Roe v. Wade

Many of the Supreme Court's most liberal members have retired since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, and their conservative successors have indicated a willingness to re-examine the decision and its implications. On 30 June 1980, in Harris v. McRae, the High Court ruled that neither the federal nor local government was obligated to pay for abortions for women on welfare, even if their abortions were medically necessary. More recently, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 3 July 1989, granted states new authority to restrict abortions in tax-supported institutions, and Rust v. Sullivan, 23 May 1991, upheld federal regulations that denied government financial aid to family planning clinics that provided information about abortion. Yet, for the time being, the effect of the decision remains intact: A state may not prohibit a woman from aborting a fetus during the first three months of pregnancy and may only regulate abortions during the second three months in the interest of the pregnant woman's health.