Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Norma McCorvey (‘Jane Roe’), a pregnant Texas woman, challenged Texas criminal abortion laws that prohibited abortion except to save the mother’s life. She argued that the laws violated her constitutional rights of privacy and personal liberty under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Significance

Justice Blackmun’s 7-2 opinion held that the constitutional right of privacy encompasses a woman’s decision to terminate her pregnancy. The Court created a trimester framework: during the first trimester, states could not regulate abortion; during the second, states could regulate to protect maternal health; and during the third (viability), states could regulate or prohibit abortion to protect fetal life. Roe v. Wade became one of the most controversial and consequential decisions in American history, sparking a political and legal battle that lasted nearly 50 years until it was overruled by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022).

Category

US Federal Case Law