Abortion During The Late Nineteenth-Century

Over several centuries and in different cultures, there has been a rich history of women helping each other to abort. Until the late 1800s, women healers in Western Europe and the U.S. provided abortions and trained other women to do so, without legal prohibitions. With that being said women could take part in whatever method that allowed them to abort. Most of the time women of these eras would abort through tea remedies. However in the start of the 19 century many countries and states began to outlaw abortion. In 1803, Great Britain passed its first antiabortion laws. The U.S as individual states quickly followed Britain’s lead in outlawing abortion and were only allowed when the

One of the most frequently debated topics in bioethics is the morality of abortion, or the ending of a pregnancy without physically giving birth to an infant. Often times abortions are categorized into either spontaneous, a natural miscarriage; induced or intentional, which is premeditated and for any reason; or therapeutic, which albeit intentional, its sole purpose is to save the mother’s life. It seems however that moral conflicts on issue mainly arise when discussing induced abortions. In general, people universally agree it is morally wrong to kill an innocent person and in some people’s eyes induced abortions are the intentional killings of innocent persons, thus making them immoral. However not all individuals view fetuses as persons and consequentially argue it is not morally wrong to kill them.

Before 1820 abortion was legal and practiced, despite the fact that it was a dangerous procedure and more often than not resulted in the death of the mother. it wasn't until after 1821 that abortion started to become regulated and laws were set in place (lewis 2011). in 1879 the first law to be set up was in Connecticut, it was targeted towards merchants that sold poisons to cause miscarriages and drugs to prevent pregnancy and banned the use of the products. By the late 1800s even though abortion was illegal in most states it was still done under the table. Most people didn't get persecuted for illegally performing an abortion, mostly because of a lack of proof that the abortion was performed. the fetus was often disposed of and without

Abortion has been around for quite some time. Laws have been set allowing it and banning it during different periods of time. The procedures that can be done are all very different. There is a medical abortion involving drugs and there are surgical abortion involving a more invasive procedure. There are also different points of view on it. There are those who fully support the termination of a pregnancy and those who are completely against it. There are many factors to consider and very different ideas out there.

     Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before birth. An abortion results in the death of the embryo or fetus and may be either spontaneous or induced. For years, abortion has been an extremely controversial subject. The history of abortion reaches back not just decades, but centuries, and even milleniums. Today, policies regarding legal abortion in the U.S. is being debated everywhere. Many myths and misconceptions confuse this issue. A better understanding of the history of abortion in America can help provide a context for an improved policy in the future.

Abortion, the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent life, has been practiced since ancient times. With records dating to 1550 BC, it’s no question that abortion techniques have been used throughout the ages as an effective form of birth control. Pregnancies were terminated through a number of methods, including the use of herbs, sharpened instruments, the application of abdominal pressure, and other techniques. In the 19th century, the English Parliament and the American state legislatures prohibited induced abortion to protect women from surgical procedures that were deemed unsafe. However, in 1973, abortion was legalized as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court rule in Roe v. Wade. This ruling made it possible

There are many common pregnancy alternatives, but most often the resulting decision is abortion because it is effortless. Abortion is endings a women’s pregnancy by removing or forcing a fetus or embryo from the mother’s womb before it is able to survive on its own. Not all abortions are purposely done some are spontaneous like when a women that has a miscarriage. Rather abortion is done purposely or naturally it is a worldwide complication as to it being wrong or right. Abortion is an ethical issue that will be analyzed according to a personal worldview and Christian worldview. Ethical thinking will be examined by value-based decisions that address abortion from the perspective of a Christian worldview and comparing it to a personal assumption by addressing ethical dilemma, core beliefs, resolution, evaluation, and comparison.

In this essay, the morality of the abortion of a fetus will be discussed in a drama involving a married couple named Deb and Derek (Smolkin, Bourgeois & Findler, 2010). For clarification purposes, we must first define the topic of this discussion; abortion is defined as the act in which a female voluntarily terminates her pregnancy where this act is legally permitted (Warren, 1973). Deb who is 16 weeks pregnant discovers that the fetus she is carrying will most likely be born mentally challenged (Smolkin et al., 2010). As the drama unfolds, the couple ponders the negative impact this child will have on their business, marriage as well as the quality of life that their child will experience if it is carried to term (Smolkin

Angus McLaren, author of “Illegal Operations: Women, Doctors, and Abortion” demonstrates the life of an abortionist in the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s. McLaren explains a series of affairs in detail with many different abortionists. Since abortion was illegal at the time, many women consulted midwives, or took the procedure of abortion among themselves, this at times resulted in their death.

Historically, abortion was not regulated in the United States until the 20th century. Prior to the 1900s, abortion occurred regularly and was performed by midwives, along with other reproductive health care procedures (Ehrenreich & English, 2010). The rise of the medical industry and a growing immigrant population led to more interest amongst doctors in restricting abortion (Davis, 1983; Solinger, 2015). The American Medical Association began to lobby for the criminalization of abortion and the medicalization of birth, claiming to be interested in protecting women from the harsh chemicals used to induce abortion (Solinger, 2015). Solinger (2015) writes:

Abortion and the morality of it has been a hot topic for years in the United States although it has been carried out for centuries in different cultures. Abortion is a medical procedure deliberately terminating a pregnancy. Abortions usually happen within the first 28 weeks of pregnancy and are considered an outpatient procedure. The first abortion laws were passed by Britain in 1803 and by 1880 most abortions in the U.S. were illegal, except for those that were performed to save the life of a woman. This exception to the rule gives insight into the battle that exists today and the ethical debate of abortion.

Abortion is a touchy subject in today’s society and has been debated among the general public for decades now. Before legalization for abortions, women sought abortions in any way they could. If a woman had money then she could get away with leaving the United States and having a procedure done at a foreign country or she could pay off a doctor in America though many risk were included. Many homemade methods were also created among desperate women, which included douching with soup or bleach, or inserting a wire coat hanger in attempt to terminate the fetus (OBOS, 2014).

Before abortion was made legal in 1973, women would seek illegal methods called “back-alley” abortions. These methods were performed at home with coat hangers and knitting needles, by medical professionals, or by the use of herbs. Health Research Funding estimates that five to ten thousand women died each year due to illegal procedures. Illegal procedure would also cause infertility among women due to the injuries sustained. Thankfully, with the passing of Roe V. Wade, abortions today are much safer. The American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists stated “Abortion is one the safest medical procedures performed in the United States.” A woman’s risk of dying from a modern abortion is 0.6 in 100,000 while the risk of dying from giving birth is around 14 times higher at 8.8 in 100,000. A study by Obstetrics & Gynecology in January of 2015 reported that less than 2.5% of the 1.21 million abortions every year lead to major health

“On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion”, an essay written by Mary Anne Warren, defend abortion in any stage of a woman’s pregnancy (pg 468). Warren argues that the potential to become a human being is not the same as being human and deserving the same right to life (pg. 468-472). This essay asserts that in order to be human, one must possess five particular traits (pg. 470). These trait are consciousness, reasoning, self-motivated activity, the ability to communicate, and awareness of oneself (pg. 470). Warren claims that since a fetus has not yet acquired all of the traits, then that fetus is not human and therefore does not have the right to life (pg. 470).

Abortion is defined in several ways all of which stop a pregnancy. There are different ways of abortion, which are spontaneous abortion, surgical abortion, and medical abortion. Abortion has been arguable topic for decades. One can neither believe abortion to be good nor bad. The idea of individuality and human life is not quite the same. Idea of human life has come from conception; simultaneously on the other hand, fertilizer eggs used for in vitro fertilization are also human lives but eggs unable to implant are routinely thrown away. Would you like to call it a murder and if not, then how is abortion a murder? Arizona is known as a state that is very much against abortion. In 2012; Arizona was named Americans United for Life’s “Pro-life All-Star.” Since 1995, center for Arizona policy has supported 30 bills that have been signed into law that promote pro-life.