The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that women have a constitutional right to abortion in the 1973 case Roe v. Wade.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that women have a constitutional right to abortion in the 1973 case Roe v. Wade, but since then, it has been repeatedly challenged and the issue remains controversial today.
In 1973, Norma McCorvey was 22 years old and pregnant for the third time when she decided to end her pregnancy by seeking an abortion. McCorvey found out that Texas law prohibited abortions except when necessary to save a woman’s life, so she filed a lawsuit against Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade with two other women.
Who is Norma McCorvey?
Norma McCorvey was born on September 22nd, 1947 in Louisiana as Norma Leah Nelson.
McCorvey became pregnant for the third time at age 22 and decided to seek an abortion in Texas, where abortions were illegal except when necessary to save a woman’s life.
She filed a lawsuit against Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade with two other women.
They challenged both the state law prohibiting abortions and a local ordinance requiring hospitalization for all abortions.
Their case made it all the way up to the Supreme Court where they argued that their constitutional rights had been violated.
