Abortion In The 1800's

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The 1800’s is when anti-abortion laws started to become a big part of American society. America had separated itself from England but continued to model some of its laws after England’s. Since the times of the American Colonies, abortion has been one of the biggest controversies in America and many laws about abortion have been passed and vetoed. The history of abortion is just as interesting as what the future holds for abortion. Throughout history, and up until 1973, abortion has been illegal more than it has been legal. Even in other countries, abortion is still illegal more than it is legal. The American Colonies first adapted English Common Law as one of the first anti-abortion laws. The law prohibits abortion and those abortion performed …show more content…
Many women have been against abortion, including feminist groups and religious groups. In 1875, suffragist and feminist Susan B. Anthony spoke out against abortion. While not every person against abortion had the same reason to be against abortion, some did share common beliefs. One reason women were against abortion was because they thought if they were able to get an abortion, they wouldn’t be able to control the frequency and timing of sex with their husbands. One reason that men were against abortion is because female midwives performed the abortions and the male doctors felt they would lose their jobs to the midwives if abortions continued to be legal. Another belief among the general public was that the government wanted more white US born reproduction and therefore made abortions illegal to increase the white population. While each person who went against abortion had their reason, some far-fetched, the most population reason was simply a religious belief that abortion is …show more content…
Wade was a landmark case for abortion. Norma McCorvey was pregnant and single and wanted an abortion. She assumed the name Jane Roe for the case. Of course, Texas was not one of the states to have legalized abortion so a class action lawsuit was filed against Texas with District Attorney Anthony Wade as the respondent. The lawsuit challenged Texas’s constitutionality of the criminal abortion laws. Also in the lawsuit was Halford. He was named in the lawsuit as a plaintiff because he had two pending prosecutions from the state for performing abortions. In a companion lawsuit, a couple, the Does who changed their name for the lawsuit, attacked the laws for instances of contraceptive failure, unpreparedness for parenthood, and impairment of women’s health. A three-judge district court ruled that Roe and Halford had standing to sue but the Does did not. Roe and Halford sued and the court declared the statues void as vague and over broadly infringing those plaintiffs’ 9th and 14th amendment rights. The case changed abortion laws forever and not only in America. Puerto Rico fashioned their abortion laws after the case as

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