Michael Schmittinger. Mr. Homan, P.3. America In History

     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 has been a complex social issue in the United States ever since restrictive abortion laws began to appear in the 1820s. By 1965, abortions had been outlawed in the U.S., although they continued illegally; about one million abortions per year were estimated to have occurred in the 1960s. (Krannich 366) Ultimately, in the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, it was ruled that women had the right to privacy and could make an individual choice on whether or not to have an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. (Yishai 213)

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.

In the mid-1800’s, abortion was made illegal under most circumstances in most states. For decades following that decision, illegal abortions became the cause of death for many women in the United States. In 1930, 1940, 1950, and 1965, illegal abortions were the official cause of death for 2,700, 1,700, 300, and just under 200 women, respectively. Between 1950 and 1960, illegal abortion ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year. Leading up to the court case Roe v. Wade, the only circumstance to get an

Since the 1960s, the fight to receive accessible and affordable abortions has been a largely controversial issue in the United States. The case Roe v. Wade was the climax of that fight, for “the Court held that... only a pregnant woman and her doctor have the legal right to make the decision about an abortion” (“History of Abortion”). Although Roe v. Wade ultimately made abortions legal in the States, there are still setbacks for affordable and accessible abortions today, and many of these conflicts may be directly traced to state-by-state determination of abortion laws.

The United States has been divided now over the issue of abortion for thirty-three years since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade in 1973. As of today, over 45 million legal abortions have been performed in the United States. Pro-choice advocates hold these 45 million abortions as being 45 million times women have exercised their right to choose to get pregnant and to choose to control their own bodies. To pro-life, or anti-abortion, advocates these 45 million abortions constitute 45 million murders, a genocide of human life in the United States propagated by the court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade. The debate over abortion in the United States is thus a debate of two extremes. One side argues from the personal liberty of the mother. The

The Roe versus Wade Supreme Court Case has had a huge impact on abortion laws in the United States. Before 1973, abortions were illegal and criminal, with few exceptions. Overnight, the decision in the case legalized first trimester abortions while leaving the specifications of the other trimesters up to the states. This case has led to many debates over the value of life and when life begins whether at conception, independence from mother, or first breath. All of these can be defined by religion, law, or individual beliefs. Unfortunately, none of the policies before or after Roe versus Wade have

On a cold day in January of 1973, Roe V. Wade was passed by the Supreme Court. This nationwide case made abortion fully legal in the United States. Supreme Court justices agreed that the constitutions first, fourth, ninth, and fourteenth amendments protect an individual’s rights of privacy against state laws. Things such as marriage, contraception, and so forth fall under such laws. It was found that abortion falls under these privacy laws, as well. This was a huge win for women’s rights. Not only did women gain the right to make a safe and legal decision about their own bodies, but it was also an important win because at the time one in five maternal deaths were due to illegal abortions (Abortion, Issues and Controversies). Now that abortion is legal, and has been for over forty years, the maternal death rate is much lower and the number of abortions is actually declining (Rachel, Jones, et al.). Women in the modern age now have access to safe abortions, which is good. However, they also

Abortion refers to the termination of a pregnancy in one of two ways. One, the abortion pill (medically induced abortion) or two, surgical abortion depending on how far along the woman is. In 1973, a famous court case, Roe v. Wade legalized abortion across the nation and nullified the Texas state prohibition. The only time the state could intervene was after the first trimester, but during this time the woman had the right to privacy of her own body. After this staggering case, this controversial topic took off at full speed. What the court failed to address was whether human life started at birth, conception or somewhere in between. Splitting the nation into two sides, pro-life and pro-choice, the question if abortion should be legal or not still has not been answered. In defense of this ongoing argument, the pro-choice side is morally and socially correct.

Prior to 1970 abortions were illegal in the United States. It was then when the now popular Roe v. Wade case took place which saw the Supreme Court make any laws regarding the prevention of early-stage abortions unconstitutional. An abortion can be defined as an early termination of an unwanted pregnancy. As a topic of controversy there are many aspects of abortion that are constantly being debated. For example, moral and legal obligations, support from federal and state funding and the debate of whether there has been a decline in abortions since its legalization, are amongst the main issues surrounding this topic.

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court’s decision of Roe v. Wade to legalize abortions in the United States began the controversial debate about abortion that has continued to dominate current ethical and political debates. Over fifty-two million abortions have been performed legally in the United States from 1973 to 2010 (Ertelt). Even with scientific advancements showing fetus development, abortions are still performed on 21% of all pregnancies in America according to a national statistic in 2011. Currently there are about 1 million abortions in the United States each year (“Abortions in America”). With the exception of saving a mother’s life, abortion should be completely illegal in

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy. Since 1973 abortion has been an important controversial issue within the United States. 1973 marks the year that the famous Rowe versus Wade case was decided before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that abortion be legal and available to all women. Legal abortions can be performed up until the sixteenth week of pregnancy, after sixteen weeks most doctors or clinics will not perform the procedure unless keeping the baby presents a medical risk to the mother. Even in these situations abortions are very risky after sixteen weeks.

Abortion is defined as terminating a pregnancy before the fetus has been born. Abortion has been and still is very controversial and has had an increasing amount of cases all over the world. In 2000 there were over one million abortions in the United States (Harper, et al, 501). Abortion is one of the most common procedures women undergo. According to the current abortion rates about thirty percent of women will have an abortion by the age of forty-five (Jones and Kavanaugh, 2011). Most abortions are attributed to unplanned pregnancies. In 2001 half of the 6.4 million pregnancies were not planned and half of this number resulted in having an abortion (Jones and Kavanaugh, 2011). Abortion is one of the biggest aspects that healthcare faces. Although the view of abortion is very controversial there are still many aspects that people do not know about the issue.

Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before birth; it causes the termination of the embryo or fetus inside the women. There are two different types of abortion, a spontaneous abortion, which is also known as a miscarriage, and an induced abortion, where the embryo or fetus is purposely removed from the women’s body. The topic of induced abortion has been widely debated for hundreds of years. The issue of abortion was argued way back in the time of the ancient Hebrews. In the United States it became illegal around the mid 1800’s and not until the 1960’s was the argument for the right to abort brought back to the table. In 1973, the Supreme Court case “Roe vs. Wade” made abortion legal. The case stated that abortion was legal in the

An Abortion is the deliberate dissolution of a human pregnancy, most often implemented in the course of the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. Individuals in the general public are pro-life and more or less are pro-choice. Some people feel abortions are becoming more and more justified. Others who consider America’s moral principles and standards feel the carnage of an unborn fetus is ethically wrong, consequently death is morally wrong. Abortion has developed into a debatable topic in American society.