Cases: Roe v. Wade (1973)

Roe v. Wade (1973) was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that established a woman’s legal right to have an abortion. The Court ruled that the constitutional right to privacy, grounded in the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, extends to a woman's decision to terminate her pregnancy, particularly in the early stages. This decision recognized a woman’s autonomy while balancing state interests in protecting health and potential life. Roe v. Wade set a legal framework that limited how states could regulate or restrict abortion, making it a foundational case in reproductive rights law.