Almost 50 years after Roe v. Wade, right to abortion under threat in US
Issued on: 18/10/2019
Revisited FRANCE 24
By: Manon HEURTEL | Sophie PRZYCHODNY
Forty-six years after Roe v. Wade, the historic US Supreme Court decision recognising the right to abortion, the issue continues to bitterly divide public opinion in the United States. Already undermined by local policies, this fundamental right is now threatened at the federal level, following the appointment of two conservative judges to the Supreme Court. FRANCE 24’s team reports.
Roe v. Wade, which guarantees a woman’s right to abortion, is perhaps the most famous ruling by the US Supreme Court. The historic milestone, dating back to 1973, refers to the battle between Jane Roe (not her real name) and the state of Texas, represented by Dallas District Attorney Henry Wade. Roe, who was just 21 years old, was pregnant for a third time and wanted to have an abortion. But like in 45 other US states, the law in Texas prohibited it. She decided to approach two feminist lawyers, who seized upon her case as a symbolic one to fight all the way to the Supreme Court.