22nd January 1973: The Supreme Court issues its decision on the Roe v. Wade abortion case - HistoryPod

In 1969 Norma McCorvey, a 25-year-old single woman from Texas, sought an abortion after becoming pregnant with her third child. However, since abortion was illegal in the state except in cases where the mother’s life was at risk, McCorvey was eventually referred to lawyers who filed a lawsuit on her behalf, using the alias Jane Roe to protect her identity. 

The case was initially heard in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, where Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade defended the State. The three-judge panel found Texas law to be unconstitutional as it violated the Ninth Amendment’s right to privacy, although by this time McCorvey had given birth to a child who had been put up for adoption. Meanwhile Texas appealed the ruling, and the case was sent to the Supreme Court who heard arguments on 13 December 1971. They also heard the case Doe v. Bolton, which challenged Georgia’s abortion law. 

After an initial tentative agreement to strike down the Texas law, the Supreme Court agreed for the case to reargued in October 1972. Eventually, on 22 January 1973, the Court issued a 7–2 decision in favor of McCorvey. Justice Harry Blackmun wrote the majority opinion that the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution gives women in the United States the ‘fundamental’ freedom choice in family matters, including whether or not to have an abortion. However, ‘at approximately the end of the first trimester’ this had to be balanced with the government’s interests in protecting women’s health and the potential life of a fetus. The ruling continues to be a divisive issue in American politics. 

Source: 22nd January 1973: The Supreme Court issues its decision on the Roe v. Wade abortion case - YouTube