Roe v. Wade recognized a constitutional right to abortion; which later case overturned it and returned regulation to the states?

• A. Established that abortion is not protected by the Constitution; later overturned by Brown v. Board.
• B. Recognized a constitutional right to abortion; later overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health.
• C. Created a constitutional right to privacy but not abortion; later reaffirmed in Casey.
• D. Uphold states' rights to ban abortion; later overturned by Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Answer: (B)

Roe v. Wade protected a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy as part of the constitutional right to privacy. The later case that overturned that ruling and returned regulation to the states is Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. In Dobbs, the Court overruled Roe and Casey, holding that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion and that state governments may regulate or ban abortion, subject to their own laws. This shift moved the power to regulate abortion from the federal level back to the states. The other options mix up what those cases held: Brown v. Board dealt with desegregation, not abortion; Casey actually reaffirmed Roe’s core holding (with a new undue-burden standard) rather than overturning it; Planned Parenthood v. Casey did not overturn Roe either.