From Roe To Dobbs: The Erosion Of Reproductive Autonomy And India's Approach Under The Medical Termination Of Pregnancy Act
- IJLLR Journal
- May 30
- 1 min read
Tanmay Chandra Das, LL.M. (Constitutional Law), Adamas University, Kolkata
“Every monument of civilization is a monument of barbarism.”
- Walter Benjamin
On 24 June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Center, overturning the historic Roe v. Wade decision that has, since 1973, confirmed and enshrined the Constitutional Right of a woman to seek an abortion.
In Roe v. Wade (1973), Norma McCorvey, under the pseudonym "Jane Roe," challenged Texas's abortion laws, which allowed abortion only if a woman’s life was at risk. She sought to terminate a pregnancy resulting from rape but was denied and forced to give birth. The case was initially rejected, but upon appeal, the US Supreme Court ruled by a 7:2 majority that the government lacked the power to prohibit abortions. It held that a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy was Constitutionally protected under the Right to Privacy.
In Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey (1992), the Supreme Court reaffirmed the Right to Abortion but modified its framework. The Court emphasized that a woman had the right to choose at least until fetal viability, typically between 24 and 28 weeks. However, it also ruled that states could regulate abortion services before viability as long as those regulations did not impose an “Undue Burden” on women seeking an abortion.
In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), the Mississippi legislature passed the Gestational Age Act, banning nearly all abortions after 15 weeks, before fetal viability.
