Slide 13–14: What and Who Was Roe v. Wade?
The case began with Norma McCorvey, a woman living in Texas who
became pregnant and wanted an abortion. At the time, abortion was mostly
illegal in Texas, except when necessary to save a woman’s life. To protect her
identity, she used the name “Jane Roe” when she filed a lawsuit in federal
court. She sued Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, who
was responsible for enforcing the Texas abortion law.
Slide 15: The Legal Challenge
Roe argued that the Texas abortion ban was unconstitutional and asked
the court to stop it from being enforced.
The district court agreed that the law was too vague and too broad,
violating Roe’s rights under the Fourteenth and Ninth Amendments.
However, the court didn’t issue an order to block the law, so abortions in
Texas stayed illegal.
Roe then appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, since her case had
been heard by a three-judge panel. The Court heard the case twice—first in
December 1971 and again in October 1972—before announcing its
landmark decision in January 1973.
Slide 16: The Social Context
The late 1960s and early 1970s were a time of major social change.
Two big movements shaped this era:
The Civil Rights Movement, which fought for racial equality.
The Women’s Rights Movement, which challenged traditional
gender roles.
For women’s rights activists, access to abortion was seen as essential for
equality. As one scholar said, it would determine “the role of women going
forth in a modern society.”
A popular feminist slogan was “the personal is political,” meaning that
private issues—like reproductive decisions—were deeply connected to
broader systems of power. Control over one’s own body was seen as the first
step toward true economic and social equality.
Slide 17: Abortion Before Roe v. Wade
Before the Roe decision, abortion was illegal in most states across the U.S.
Each state had its own rules, but nearly all only allowed abortion if the
woman’s life was in immediate danger.
Even so, the need for abortion didn’t disappear. Instead, it went
underground.
Experts estimate that between 200,000 and 1.2 million illegal abortions
took place every year during the 1950s and 1960s.
Many of these were done secretly and unsafely, often by untrained
individuals. Countless women faced injury, infertility, or death.
This showed that banning abortion didn’t stop it—it only made it far more
dangerous.
Slide 18: A Public Health Crisis
Before 1973, abortion was illegal in most of the country.
In 29 states, it was only allowed to save a woman’s life, not in cases of
rape, incest, or serious health risks.
This left many women with no safe options.
As a result, thousands turned to unsafe, illegal abortions, often performed
in poor conditions.
Many suffered serious injuries—or even died—from these procedures.
The situation highlighted how restrictive laws created a major public health
emergency.
Slide 19: Turning a Social Issue Into a Legal One
We’ve seen that abortion was both a social movement issue and a public
health problem, but how did it become a constitutional question?
The key case was Griswold v. Connecticut (1965).
In this case, the Supreme Court struck down a law that banned married
couples from using birth control. The justices introduced a new concept: the
“right to privacy.”
This idea became central to abortion rights. Supporters argued that this
right to privacy also included a woman’s right to decide whether to end her
pregnancy—a personal choice free from government interference.