Shift End Poon Enter Del LANDMARK COURT CASE Case Legalizes Abortion In 1970, a single woman...
Shift End Poon Enter Del LANDMARK COURT CASE Case Legalizes Abortion In 1970, a single woman in Texas became pregnant. The ruling came too late for Jane Roe to have the She had difficulty finding work because of her preg. abortion she originally sought, of course, but it nancy and feared the stigma of an illegitimate birth. affected the rights of all women who would seek Under the fictitious name "Jane Roe," the woman sued abortions from that time on. The Court held that the Henry Wade, the district attorney in Dallas County, constitutional right to privacy includes a woman's Texas, claiming that she had limited rights to an abor- decision to terminate a pregnancy during the first tion and sought an injunction against the Texas statute trimester (3 months) but that states could impose prohibiting abortion except to save a woman's life. restrictions and regulate abortions after that. It took 3 years for the case to reach the U.S. Sou Source: Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 144 'n 39" (1973) Supreme Court, which struck down the Texas statute.