opinion. Roe became one of the most controversial Supreme Court decisions of all time and is covered in detail in Becoming Justice Blackmun, along with other cases that followed in in later years, such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Roe v. Wade is especially salient again because in 2022 it was overruled by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which in turn ignited the controversy even more.

Use this forum to discuss what insights the book provides to understanding Roe v. Wade and Justice Blackmun’s role in the decision, especially in light of the issues raised on the Dobbs case. Don’t just write a summary of the Roe case. Instead, your comments should focus on what you learn from Becoming Justice Blackmun about how the Supreme Court deals with complex and controversial problems, like the one raised in Roe v. Wade, the internal politics in the Supreme Court associated with deciding controversial cases like Roe and how Justice Blackmun came to approach the case the way he did. Make sure your comments draw upon details from the Blackmun book and also frame your comments in the context of the volatile legal and political issues raised in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. The link above to the Dobbs case is from Scotusblog.com. It contains much information about Dobbs and the abortion controversy currently before the courts. I encourage you to explore the case in more detail.