Roe v. Wade, Then and Now

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
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