Why is it called Roe v Wade?

Roe v. Wade was a historic decision of the United States Supreme Court in which the Court declared that the United States Constitution generally protects a pregnant woman’s right to choose abortion.

In 1970, Norma McCorvey, a young Texas woman who went by the pseudonym “Jane Roe,” sued for the right to terminate a pregnancy. Her attorneys, Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, filed a lawsuit on her behalf in U.S. federal court against her local district attorney, Henry Wade.

At the time, it was only permitted in Texas to terminate a pregnancy if the mother’s life was in danger.  Ms McCorvey argued that the Texas statutes were unconstitutional because they were unclear and infringed her right to privacy.

Her case was eventually reviewed by the Supreme Court after years of legal battles and appeals supported by the US women’s rights movement.

The Texas law was declared illegal by a 7-2 majority of the courts in 1973. This court decision prevented all 50 US states from overtly prohibiting abortion access and established a new nationwide abortion framework.