Almost half a century ago the Roe v Wade decision created a right to abortion, preventing lawmakers in the United States from passing laws to protect the unborn child before viability. The Supreme Court has now overturned this decision. Dobbs v Jackson has not made abortion illegal. Rather, it has returned to states the power to legislate on abortion – whether to promote abortion access or to restrict it. From a natural law perspective this decision corrects an historic error – the supposed Constitutional right to abortion – but it does not disclose the true character of abortion.