Abortion in America: A Visual Timeline and the History of Roe v. Wade
The landmark 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade guaranteed the right to an abortion in the United States. Now, nearly five decades later, that right is under threat as the court prepares to hear oral arguments in a new case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Here are some of the key moments in the almost five decades that have passed since the Roe v. Wade ruling.
The 1973 Landmark Ruling
In a 7-2 decision, the all-male Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protects the right to an abortion. Justices find abortion is a “fundamental” right to a person’s “life and future,” and that Texas violated the rights of “Jane Roe” when an abortion ban prevented her from obtaining one. People gained access to legal abortion up to the point a fetus could survive outside the womb.
“When the decision came down, we were elated,” said Eleanor Smeal, who was active in the feminist movement at the time. “It was a celebration, it was happiness, and people thought the fight was over — we won.” However, Smeal later added, “The movement wasn’t thinking of, ‘Oh my God, we’re going to have to fight to protect this.’ We couldn’t imagine anyone would hammer away.”
Social Context and Early Activism
The decision was preceded by decades of activism, with momentum decidedly on the side of those working to liberalize abortion laws. “There was a big movement for legalizing abortion before the Supreme Court decision, I think people forget that,” Smeal said. “We talk about back alley abortion, but [women] were dying.”
Before the ruling, big city hospitals held “septic abortion” wards, where many low-income people had died, infected and injured, from desperate attempts to end pregnancies. Following the decision, abortion joined contraceptives, legalized for unmarried people just one year earlier, as a newly available method of family planning. People also gained access to abortion through Medicaid, a public health insurance program for low-income people and those living with disabilities.
Legal Vulnerability and Legislative Challenges
How could a decision that was not met with widespread protest at the time be under threat less than half a century later? Congress has never enshrined the right to terminate a pregnancy in statute. That has left abortion access vulnerable and led to the precarious position abortion rights have in the United States today.
Early legislative opposition also emerged quickly. While the anti-abortion movement had yet to coalesce, North Carolina U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms successfully passed the Helms Amendment, which banned use of foreign health aid to promote “abortion as a method of family planning” overseas. The amendment remains in effect today.
Timeline of Key Abortion Rights Milestones
| Year | Event / Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1971 | Patients access services at New York City abortion centers prior to national legalization. |
| 1972 | Contraceptives are legalized for unmarried people. |
| 1973 | Supreme Court rules in Roe v. Wade, protecting abortion as a fundamental right. |
| 1973 | The Helms Amendment is passed, restricting foreign aid for abortion services. |
| Present | The Supreme Court hears Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. |