In the landmark case Roe v. Wade (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protects a woman's right to choose to have an abortion under the right to privacy, which falls within the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision invalidated laws prohibiting abortions in many states and established a woman's right to decide during the first trimester of pregnancy. This ruling was highly controversial and significantly impacted women's rights and reproductive healthcare in the United States, leading to ongoing debates and legal challenges that persist to this day.