what is roe v wade in simple terms

Roe v. Wade is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States generally protected a right to have an abortion. The case began in 1970 when "Jane Roe," a fictional name used to protect the identity of the plaintiff, Norma McCorvey, instituted federal action against Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas county, Texas, where Roe resided. The decision struck down many abortion laws and recognized that the decision whether to continue or end a pregnancy belongs to the individual, not the government. The ruling recognized that the right to liberty in the Constitution, which protects personal privacy, includes the right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy. For the first time, Roe placed reproductive decision-making alongside other fundamental rights, such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion, by conferring it the highest degree of constitutional protection, known as "strict scrutiny". While Roes legal implications were enormous, even Roe could not make access a reality for everyone, and low-income people, people of color, young people, and others continued to face obstacles to abortion care. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half-century, no longer exists.