Welcome to Brain Stuff, a production of I-Hart Radio.

Hey, Brain Stuff, Lauren Bogobom here.

Nearly 50 years ago, the US Supreme Court made one of its most controversial rulings with

its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade.

The ruling declared that states criminalizing abortion violates a woman's right to do process,

meaning a woman has the right to choose whether to terminate a pregnancy with limited

government restrictions.

Until that point, nearly all 50 states outlawed abortion, accepting cases to save a woman's

life or health, or in situations such as rape, incest, or fetal anomaly.

In the years since that landmark decision, state legislators have made numerous attempts

to chip away at abortion rights through ballot measures and legislative moves, and together

have passed more than 1,300 restrictions on abortion.

And dozens more are currently making their way through state legislatures, but the

president set by Roe v. Wade and its progeny case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, remain intact.

However, a Mississippi case set to be reviewed this fall by the Supreme Court holds the

potential to shake the very foundation upon which these cases stand, the aftershocks

of which will either strengthen or reshape the future of abortion rights in America.

It began on January 22nd of 1973, when, by a vote of 7 to 2, the Supreme Court legalized

abortion in the U.S. under Roe v. Wade.

The court's judgment was based on the decision that a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy

fell under the freedom of personal choice in family matters protected by the 14th Amendment

to the U.S. Constitution.

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