Whether you agree with the still controversial ruling, or opinion written by the late Justice Harry Blackmun, that right has been chipped away at over four decades. And while many politicians, especially in the just-finished 2012 election tried to use a lot of smoke and mirrors to mislead Americans, and especially American women, about the facts about who gets abortions in the 21st century, the Guttmacher Institute has prepared a variety of info-graphics, as well as this video, to set the records straight:

In an interview a few years before his death, Blackmun said of Roe:

“It’s a step that had to be taken . . . toward the full emancipation of women.”

Four decades later, women are further from that “full emancipation” than they were in 1973. Want to know more about the real state of abortion access in America and how it impacts women’s health? Stay tuned for an exclusive excerpt from the forthcoming book Crow after Roe: How “Separate But Equal” Has Become the New Standard In Women’s Health And How We Can Change That, by Robin Marty and Jessica Pieklo.

Video via the Guttmacher Institute

Image of Contemplation of Justice Statue via iStockphoto/Gary Blakeley