Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade, landmark decision (1973) by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that a state may not prohibit a woman's right to have a medically initiated abortion during the first 6 months of pregnancy. A Texas waitress (“Jane Roe”) began the case in 1970, when she challenged a state law that denied her a lawful abortion. The court came to this decision by determining that a fetus was not a living person and was therefore not entitled to constitutional protection.

See also: Abortion.