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N0KFQ > TODAY 22.01.15 16:00l 57 Lines 2419 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 45397_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jan 22
Path: IZ3LSV<I0OJJ<VE3UIL<N0KFQ
Sent: 150122/1455Z 45397@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.62
Jan 22, 1973:
Roe v. Wade
The Supreme Court decriminalizes abortion by handing down their
decision in the case of Roe v. Wade. Despite opponents'
characterization of the decision, it was not the first time that
abortion became a legal procedure in the United States. In fact,
for most of the country's first 100 years, abortion as we know it
today was not only not a criminal offense, it was also not
considered immoral.
In the 1700s and early 1800s, the word "abortion" referred only
to the termination of a pregnancy after "quickening," the time
when the fetus first began to make noticeable movements. The
induced ending of a pregnancy before this point did not even have
a name--but not because it was uncommon. Women in the 1700s often
took drugs to end their unwanted pregnancies.
In 1827, though, Illinois passed a law that made the use of
abortion drugs punishable by up to three years' imprisonment.
Although other states followed the Illinois example, advertising
for "Female Monthly Pills," as they were known, was still common
through the middle of the 19th century.
Abortion itself only became a serious criminal offense in the
period between 1860 and 1880. And the criminalization of abortion
did not result from moral outrage. The roots of the new law came
from the newly established physicians' trade organization, the
American Medical Association. Doctors decided that abortion
practitioners were unwanted competition and went about
eliminating that competition. The Catholic Church, which had long
accepted terminating pregnancies before quickening, joined the
doctors in condemning the practice.
By the turn of the century, all states had laws against abortion,
but for the most part they were rarely enforced and women with
money had no problem terminating pregnancies if they wished. It
wasn't until the late 1930s that abortion laws were enforced.
Subsequent crackdowns led to a reform movement that succeeded in
lifting abortion restrictions in California and New York even
before the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade.
The fight over whether to criminalize abortion has grown
increasingly fierce in recent years, but opinion polls suggest
that most Americans prefer that women be able to have abortions
in the early stages of pregnancy, free of any government
interference.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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