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Roe v. Wade, Then v. Now

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New York City, 1970: demonstrating for reproductive freedom
photo: Fred W. McDarrah

photo: Fred W. McDarrah

Three decades ago this week, when the Supreme Court made abortion a right instead of a cause of death, women still couldn’t get credit cards in their own names, never mind call themselves “Ms.,” and the old salts at McSorley’s were just getting used to sharing bar stools with the womenfolk. There were no female senators, one commercial airline pilot, and two FBI agents. Sarah Weddington, the young attorney who argued Roe v. Wade, learned of her January 22, 1973, victory from a reporter. She was notified officially by telegram—collect. We’ve come a long way, sort of . . .

A QUESTION OF ACCESS

  • Age at which attorney Sarah Weddington began working on Roe v. Wade, in 1971: 26

  • Number of women’s rest rooms in the Supreme Court lawyers’ lounge then: 0

  • Number of psychological evaluations California required before 1973 to prove a woman’s incapacity to bear a child and thus sanction an abortion: 2

  • Percentage of U.S. counties without an abortion provider in 1973: 84

  • Percentage without a provider today: 87

  • Number of abortion-related deaths in 1965: 200

  • Number in 1973: 48

  • Percentage of women having abortions in 1973 who were already mothers: 45

  • Percentage now: 60

  • Inflation-adjusted cost of an abortion in 1973: $350

  • Cost today: $375

  • Years after Roe v. Wade that Congress cut Medicaid funding for abortion: 3

  • Chance in 2003 that an OB-GYN residence program requires first-trimester abortion training: 12 percent

  • Chance that the chief resident has never performed the procedure: 47 percent

  • Chance that a woman travels 50 or more miles to obtain an abortion: 1 in 4

  • Chance that she travels more than 100 miles: 1 in 12

  • States restricting access to abortion in 1973: 0

  • Number in 2003 that require pre-abortion counseling and a waiting period: 18

  • Number that require parental consent or notification for minors: 32

  • Number that have authorized “baby drop-off” locations, where unwanted infants can be relinquished without legal reprisal: 41

    • THE ‘PRO-LIFE’ WAR

  • Number of abortion-related murders since 1973: 7

  • Murder attempts: 17

  • Clinic bombings: 41

  • Bomb threats: 570

  • Acid attacks: 100

  • Letters threatening anthrax attacks: 654

  • Death threats: 353

  • Clinic blockades: 686

  • Demonstrator arrests: 33,830

    • WHITE LACE AND PROMISES

  • Median age of brides and grooms in 1973: 20.6, 22.5

  • Median ages today: 25.1, 26.8

  • Average age of mother at first birth, then and now: 21.4, 25

  • Current maternal mortality rate, per 100,000 live births: 7.5

  • The last year maternal mortality decreased: 1982

  • C-section rate in 1973: 8 percent

  • In 2003: 25 percent

  • Women’s lifetime risk of developing invasive breast cancer in 1973: 1 in 11

  • Risk today: 1 in 8

    • MATTER OF DEGREES

  • Percentage of women aged 25-35 with at least a bachelor’s degree now: 28.7

  • Of men: 26.2

  • Percentage increase for women since 1973: 26

  • Chance that a woman over 25 in 1998 had graduated high school: 83 percent

  • Chance in 1970: 53 percent

  • Chance that a black woman in 1970 had graduated: 32.5 percent

  • Chance in 1998: 76.7 percent

  • Ratio of women to men enrolled full-time in college or university in 1975: 74:100

  • Ratio today: 124:100

  • Women as percentage of medical students this year: 45

  • In 1973: 19

  • Women as percentage of law students this year: 50

  • In 1973: 22.5

    • APPROACHING THE BENCH

  • Average annual difference of female lawyer’s salary from that of male colleague: -$20,000

  • Percentage of lawyers who are women of color: 3

  • Percentage of female lawyers who say harassment is a problem in the workplace: 75

  • Percentage who make a complaint: 10

  • Percentage of legal professionals who are female: 30

  • Of federal district and appellate judges: 18

  • Of law firm partners: 15

  • Of law school professors: 20

  • Of law school deans: 10

  • Chance that a woman of color is a law partner: 1 percent

    • THANKS TO THE ACADEMY

  • Number of top 100 films in 2001 directed by men: 96

  • Number whose writers were exclusively male: 87

  • Number whose cinematographer was female: 1

    • BY THE PURSE STRINGS

  • Number of women-owned businesses in 2002: 6.2 million

  • Number of employees: 9.2 million

  • Revenue generated: $1.15 trillion

  • Number of female Fortune 500 CEOs: 6

  • Percentage of media, telecom, and e-company top executives who are women: 3

  • Ratio of female executives who don’t have children to male executives who do: 1:1

  • Women as percentage of labor force in 1973: 38.9

  • Today: 46.6

  • Median earnings of women 15 and older who worked full-time last year: $29,215

  • Of men: $38,275

  • Women’s earning power compared to male dollar in 2003: 76 cents

  • In 1973: 57 cents

  • Percentage of cashiers in 2000 who were women: 78

  • Percentage of dental assistants: 98.1

    • VOX POPULI

  • Percentage of women today who say they would not vote for a woman running for president: 16

  • Percentage of men: 17

  • Chance that a woman calls herself a feminist: 1 in 5

  • Chance a man does: 1 in 7

  • Number of CBS stations in 1973 that refused to carry a rerun of the Maude abortion episode: 39

  • Percentage of Americans today who identify as pro-choice: 47

  • As pro-life: 45

  • Percentage in 1975 who believed abortion should be “legal in all cases”: 20

  • Percentage in 2001: 26

  • Current percentage of Americans who would oppose overturning Roe v. Wade: 67

    • GETTING INTO THE GAME

  • Number of girls playing high school sports, 1973: 1,300,169

  • Today: 2,784,154

  • Number of boys playing today: 3,921,069

  • Percentage of women’s collegiate teams coached by women in 1973: 90

  • In 2002: 46

  • Percentage of new coaching jobs in women’s athletics since 2000 filled by men: 90

  • Average number of women’s teams per NCAA school in 1970: 2.5

  • In 2002: 8.4

    • HARD TIME

  • Percentage of women in law enforcement, 1973: 2

  • Percentage today: 12.7

  • Number of women incarcerated, on parole, or on probation in 2002: 1,040,000

  • Percentage who are women of color: 66

    • THE INTIMATE ENEMY

  • Number of battered-women’s shelters in 1973: 1

  • Number in 2003: 2000-plus

  • Number one cause of injury to women today: domestic violence