Two women standing in front of the supreme court building holding a sign that says "keep abortion legal."

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Abortion is Legalized Nationwide

Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) and her lawyer Gloria Allred on the steps of the Supreme Court, 1989

Photo Credit: Lorie Shaull from St Paul, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Abortion is Legalized Nationwide

Overview

Jane Roe was a pregnant Texas resident in 1970. Texas law made it a felony to abort a fetus unless “on medical advice for the purpose of saving the life of the mother.” Roe filed suit against Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County. She argued that the law was unconstitutional because it violated the guarantee of personal liberty and the right to privacy implicitly guaranteed in the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and 14th Amendments. In deciding for Roe, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated all state laws that prohibited first-trimester abortions.

Roe v. Wade stood as a precedent for nearly 50 years, but in 2022, the decision was overruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In Dobbs, the Court ruled that the Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion. This decision returned the authority to regulate abortion to the states.

Two women standing in front of the supreme court building holding a sign that says "keep abortion legal."

Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) and her lawyer Gloria Allred on the steps of the Supreme Court, 1989

Photo Credit: Lorie Shaull from St Paul, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

"We … acknowledge our awareness of the sensitive and emotional nature of the abortion controversy, of the vigorous opposing views, even among physicians, and of the deep and seemingly absolute convictions that the subject inspires."

- Justice Harry Blackmun, speaking for the majority

Learning About Roe v. Wade

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About the Case

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Glossary

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Legal Concepts

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