Honoring the movement that shaped reproductive justice
Women’s History Month is a time for us to honor and celebrate the achievements of women throughout history and today. As the month comes to an end, we continue to remember the strides made for women and people with uteruses.
We have a special appreciation for those who continued to advocate for our rights even in the face of adversity, especially the right to abortion. As we all know, the reproductive justice movement has been full of ups and downs, from Roe v. Wade to Dobbs v. Jackson.
Roe v. Wade: Revolutionizing Our Anger
Pre-Roe v. Wade
In the 1800s, most US states began passing laws banning abortion except when necessary to save a woman’s life. Later in the early 1900s, abortion was illegal in most states, but many women would still seek unsafe procedures to terminate pregnancy.
Eventually, in 1965, Griswold v. Connecticut established a constitutional right to privacy in contraception for married couples, and this provided the framework for Roe. In the late 1960s, growing feminist and reproductive rights movements began calling for abortion law reform, and states like California and New York started easing abortion restrictions.
Finally, in 1970, Norma McCorvey (“Jane Roe”) filed a lawsuit against Texas’ strict abortion laws with attorneys Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee.
Roe v. Wade Case
In March of 1970, the Roe v. Wade lawsuit was filed in a Texas court, and later that June, a Texas district court ruled that the state’s abortion law was unconstitutional. In December 1971, the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments.
The case was re-argued towards the end of 1972 before the Supreme Court because of changes in justices, and in early 1973, the Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision in Roe v. Wade. Abortion was ruled protected under the constitutional right to privacy.
Post-Roe
Since 1973, there have been setbacks and moments of progress in the fight for safe and legal abortion. The Hyde Amendment was passed by Congress in 1976, banning federal funding for most abortions.
In 1992, Planned Parenthood v. Casey upheld the right to abortion but introduced the “undue burden standard.” This allowed states to regulate abortion as long as regulations did not create a burden in accessing abortion.
The Supreme Court later removed Texas laws placing strict regulations on abortion clinics through Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt in 2016. In 2021, the Texas Heartbeat Bill banned most abortions after 6 weeks in Texas, before many even know they are pregnant.
This paved the way for Dobbs v. Jackson in 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and no longer labeled abortion as a constitutional right. In 2025, we continue to resist back against policies stripping us of our bodily autonomy, and we create a safe space for women and people with uteruses.