Roe v. Wade Timeline:
Key Events Before, During, and After Roe
Roe v. Wade is one of the most well-known Supreme Court cases in American history. Decided on January 22, 1973, Roe recognized a constitutional right to abortion before fetal viability under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Nearly 50 years later, on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, returning abortion regulation to states and elected lawmakers. [Justia Law]
This timeline explains the major legal, political, and cultural events surrounding Roe v. Wade, including what came before Roe, what Roe actually decided, how later cases changed abortion law, and what has happened since Roe was overturned.
Last reviewed: June 2026
Note: Abortion laws change frequently and vary by state. This page is for general educational purposes and should not be treated as legal or medical advice.
Quick Summary: Roe v. Wade in Plain English
Roe v. Wade was a 1973 Supreme Court case challenging a Texas law that allowed abortion only when necessary to save the life of the mother. The Court held that the Constitution protected a qualified right to choose abortion before fetal viability, while also recognizing state interests in maternal health and potential life. [Justia Law]
Doe v. Bolton, decided the same day as Roe, involved Georgia’s abortion law. The Court struck down several procedural requirements, including hospital committee approval and confirmation by additional physicians. [Justia Law]
Planned Parenthood v. Casey changed Roe’s legal framework in 1992. Casey kept Roe’s central holding but replaced Roe’s trimester framework with the “undue burden” standard for evaluating abortion restrictions. [Justia Law]
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe and Casey in 2022. The Court held that the U.S. Constitution does not protect a right to abortion and returned abortion regulation to the states. [Constitution Center]
Full Roe v. Wade Timeline
Before Roe: Abortion Law in the United States
Mid-to-late 1800s: States increasingly restrict abortion
In the 1800s, abortion law was governed mostly by individual states. Over time, states moved toward broader abortion restrictions. By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, abortion had become widely criminalized across the country, commonly with narrow exceptions related to the life or health of the pregnant woman. [Planned Parenthood Action]
1873: The Comstock Act becomes federal law
Congress passed the Comstock Act in 1873. The law prohibited the mailing of materials considered obscene and also included restrictions related to contraceptive and abortion-related materials, devices, and information. The Comstock Act has received renewed attention in modern abortion litigation and debates about medication abortion. [Encyclopedia Britannica]
1962: The American Law Institute proposes model abortion-law reforms
The American Law Institute’s Model Penal Code included proposed exceptions that would allow abortion in cases such as risk to the pregnant woman’s life or health, rape or incest, or serious fetal anomaly. These proposals influenced reform efforts in several states before Roe. [Guttmacher Institute]
1965: Griswold v. Connecticut recognizes marital privacy in contraception
In Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut law restricting contraception for married couples. The case became important because Roe later relied on the Court’s developing privacy-rights doctrine. [Justia Law]
1967–1973: Some states liberalize abortion laws before Roe
Before Roe, abortion law was already changing in parts of the country. Between 1967 and 1973, Alaska, Hawaii, New York, and Washington repealed their abortion bans entirely, while other states expanded legal exceptions. This created a patchwork of abortion laws across the United States. [Planned Parenthood Action]
1970: Jane Roe files suit in Texas
In 1970, “Jane Roe,” the legal pseudonym for Norma McCorvey, filed a federal lawsuit challenging Texas abortion law. The lawsuit named Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas, as the defendant. Texas law generally prohibited abortion except when necessary to save the life of the mother. [Oyez]
1971–1972: Roe is argued and reargued before the Supreme Court
Roe v. Wade was first argued before the Supreme Court on December 13, 1971. The case was reargued on October 11, 1972, before the Court issued its decision in January 1973. [Justia Law]