Final answer:
The judicial decision that overturned laws prohibiting abortion and exemplifies judicial activism is Roe v. Wade, recognizing a woman's right to an abortion in the first trimester. Option A is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
Roe v. Wade, a pivotal judicial ruling handed down in January 1973, stands as a landmark example of judicial activism, marking a significant departure from existing laws that prohibited abortion. In this historic Supreme Court case, the judiciary overturned a Texas state statute and affirmed a woman's constitutional entitlement to undergo an abortion under specific conditions. The crux of the Court's decision rested on the recognition of a woman's right to privacy, establishing a transformative legal precedent.
The ruling introduced a distinctive trimester framework, reshaping the landscape of abortion law in the United States. During the first trimester, abortion was deemed a constitutional right without any restrictive conditions. However, in the subsequent trimesters, the Court allowed states to impose regulations based on considerations of maternal health. This nuanced approach aimed to balance a woman's right to choose with the state's interest in protecting maternal health as the pregnancy progressed.
While hailed as a breakthrough in women's reproductive rights, Roe v. Wade has also been critiqued for its judicial activism, as it effectively invalidated existing laws and set forth new legal standards. The decision triggered ongoing debates on the role of the judiciary in shaping social policy and the parameters of constitutional interpretation.