By striking down laws that forced women to resort to back alley abortion, Roe saved women's lives.  According to one estimate made before 1973, "more than five thousand women may have died [per year] as a direct result [of criminal abortions]."  As Roe enters its fourth decade, its protections remain a bulwark of freedom for American women, though our rights have been eroded and are in grave peril. This fact sheet outlines the details and history of Roe v. Wade, and threats to its future.

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