Abortion in U.S. History

Abortion has become an extremely divisive topic in political discourse and may even be the defining issue of the 2016 presidential election. Thus, it is important to understand the historical context of this debate and trace the legality of abortion throughout American history to decide our stance on the issue today.



Before the late nineteenth century, abortion had been legal prior to the "quickening" period which was four months of pregnancy. During the mid- eighteenth century, drugs were often illegally sold and abortion services were advertised in the press. Madame Restell, for example, was infamous for her "Female Monthly Pills". Anti-abortion sentiment of this time was largely motivated by nativism and conservatism. As immigration was increasing, fears arose that native-born white Protestant Americans would become a minority group. Abortion was seen as a threat to the destiny of America and fostered fears that "aliens" to occupy Western America. Despite anti-abortion sentiment, abortion services were still provided to women by many doctors. In fact, it is estimated that almost 2 million abortions were performed each year, a rate seven times higher than today.

Even as abortion was made a crime in the late- nineteenth century, enforcement on this law was poor and often the only result was a scandal unveiled in the press. During the Great Depression, abortion rates again rose as many women had to work to support their families. However, throughout the 1940s and 50s, laws around abortion became more heavily enforced and these "birth-control clubs" were often shut down. Abortion was also portrayed in society as expensive, dangerous, and morally wrong. Only a limited amount of women, particularly wealthy white women with private insurance, were able to access legal abortions.

Prior to Roe v. Wade, traditional notions of gender and even criminalization were being challenged. In some states, abortion was made legal under the circumstances of rape, incest, danger to physical or mental health, or fetal defect. Legal abortion became even more necessary as there were more than 5,000 deaths by illegal abortion per year, mostly affecting black and Hispanic women. Doctors, lawyers, and activists joined to legalize abortion and provide safe spaces for women to access abortion services.

Through the Roe v. Wade decision, the right to privacy in the due process clause of the 14th Amendment was extended to abortion rights; the decision was thus up to a woman and her doctor and not the federal government. Following decriminalization of abortion in New York, maternal mortality rates dropped 45%. Legalizing abortion also meant women could access proper antibiotics and follow-up care.

However, not all parties were celebrating this decision. Many conservative Christian groups opposed this decision. Two conflicting movements began to form: pro- life and pro- choice. Through the 21st century, the debate has largely focused on termination of late pregnancies. The Partial- Birth Abortion Act passed by Congress in 2003 and signed by President Bush prohibited late- term abortion.

Today's debate on abortion mainly focuses on the state level, such as attempts to change the legal date of viability, remove legal circumstances, require testing including invasive procedures prior to abortion, and increased requirements for doctors and buildings in which abortions may occur.


Sources:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/05/abortion-in-american-history/376851/

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/abortionuslegal/a/abortion.htm