Roe v. Wade

Latest news on Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 US Supreme Court decision on abortion rights, that protected a pregnant woman's liberty to have an abortion. The court ruled that a woman's right to have an abortion was protected by the US Constitution. The court said that the right to privacy, which is found in the Constitution, includes a woman's right to make her own decisions about her body and her health. The court also said that the government cannot put too many restrictions on this right.

However, in a landmark decision issued in 2022, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the US Supreme Court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer any right to abortion, and overruled both Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). The case was about the constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi state law that banned most abortion operations after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. The ideological shift of the Supreme Court that culminated with the 2020 appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was outspoken against abortion before her appointment, made Dobbs a potential vehicle to challenge both Roe and Casey. The decision was issued on June 24, 2022, ruling 6-3 to reverse the lower court rulings; a more narrow 5-4 ruling overturned Roe and Casey. The majority opinion stated that abortion was not a constitutional right, and that states should have discretion in regulating abortion.

Most Republican politicians praised the decision, while most Democratic politicians opposed the decision. The decision was largely condemned internationally. Protests against the decision occurred in many U.S. cities as well as some international rallies held in support. The Court's decision was divisive among the American public, with more than 55% opposed to the overturning of Roe and Casey.