Nevertheless, Blackmun wrote, "the right to reproductive choice" was in danger of being overturned.

CNN: Four decades after Roe: A legacy of law and morality

Wade the "science" the late Harry Blackmun relied upon to back his majority opinion was questionable, and it's since been blown to smith-ereens.

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The Roe opinion, written by Justice Harry Blackmun, asserted that the right to privacy extended to a women's decision on whether to end a pregnancy.

WSJ: Roe v Wade: After 40 years, deep divide is legacy

However, Carter Snead, a Notre Dame law professor who has studied abortion and bioethics, said Blackmun's opinion was wrong to dismantle state anti-abortion laws so sweepingly.

WSJ: Roe v Wade: After 40 years, deep divide is legacy

Stevens became the senior Associate Justice after Blackmun stepped down, in 1994, and during the next decade he was confident that he could pull together majorities for his side.

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Blackmun's use of the 14th Amendment was utterly illogical.

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"It is a true testament to the impact of 'Title IX, ' which in its 40-year history has increased sport opportunities for millions of females across the United States, " said U.S. Olympic chief Scott Blackmun, referring to the legislation that bans sexual discrimination.

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Wade, " said Edward Lazarus -- a former law clerk for Blackmun and an author of "Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court"-- "is that it's necessary for the equality of women, rather than grounding it in the privacy right.

CNN: Four decades after Roe: A legacy of law and morality