Understanding Roe v. Wade

• 1). In Roe v. Wade, a pregnant single woman (Roe) challenged the constitutionality of the Texas criminal abortion laws, which prohibited abortion except for the purpose of saving the mother's life. According to the National Abortion Federation, many other states also had similar laws at that time, which had been in place in some areas for over 100 years. These laws restricted access to legal abortions. As a result, women seeking abortions often had no options other than illegal abortions done by "poorly trained practitioners in unsanitary conditions."
  
  
• 2). In simple terms, the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade legalized abortion, but only as a "qualified right." The high court held that during the first trimester of pregnancy, the abortion decision must be left to the pregnant woman and her physician, prohibiting government interference. During the second trimester, limited regulation by the states was allowed, and during the third trimester, when the fetus is believed to be medically "viable," or capable of living on its own, the high court gave states the right to regulate or even ban abortions.
  
  
• 3). Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun wrote in his opinion that the right to privacy guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is "broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy." Abortion became legal in all states, although Blackmun cautioned that "this right is not unqualified and must be considered against important state interests in regulation."
  
  
• 4). Over the years, abortion polls have consistently indicated that although most Americans do not favor abortion specifically, they are evenly split over a woman's right to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy, and the American public remains divided on the abortion issue. According to Cable News Network (CNN), public opinion has remained stable over the last 15 years; 36 percent of Americans remain of the opinion that abortion should be legal no matter what the circumstances, 40 percent think it should be an option in certain cases, and 22 percent believe that abortion should always be illegal.