1973: U.S. Supreme Court Decides Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade410 U.S. 113 (1973), is a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion.

The Court ruled 7–2 that a right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that this right must be balanced against the state's two legitimate interests in regulating abortions: protecting women's health and protecting the potentiality of human life.

Source: Accessed November 3, 2016 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade