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What was Roe vs. Wade?

Roe vs. Wade is the controversial case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion (expulsion of a fetus from the womb) is legal in the United States. In 1973 the Court declared that women's unrestricted access to abortion is part of the right to privacy guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution (the document containing the country's laws). The ruling resulted in an argument about when human life begins. Many opposed the legalization of abortion because they believe that life starts at conception (when the sperm joins the egg) and that to end a pregnancy is to kill a human being. Others asserted that life begins only at birth and that a woman should be able to control her own body.

Further Information: Gold, Susan D. Roe vs. Wade (1973): Abortion Rights. New York: Twenty-first Century Books, 1995; Herda, D. J. Roe vs. Wade: The Abortion...

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