Roe v. Wade
- Decided
- January 22, 1973
- Docket
- 70-18
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 5,581 timesOverruled (verified)Overruled by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022) (verified: Constitution Annotated, Library of Congress) · Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
What later courts said
- recognizing that the constitutional right of privacy includes a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy absent an overriding state interest — United States v. Howard Perry, Glen Hagen, James Geran, Kevin Dorr. United States of America v. Howard Perry and Gary Moore (1986)
- holding that woman has constitutionally protected right to determine for any reason or no reason to terminate her pregnancy — Canesi Ex Rel. Canesi v. Wilson (1999)
- holding that end of. pregnancy did not moot the case because the plaintiff was capable of becoming pregnant again — Barry Ex Rel. Barry v. Lyon (2016)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*116] Mr. Justice Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.
This Texas federal appeal and its Georgia companion, Doe v. Bolton, post, p. 179, present constitutional challenges to state criminal abortion legislation. The Texas statutes under attack here are typical of those that have been in effect in many States for approximately a century. The Georgia statutes, in contrast, have a modern cast and are a legislative product that, to an extent at least, obviously reflects the influences of recent attitudinal change, of advancing medical knowledge and techniques, and of new thinking about an old issue.
We. forthwith acknowledge our awareness of the sensitive and emotional nature of the abortion controversy, of the vigorous opposing views, even among physicians, and of the deep and seemingly absolute convictions that the subject inspires. One’s philosophy, one’s experiences, one’s exposure to the raw edges of human existence, one’s religious training, one’s attitudes toward life and family and their values, and the moral standards one establishes and seeks to observe, are all likely to influence and to color one’s thinking and conclusions about abortion.
Statutes cited
Cite this
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)Read the full opinion
Reading the library on this site uses your account’s daily calls, the same as the connector and the API. The Free plan needs no card. Calls a day on each plan.