Roe accelerated an existing trend in abortion access rather than starting it.

Evidence

First, as noted, the trend toward the availability of legal abortions began before Roe, following the enactment of reform statutes in some states and the repeal of abortion laws in others. Second, although Roe did not initiate the trend toward legal access to abortion services, it certainly continued the trend. The rate of increase in legal abortions actually declined slightly after Roe. Still, there is no way to know whether legal abortions would have increased as much without the Court’s rul- ing. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3158

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels the desegregation findings that courts often ratify rather than initiate social change.