IN the early 1970s, the Supreme Court took up a landmark case titled Roe v. Wade to determine the future of abortion rights across the United States.
Since then, the ruling has been threatened as many have tried to get it overturned.
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The 1973 ruling of Roe v. Wade determined the future of abortions in the United States Credit: Getty What is Roe v Wade?
The 1973 ruling of Roe v. Wade asserted the 14th amendment and declared access to safe and legal abortion as a constitutional right.
The case was heard to decide if Texas' ban on abortions, which were completely outlawed except when a woman's life was in danger, was constitutional.
The Supreme Court voted 7-2 in favor of the right to an abortion.
It said women had a right to privacy, which meant it was up to them to decide whether to continue their pregnancy.
It also divided pregnancy into three trimesters, declaring that the first three months are solely at the discretion of the woman.
In the second trimester, the states can regulate abortions in the interests of the woman's health.
In the last three months, states can prohibit abortions in the interest of the fetus, provided the pregnancy will not bring harm to the pregnant woman.
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What is Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization?
On December 1, 2021, the Supreme Court heard arguments in one of the most significant abortion cases in decades.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization is the newest case to fight the Roe v. Wade verdict as Mississippi attempts to pass a law that would ban almost all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
“Roe and Casey are egregiously wrong,” Mississippi argued in a court brief, according to CNBC. “The conclusion that abortion is a constitutional right has no basis in text, structure, history, or tradition.”
Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the only abortion provider in the state, later pleaded with the court to “reject the invitation to jettison a half-century of settled precedent and to abandon a rule of law that this Court has said uniquely implicates the country’s ‘confidence in the Judiciary.’”
Adding that pregnancy “intensely impacts a woman’s bodily integrity, her liberty interests are categorically stronger than any state interest until viability."
The case is being heard by nine justices, three of whom were appointed by former President Donald Trump.
At this time, the court has not ruled on the case.
Who was behind Roe v. Wade?
Justice Blackmun wrote the majority opinion in the case after the decision had been made.
He said: "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."
Also voting in support of Roe was Justices Burger, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall and Powell.
What did Roe v. Wade accomplish?
After the decision 46 states needed to change their abortion laws to comply with the ruling.
Abortion has proved to be one of the most divisive moral issues in recent years, with 'pro-life' groups comparing the procedure to murder.
On the flip side, 'pro-choice' groups argue that abortion should be safe and legal for anyone who needs one.
The number of abortions performed each year has been falling.
For women ages 15 to 44, the abortion rate (the number of abortions per 1,000 women) dropped 26 percent between 2006 and 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2006, US medical professionals reported performing 842,855 abortions but by 2015, that number dropped to 638,169.
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Many have since tried to overturn the ruling Credit: Getty What law did Texas pass about abortions in 2021?
Just months before Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Texas passed a law banning abortion from as early as six weeks.
It bans abortions after the detection of the "fetal heartbeat," which some medical authorities have deemed misleading.
The law took effect after the Supreme Court did not respond to an emergency appeal by abortion providers.
It gives any individual the right to sue doctors who perform an abortion past the six-week point.
The law, known as the Heartbeat Act, was signed into effect by Texas governor Greg Abbott in May 2021.
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), then requested that the Supreme Court block the legislation.
On September 1, the ACLU confirmed that the court had "not responded to our request", adding: "Access to almost all abortion has just been cut off for millions of people."
The group has described the law as "blatantly unconstitutional."
Texan women who wish to have an abortion after six weeks will need to travel across state lines to find a physician or clinic that can perform the procedure.
Americans may be able to seek up to $10,000 in damages in a civil court against abortion providers as well as anyone who "aids and abets" an illegal abortion.
In theory, this could mean clinic staff and family members could all be targeted for a lawsuit.
The ACLU has said that the law will encourage "a bounty hunting scheme" of costly "vigilante lawsuits" designed to harass women seeking an abortion.
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