Sandra Day O Connor Research Paper

Sandra Day O’Connor influenced society by becoming the first woman associate for the Supreme Court, limiting abortion rights, and helping Bush become president. Sandra Day O’Connor went to Stanford University Law School. She graduated as third in class in 1952. One of the students ahead of her was William Rehnquist who would later serve on the Supreme Court with her (“O’Connor Sandra Day”). After graduating, Sandra had a very hard time finding a job. Law firms did not want to hire her because she was a woman. Because of this, Sandra looked for government jobs instead (“O’Connor Sandra Day”). Sandra had many jobs before having children. First, she worked as the County Attorney for San Mateo, California. After working there, she went with …show more content…
One of Sandra’s most remembered decisions is in the case Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. Pennsylvania had laws that restricted women’s legal access to abortion. If a married woman wanted an abortion, she had to tell her husband (“Planned Parenthood”). If a minor wanted to get an abortion, she had to have permission from at least one parent. After the woman fulfilled these rules, she had to wait twenty-four hours after getting permission from the doctor (“Planned Parenthood”). The question of this case was, can Pennsylvania impose these laws on women without opposing the Supreme Court’s decision that was made nineteen years ago in Roe v. Wade (“Planned Parenthood”)? Roe v. Wade was a case that protested against the Texas law in 1973. The law of Texas said that women could only have an abortion if it was to save their life. The decision stated that women should have legal access to abortion according to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution (“Roe v. Wade Fast Facts”). The decision that was made gave women full rights to an abortion during the first trimester of their pregnancy, but put restrictions on the second and third trimester (“Roe v. Wade Fast Facts”). This decision changed the laws of forty-six states (“Roe v. Wade”). Planned Parenthood v. Casey questioned whether Pennsylvania’s law was following this decision. The five judges who were the majority voted to confirm their earlier decision. Along with this decision, judges O’Connor, Kennedy, and Souter wrote a new standard (“Planned Parenthood”). This new standard declared that states could have restrictions as long as the didn’t place “undue burden” on the woman who wanted an abortion. O’Connor, Kennedy, and Souter defined “undue burden” as a “substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains