Abortion Fast Facts Facts January 22, 1973 –Roe v. Wade – The US Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, affirms the legality of a woman’s right to have an abortion under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. 2003 –President George W. Bush signs a law called the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. The law uses a non-medical phrase to describe a late-term procedure that involves dilation and extraction of the fetus. The law has been challenged in courts, including the Supreme Court, which upheld the law in a 5-4 ruling in 2007. The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funds like Medicaid to be used to obtain or perform an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s life is in danger.