Thirty-five Years of Legal Abortion: The US Experience

The thirty-fifth anniversary of legal abortion in the US was on 22 January 2008. During these years, millions of women have been able to have the abortions they need, without risk to their lives and health. Yet millions of other women have not. Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion in the USA, left a gap between legality and access that opponents turned into a chasm filled with legal restrictions, unnecessary and burdensome regulations, continued threats and violent attacks on clinics and providers. Today, abortion is legal, but restricted; stigmatised and continually under attack are the women who are most vulnerable – poor women, women of colour, and young women – those who face the greatest obstacles.