the polirixl and social impact on roe v wade

The political and social impact of Roe v Wade

• The National Organisation of Women (NOW) pushed for the Equal Rights Amendment through the Constitution in 1972.

• Achieved a breakthrough on 22^nd January 1973 in the case Roe v Wade, which legalised abortion.

Abortion before Roe v Wade

•    Was it a crime in thirty states?

•    Colorado became the first state to tallow abortions in case of rape, incest, or a threat to a women’s health.

• Many women risked backstreet abortions.

• The national abortion rights action league lobbied the state legislature for the legalisation of abortion.

Roe v Wade ruling

• The Court declared that state laws that forbade abortion were unconstitutional.

•   Women had constitutional privacy rights to control their bodies.

• Women could abort in the first 13 weeks.

• It was politically and socially divisive.

• The number of abortions increased, rising to 1.7 million legal abortions in 1977.

Opposition to Roe V wade

• Conservative organisations such as the National Right to Life Committee were set up by the catholic church.

• Used methods of mass mailing containing highly emotive   Led to political backlash but conservative groups.

• Important milestone in the growth of the new right

• The right to life organisation, alongside Senator Jesse Helms, was able to amend the Foreign Assistance Act to ban deferral funds from being used for abortion services.

• Assessed in 1974

• After that date abortions,, began to fall.