On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to abortion. This decision all stemmed from the court case of Roe vs. Wade.
Norma McCorvey also known as Jane Roe was a woman living in Texas, a state at the time where abortion was illegal except when medically necessary to save the mother’s life, became pregnant with her third child. Norma had decided she didn’t want to carry her pregnancy to full term, and have another child. Therefore she would need an abortion, but was unable to get one safely or legally in the state of Texas. Norma McCorvery hired two lawyers to fight on her behalf, Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee. Norma´s lawyers filed a lawsuit against her local district attorney, Henry Wade. Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee claimed that Texas´s abortion laws were unconstitutional. The case first went to a three-judge court in the Northern District of Texas, where the court ruled in Norma McCorvey and her lawyers favor.
Following this ruling the parties appealed to the Supreme Court. January of 1973, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Norma´s favor once more. The court´s decision was supported by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This meant it was constitutional for a woman´s right to privacy, which in turn protected a woman’s right to an abortion. But alongside this ruling the Supreme Court ruled this decision was finite. Meaning a woman’s right to an abortion is not a permanently protected right, the right to an abortion must also be balanced with the government’s protection of women’s health and prenatal life.
Roe Vs. Wade became a revolutionary court case, one that would stand unturned until June 2022, almost 50 years later. June 24, 2022, Roe V. Wade was brought back under consideration by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe V. Wade the decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This overturn of Roe v. Wade led to abortion no longer being a protected right under federal law. While abortion is no longer protected on a federal level as it previously was, it does not mean that safe legal access to abortion is obsolete. Many states still protect the right to a safe and legal abortion. While Roe V. Wade was eventually overturned; it’s important to recognize the progress made to get Roe V. Wade originally passed. A loss like this does not mean that there is no victory in sight, there will always be loss in a battle before victory.
https://backstoryradio.org/shows/the-many-lives-of-roe-v-wade/ – link to photo credits (it won´t let me link it to the photo)
