Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), is a landmark decision issued in 1973 by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of the constitutionality of laws that criminalized or restricted access to abortions. The Court ruled 7 -- 2 that a right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman 's decision to have an abortion, but that this right must be balanced against the state 's interests in regulating abortions: protecting women 's health and protecting the potentiality of human life. Arguing that these state interests became stronger over the course of a pregnancy, the Court resolved this balancing test by tying state regulation of abortion to the third trimester of pregnancy.
when did roe versus wade come into effect
1973 1973