Social media campaign by actress Busy Philipps urges women to use #youknowme to share abortion stories

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Students from the University of Texas wave signs during a rally in favor of abortion rights Nov. 24, 2003 in Austin, Texas. The rally was organized by students in light of then-recent national political developments, such as the passage of the "partial birth abortion" prohibition.

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Pro-choice activists (L) argue with pro-life activists (R) on abortion issues in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 23, 2006 in Washington, DC. on the 33rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling.

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The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health which was issued electronically is seen on June 24, 2022 in Washington, D.C. The Court's decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health overturns the landmark 50-year-old Roe v Wade case and erases a federal right to an abortion.

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Plastic fetuses are tagged and piled in front of the Supreme Court during the March for Life to mark the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade on Jan. 23, 2006 in Washington, D.C. Passion remains high on both sides on the topic of abortion.

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Fair access to safe forms of birth control was threatened in 2005, and legally in 2007, with the signing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The healthcare for women living below income and female students, particularly lower-cost birth control, was noticeably affected: insurance providers were now forbidden from discounting contraceptives. Former President George W. Bush signed it into law on Feb. 8, 2006.

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Abortion rights activists Carrie McDonald (L) and Soraya Bata react to the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling which overturns the landmark abortion Roe v. Wade case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022 in Washington, D.C.

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While the court ruling was a victory for women seeking an abortion in the U.S., it would be the only major moment in which McCorvey would side with the pro-choice crowd: in 1995, McCorvey, here addressing the media and a large group of anti-abortion supporters on June 17, 2003, stated that she was now against abortion and began actively working to make it illegal.

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Following the outcome of Roe v. Wade, the pro-life "March for Life" began rallying every year on or around the anniversary of the ruling, beginning in 1974. This March For Life demonstration in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. was from Jan. 23, 1982.

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Busy Philipps

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The fight for abortion rights was far from over after 1973. Laws set in place by Republican and conservative politicians, such as the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, made it illegal for medical professionals to perform an abortion on fetuses in the second trimester, between 15 and 26 weeks. The law calls it a "partial birth abortion" and doctors who performed it would be fined. Former President George W. Bush (c.) signs the act into law surrounded by (L-R) former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R- Ill.; Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.; Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.; Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn.; former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio; and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas.

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The "Jane Roe" in Roe v. Wade was Texas resident Norma McCorvey, who became pregnant in 1970, but was banned from having an abortion unless her life was in danger, per Texas law. McCorvey sued Dallas Country District Attorney Henry Wade for her right to an abortion, stating the ban violated her privacy rights as a U.S. citizen.

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Demonstrators demanding a woman's right to an abortion march to the U.S. Capitol for a rally seeking repeal of all anti-abortion laws in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 20, 1971. On the other side of the Capitol was a pro-life demonstration. Two years before the landmark decision of Roe V. Wade, which would label denying a woman an abortion was unconstitutional, pro-choice women in state banning abortion rallied for the right to choose.

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Despite the Trump administration overturning Obama-era guidances that protected healthcare organizations like Planned Parenthood offering abortion services, individual states have taken their own approach to handling abortion laws. Here, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signs legislation repealing the state's archaic anti-abortion laws on July 27, 2018. Massachusettss laws restricting abortion became obsolete after the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, but fears of then-unconfirmed Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh being confirmed and tipping the court toward reversing its landmark 1973 ruling pushed state legislators to advance the bill with increased urgency.

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While having access to birth control became a little easier in 2012 when, thanks to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, private health insurance plans were required to supply women who needed contraceptives without a co-pay, the gesture was repealed in 2017 by the Trump administration. Here, women in the House gallery openly show their displeasure as New Hampshire's Republican-controlled House voted to allow religious employers to exclude contraceptive coverage from their health plans.

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Despite setbacks in Washington, women advocating for their right to choose continued to rally, like Rachel Smith (l.) waving a sign during a pro-choice march on Jan. 22, 2004, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, in San Francisco, Calif.

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Three years after the pregnancy that led to McCorvey suing Wade, Roe v. Wade ruled 7-2 that, under the Fourteenth Amendment, women had the right to abort unwanted pregnancies in the first trimester. As a result, the laws in forty-six states change. The divide between pro-choice and pro-life in the U.S. also heated up, as seen here on Jan. 22, 1973, the day Roe v. Wade's decision was announced: an estimated 5,000 people, women and men, march around the Minnesota Capitol building protesting the U.S. Supreme Court's decision. The marchers formed a "ring of life" around the building.

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National Organization for Women President Kim Gandy (C), alongside her two daughters Katherine (L) and Cady (R), speaks during a pro-choice vigil on Jan. 22, 2002 outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC to mark the 29th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.