The following is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.
United States Supreme Court Ruling: Roe vs. Wade (1973):
Prior to the Roe vs. Wade decision, abortion was permitted in certain states but not in others. The court ruled in 1973 that, anywhere in the U.S.:
A woman and her doctor may freely decide to terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester.
State governments can restrict abortion access after the first trimester with laws intended to protect the woman's health.
Abortion after fetal viability must be available if the woman's health or life are at risk. State governments can prohibit other abortions.
The Roe vs. Wade case involved an unmarried pregnant woman who brought a class action challenging the constitutionality of a Texas abortion law that prohibited any abortion except to save the woman's life. A married couple also attacked the law on the basis that an accidental pregnancy could find them unprepared for childbearing and could pose a hazard to the wife's health. The latter appeal was rejected as being too speculative.
The Supreme Court found that:
State criminal abortion laws violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects against state action the right to privacy.
For the stage prior to approximately the end of the first trimester, the abortion decision must be left to the medical judgment of the attending physician of the pregnant woman.
For the stage after the end of the first trimester, the State, in promoting its interest in the health of the mother, may choose to regulate the abortion procedure in ways that are reasonably related to the mothers maternal health.
For the stage subsequent to viability, the State may regulate abortion except where necessary, in appropriate medical judgment, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.
Subsequent court decisions defined the term "preservation of health" very broadly, to include such situations as a woman being suicidally depressed about being pregnant.