Roe v. Wade and abortion access in America
Roe v. Wade overturned: The Supreme Court has struck down Roe v. Wade, which for nearly 50 years has protected the right to abortion. The decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health was the most anticipated of the court’s term, with tension surrounding the fight over abortion erupting in May with the leak of a draft opinion indicating a majority of justices intended to end the long-standing precedent. Read the full decision here.
What happens next? Now that the Supreme Court has overturned the 1973 precedent, the legality of abortion will be left to individual states. That likely will mean 52 percent of women of childbearing age would face new abortion limits. Thirteen states with “trigger bans” will ban abortion within 30 days. Several other states where recent antiabortion legislation has been blocked by the courts are expected to act next.
State legislation: As Republican-led states move to restrict abortion, The Post is tracking legislation across the country on 15-week bans, Texas-style bans, trigger laws and abortion pill bans, as well as Democratic-dominated states that are moving to protect abortion rights enshrined in Roe v. Wade.
Who was Jane Roe, and how did she transform abortion rights? “Jane Roe” was a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey, who as a 22-year-old unmarried woman in Dallas in 1970 wanted to terminate her pregnancy. Her case against a Dallas County district attorney went to the Supreme Court. They ruled in her favor, 7-2, in 1973.
