On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Roe, a single pregnant woman who filed a class-action lawsuit against Texas’s strict abortion laws. The Justices ruled that the Texan laws were unconstitutional and impeded on a person’s right to privacy as supported by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth amendments. This decision resulted in more comprehensive healthcare for millions of United States citizens. 

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court made the decision to overturn that case. 

Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that made abortions accessible in the U.S. for nearly 50 years, protected people against strict anti-abortion laws. The case was overturned by a ruling made on June 24 for another case, Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization. The Supreme Court stated that abortion is “not a Constitutional right” and granted states the power to individually regulate abortion laws.

With this decision, many people have been making their voices heard: many “pro-lifers” argue with more religious reasoning as to why abortions should be made fully illegal, while “pro-choice” people argue that every person should have a right to decide what happens to their own body. In a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, about 62% of Americans say abortion should be made legal in all or most cases. Despite this majority, abortion is only fully legal in 14 states, which is 28% percent of the country.

Twelve states have now fully banned abortions, even under conflicting circumstances; for example, those twelve states do not offer abortion exceptions even if the person did not willingly get pregnant or if the person could die during childbirth. More states are set to follow this example. By the end of this year, more than half of the United States is slated to have abortions fully banned or strictly regulated. Some supporters of this decision have also gained an interest in banning things like contraceptives, which includes birth control, IUDs, and “Plan B” pills. This could result in even more restrictions and regulations for women–and others affected–in this country.