Jane Roe, a pregnant single woman in Texas, wanted to have an abortion but Texas had laws banning abortion and travel to other states for abortion. She sued the district attorney, arguing the laws violated her right to privacy. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled 7-2 in favor of Roe, establishing that states could regulate but not ban abortions in the first and second trimesters, and could only ban third trimester abortions to protect the mother's life.