Thirty-five years ago, the United States Supreme Court landed a controversial decision regarding abortion. In the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, the court decided that the laws that prohibited abortion in the United States were violating the Fourteenth Amendment constitutional right to privacy. Ever since the decision to overturn all the previous laws against abortion, under certain conditions of course, it has been a continuous debate between pro-life and pro-choice organizations on whether abortions should be legal.

The controversy will not end as long as some will continue to support a woman’s right to make her own choices and some will continue to oppose and march against the 50 millions abortions that take place every year in the United States. The Tuesday anniversary will host, as it does every year, a March of Life, where thousands of people gather to protest against abortion. At the same time, the National Organization for Women, whose members are expected to gather in front of the Supreme Court, will organize a rally supporting every woman’s right to make a choice.

The Roe v. Wade case created waves of controversy and criticism throughout the years, as the Supreme Court granted “Jane Roe” the right to end a pregnancy which was the result of a rape. On January 22, 1973, with a 7-2 majority, the court took the decision to change the abortion laws, considering it a fundamental right under the United States Constitution. The court ruled that the woman’s right to abortion in the first trimester in not to be restricted by the state, however, the state will establish the procedure in the second trimester “in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health” and proscribe it in the third trimester “except where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgment for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.”

Opponents and critics objected the decision, considering that the unborn child should be legally protected since the newly created life begins at conception. However, although legal, most states adopted a series of laws and regulations in order to limit abortion, by demanding parental consent for minors who wish to have an abortion, spousal notification laws, or by establishing a wait and document period for women who choose abortion.