Abortion Laws Across the U.S.
What does it mean to get an Abortion?:
An abortion is “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus.” A woman can ingest a pill during the earlier stages of pregnancy or get an in-clinic abortion.
What is Roe v. Wade?:
Roe v. Wade was a landmark court decision (a law that establishes an important new legal principle or concept) in 1973 by the Supreme Court that stated that a ban on abortion rights was unconstitutional. The case for Roe v. Wade started in 1970 when a woman from Texas named Norma McCorvey (pseudonym Jane Roe) stated that she wanted to end her pregnancy, but the law in Texas said that a woman could only get an abortion if the mother’s life was in danger. Jane Roe decided to protest what she believed her right was to get an abortion and brought a lawsuit against the Dallas County District Attorney, Henry Wade, in a Texas federal court. Roe’s lawyers stated that the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments supported her lawsuit that the Texas Law violated her right to privacy, as Jane Roe could not get an abortion because her life was not in danger. The court later decided in a majority decision that a woman had the right to get an abortion under the Fourteenth Amendment, which influenced the laws surrounding abortion in 46 other states in the U.S.
Roe v. Wade Overturned: 
On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 court decision, Roe v. Wade. This act declared that the constitutional right to get an abortion no longer exists. This triggered a state-wide abortion ban in 13 states in the U.S. which means that women who want to get an abortion can’t legally or safely get one in states mostly located in the south and midwest such as Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
How New Abortion Laws Affects Women:
Over 20.9 million women lost the right to their own body in their home state two months after Roe v. Wade was overturned, primarily in the southern and midwestern states. And in some states, even in cases of sexual assault, rape, or if the mother’s life is in danger, a woman cannot get an abortion. In other places in the U.S., confusing new laws make getting an abortion very difficult for women. Women who knew that new laws were going to be set into place in their home state rushed to set appointments before abortions were made illegal. These state-wide decisions sparked nationwide protests, with people advocating for the choice for their own bodies.
Word Bank:
Unconstitutional – not according or consistent with the Constitution of a body politic (such as a nation)
Pseudonym – a fictitious (not real or true, being imaginary or having been fabricated) name
Lawsuit – a suit in law : a case before a court
Sources:
- Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc.
- Roe v. Wade – Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Supreme Court
- 1 in 3 American women have already lost abortion access. More restrictive laws are coming. – The Washington Post
- Bans Off Our Bodies protest in D.C.: Abortion rights supporters rally – The Washington Post
- Merriam Webster
- The New York Times
- Roe v Wade Overturned: What It Means, What’s Next | American University, Washington, D.C.
- Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion upheld for decades : NPR
