Roe v. Wade was decided simultaneously with companion case Doe v. Boton, the Court ruled that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the 14th Amendment extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that right must be balanced against the state's two legitimate interests for regulating abortions: protecting prenatal life and protecting the woman's health. Saying that these state interests become stronger over the course of a pregnancy, the Court resolved this balancing test by tying state regulation of abortion to the woman's current trimester of pregnancy.
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