If you’ve followed the news over the past few years, you’ve heard about Roe v. Wade and Dobbs v. Jackson. These two Supreme Court cases have shaped everything about abortion law in America. But where did they come from, and what actually prompted these decisions? 

Let’s break down the story behind each case, and why it matters to protect life today. 

Where Did Roe v. Wade Come From? 

Back in 1969, a Texas woman named Norma McCorvey found out she was pregnant with her third child. She wanted an abortion, but Texas law only allowed it if the mother’s life was at risk. So McCorvey couldn’t get an abortion legally. 

She ended up connecting with two lawyers who wanted to challenge Texas’s abortion law in court. They filed a lawsuit using the pseudonym “Jane Roe” to protect her identity. The case went after Henry Wade, who was the district attorney in Dallas County at the time. 

The lawyers argued that Texas’s law violated a constitutional right to privacy. They built their case on an earlier Supreme Court decision, Griswold v. Connecticut, which had identified privacy rights in the Constitution. 

How the Case Moved Through the Courts 

In 1970, a federal panel agreed with McCorvey and said Texas’s law was unconstitutional. But here’s the thing: they didn’t actually stop Texas from enforcing the law. So, by the time the case reached the Supreme Court, McCorvey had already given birth and placed her baby with an adoptive family. 

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of “Jane Roe.” The Court said that state abortion laws violated a constitutional right to privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. They also created a system based on trimesters of pregnancy and something called “viability” — basically, the point when a baby could survive outside the womb. 

The Supreme Court said states couldn’t protect preborn children before viability, and states that wanted to protect children after viability were forced to quickly enact gestational limit laws.  

What Roe Meant for America 

Roe changed everything overnight. It wiped out abortion laws in dozens of states and said preborn children had no constitutional protection before viability. For preborn children and anyone who accepts that life begins at conception, this was devastating. Millions of children would lose their lives in the years that followed. 

Roe changed everything overnight. It wiped out abortion laws in dozens of states and said preborn children had no constitutional protection before viability.
Millions of children would lose their lives in the years that followed.

But something else happened too. People who cared about protecting life got organized. They started finding new ways to reach moms, rescue children, and restore families. That commitment to innovating and pioneering new laws and approaches would eventually lead to real victories for life. 

So, What Led to Dobbs v. Jackson? 

Fast forward almost 50 years. In March 2018, Mississippi passed a law called the Gestational Age Act. It banned most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, way before the viability standard that Roe had set up. 

The day the law was supposed to take effect, Mississippi’s only abortion clinic filed a lawsuit to block it. Their argument was simple: This law violates Roe v. Wade. 

But Mississippi wasn’t backing down. The state appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. 

The Supreme Court Took a Fresh Look 

By 2021, when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, the makeup of the Court had changed. Mississippi’s lawyers made a straightforward argument: The Constitution doesn’t protect a right to abortion; therefore, states should be able to protect human life before viability if they want to. 

They argued that nothing in the actual text of the Constitution, its history, or American tradition supports a right to abortion or the right to privacy. Plus, the whole “viability” standard was arbitrary — why should that be the magic moment when states can step in? 

The Decision That Changed Everything 

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mississippi. They said the Constitution doesn’t guarantee a right to abortion, and they overturned Roe v. Wade. Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the power to regulate abortion would now go back to individual states and the people they elect. 

For people who had spent decades working to protect preborn children, this was huge. It was an answer to years of prayer and faithful work. Dobbs didn’t end abortion nationwide, but it gave back to states the ability to pass laws that protect children in the womb. 

Why This History Matters Today 

These cases aren’t just legal trivia. They’ve determined whether and how states can protect the most vulnerable among us — babies in the womb. Tens of millions of children have died since the Supreme Court got the answer to this question wrong in 1973, and pro-life advocates are still working to restore the right to life. 

Roe struck down state laws protecting life and opened the floodgates to abortion across America. Countless children have been lost, and millions of moms have been left to deal with the aftermath of a decision they can’t undo. 

Dobbs changed the game by restoring states’ rights to decide for themselves. Some states have passed strong protections for life. Others have gone in the opposite direction. This patchwork means the work to protect the preborn isn’t over. Not even close. 

Moms are still searching online for abortion information. They still need to find compassionate, life-affirming help instead of an abortion clinic. 

So, here’s the real question: Now that you know the story behind these cases, how will you respond? Will you join the movement of pioneers who are building a culture where every child is welcomed, and every mom is supported? 

Ready to make a difference? Learn more about pioneering new ways to rescue children from abortion at https://www.humancoalition.org/.