Roe v. Wade – Anniversary Date, History
Roe v. Wade was a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision on abortion rights, decided January 22, later overturned in 2022 by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Here is what the case decided, why it ended, and the anniversary dates through 2031.
| Date | Name | Day | Week | Days left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 22, 2026 | Roe V. Wade 2026 | Thursday | 4 | - |
| January 22, 2027 | Roe V. Wade 2027 | Friday | 3 | 185 |
| January 22, 2028 | Roe V. Wade 2028 | Saturday | 3 | 550 |
| January 22, 2029 | Roe V. Wade 2029 | Monday | 4 | 916 |
| January 22, 2030 | Roe V. Wade 2030 | Tuesday | 4 | 1281 |
When Is the Roe v. Wade Anniversary? (2026–2031)
The Roe v. Wade decision was issued on January 22, 1973. Its anniversary is not an official U.S. federal or state holiday, so government offices, schools, and banks remain open on this date every year.
Each year, the date draws renewed public attention, with advocacy groups on both sides of the abortion debate holding marches, vigils, and events around it, even though it carries no official government recognition.
What Was Roe v. Wade (1973)?
Roe v. Wade began in 1970, when a Texas woman using the pseudonym “Jane Roe” filed a lawsuit against Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, challenging a Texas law that made abortion a crime except to save the mother’s life. The plaintiff was later identified as Norma McCorvey.
On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled 7–2 in favor of Roe. The majority opinion, written by Justice Harry Blackmun, held that the constitutional right to privacy, grounded in the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, extended to a woman’s decision to terminate a pregnancy. The ruling established a trimester framework: states could not restrict abortion in the first trimester, could regulate it in the interest of maternal health in the second, and could restrict or ban it after fetal viability in the third, except when necessary to protect the life or health of the mother. The decision struck down abortion bans in dozens of states and set the framework for U.S. abortion law for the next 49 years, according to case records published by Oyez.
Roe v. Wade Overturned — Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022)
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case concerning a Mississippi law banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. In a 6–3 ruling, the Court held that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion and that the authority to regulate it belongs to individual states and their elected representatives, as detailed in the case record on Oyez.
The Dobbs ruling also overturned Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), a 1992 case that had upheld Roe’s core holding while replacing the trimester framework with an “undue burden” standard. With both precedents overturned, the federal constitutional right to abortion established in 1973 no longer applied nationwide.
Current Legal Status of Abortion in the United States
Since the Dobbs decision, abortion law in the United States varies significantly by state. Some states have enacted near-total bans, others restrict abortion after a specific gestational age, and others have expanded or codified access at the state level. State ballot measures, legislative sessions, and ongoing court cases have continued to reshape this landscape in the years following the ruling, and several states have seen their abortion laws change more than once since 2022.
Because state legislatures and courts continue to revise these laws, the legal status of abortion in any given state can change from year to year, and even from month to month during active legislative sessions. Readers seeking the current rule in a specific state should consult that state’s official government or attorney general website, or a nonpartisan legal reference, since national summaries can become outdated quickly. This page focuses on the historical timeline of the Roe v. Wade and Dobbs decisions rather than tracking individual state statutes, which are best confirmed through primary state sources.
How the Anniversary Is Marked Each Year
Because Roe v. Wade remains one of the most consequential and debated Supreme Court rulings in U.S. history, its anniversary is marked by organizations on both sides of the abortion debate, even though it has no official government status. Anti-abortion groups have historically organized the March for Life in Washington, D.C., around January 22 each year, predating the Dobbs decision and continuing afterward as a broader observance of the movement’s history. Abortion-rights organizations mark the same date with rallies, educational events, and public statements reflecting on the 1973 ruling and the current post-Dobbs legal landscape. News outlets and legal organizations also frequently publish retrospectives around the date, reviewing how state laws have shifted since the original decision.
Frequently Asked Questions about Roe v. Wade
Q: What year was Roe v. Wade decided?
A: The Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973, ruling 7–2 in favor of the plaintiff, Jane Roe.
Q: Is the Roe v. Wade anniversary a public holiday?
A: No. January 22 is not a recognized federal or state holiday, and government offices, schools, and banks remain open.
Q: When was Roe v. Wade overturned?
A: Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, 2022, by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Q: Who were Roe and Wade?
A: “Jane Roe” was the pseudonym of Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff. Henry Wade was the Dallas County district attorney named as the defendant.
Q: What did Roe v. Wade establish?
A: It established a constitutional right to abortion based on privacy protections in the Fourteenth Amendment, using a trimester-based framework for state regulation.
Q: What replaced Roe v. Wade after it was overturned?
A: No single federal framework replaced it. Regulation of abortion returned to individual states, resulting in a range of different state laws nationwide.
Q: Does Roe v. Wade still apply anywhere in the US?
A: No. As a matter of federal constitutional law, Roe v. Wade no longer applies anywhere in the United States following the 2022 Dobbs ruling.
Q: Is January 22 the same date every year?
A: Yes. Unlike floating observances, the Roe v. Wade anniversary is fixed on January 22 every year, including 2026 through 2031.
Related Holidays & Calendars
Since the Roe v. Wade anniversary falls in January, it’s worth planning alongside the rest of the month. See the full January 2027 calendar for all U.S. holidays and observances that month.
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