Roe vs. Wade

Facts/Details Learned:

1. A pregnant woman's privacy differs from others because she is carrying another life within her.
2. Texas believes life begins at conception and is shown through pregnancy, so a woman should be protected during and after conception.
3. A physician or scientist may determine when a fetus is viable, able to live outside the mother's womb; this is often seven months (28 weeks), or even at 24 weeks, through the pregnancy.
4. States believe in preserving and protecting the health of a pregnant woman,  whether she be resident or nonresident of that state, to protect potential human life.
5. After the end of the first trimester, the morality of abortion may be less than morality in normal childbirth.
6. A state may regulate the abortion procedure to the extent of preserving and protecting maternal health.
7. The "compelling point" is at the end of the first trimester; also at viability.
8. Article 1196 of the Texas Penal Code restricts legal abortions to those "procured or attempted by medical advice for the purpose of saving the life of the mother."
9. The statute is very broad and makes no distinction between abortion performed early in the pregnancy versus those performed later.
10. The majority of federal and state courts resulted in state laws being unconstitutional because of the vagueness or overbroadness of rights.

Questions:

1. How was the issue of abortion handled before this case?
2. How do physicians or scientists determine whether or not, and when, a fetus is viable?
3. If federal and state court laws are often said to be unconstitutional, shouldn't they change them? (Possibly make them more specific or fitting for modern interpretations)
4. How exactly do states "preserve and protect" the health of pregnant women?
5. Was it more common to have an abortion in the past, with risky medical procedures, or today, with modern medical techniques that are more safe?