Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade is court case of 1973 in which the Supreme Court ruled that a woman has a constitutional right to an abortion during the first six months of pregnancy. Before the Court's ruling, a majority of states prohibited abortion but most allowed an exception when pregnancy threatened the woman's life. The Court overturned these state bans in Roe v. Wade. The Court ruled that states could restrict abortions only during the final three months of pregnancy. The decision was strongly endorsed by many women's rights groups. However, it was fiercely opposed by many others of whom said that life begins at conception.

In the United States abortion was decided by the states rather than with the federal government. Until the second half of the 19th century most states chose not to restrict abortion. However, by the end of the 19th century, the majority of states had adopted statutes that made it a crime to either perform an abortion. Except to save the life of a pregnant woman. Most of these 19th century statutes were still in effect in 1970. When Norma McCorvey, a pregnant woman from Dallas first challenged the state of a Texas abortion law. Using the name "Jane Roe," McCorvey sued Dallas County district attorney Henry Wade to be allowed to have an abortion. The Texas law banned abortions in that state, except when the pregnancy threatened the life of the pregnant woman. Roe's pregnancy did not threaten her lif. She was a poor, single woman and she did not want to have a child she could not afford to raise.

Roe and her attorneys asked the federal district court to declare that the Texas abortion statute violated her rights under the Constitution. They also asked the court t...

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...safely, to protect the women patients. He argued that there was no medical reason for prohibiting abortions in the early stages of pregnancy.

Since the Roe decision the Supreme Court has heard more than a dozen cases involving attempts by the states or the national government to restrict abortion. In deciding these cases, the Court has modified its decision in Roe v. Wade by allowing states to regulate abortion in many additional ways. The Court has always maintained that at least in the first trimester a woman has a right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy. The Court has allowed some states to impose restrictions that make an abortion difficult to obtain, particularly for low-income women and teenagers. The Court has also upheld state laws requiring that pregnant girls under the age of 18 must notify at least one parent before obtaining an abortion.