jan 22, 1973 - Roe vs Wade - Supreme
Court Ruling made
Description:
As more people campaigned, some states changed their abortion laws to allow an abortion in some circumstances, such as rape
In 1970, New York State changed the law to allow abortion on demand until the 24th week of pregnancy
5 other states (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington) passed similar laws
Women’s groups gave loans to help women who wanted abortions to travel to states where abortion was legal and to pay for th eoperation
In most states, however, abortion remained illegal except in cases where the mother’s life was at risk
In 1970, Nora McCovrvey, under the name of Jane Roe, took the Dallas County District Attorney, Henry Wade, to court to claim the right to have an abortion
McCorvey had her first two children adopted and she didn’t want to have another child
Roe’s lawyers won, but the court ruled on this one case only, so they decided to appeal to the Supreme Court to try and make it a test case that would apply in all states for all women
On 22nd January 1973, by 7 : 2 votes, the Supreme Court ruled that aobrtion laws broke a woman’s constitutional right to privacy and freedom of personal choice in family matters (the 14th Amendment)
Some limitations were imposed such as abortions being allowed after 6 months of pregnancy only if the woman’s life was in danger
The case led to abortions becoming more available to women across the USA and most people in the Wonen’s Movement saw it as a huge victory
Added to timeline:
USA 1945 - 1974
Date:
