Untitled Document

Why Women Get Abortions

(According to the book Abortion by Janet Podell)

According to a 1988 survey in which more than one answer was allowed, 76% said they had an abortion because having a child would affect their life in an unwanted way, 68% had an abortion for financial reasons, 51% had problems with the father or would be single mothers, 31% said they didn't want others to know they were sexually active, 23% said their husband wanted them to get it, 13% said the baby would have abnormalites, 7% said having a baby would be a threat to her health, and only 1% had it because the pregnancy was a product of rape.

Four Disputes on the Facts

(according to the book Abortion Freedom by Colin Francome)

Life: Pro-lifers believe legalizing abortion, because of it's perceived similarity to murder, will pave the way for euthanasia and the killing of certain handicapped people. Pro-choicers say the baby doesn't exist as a person that early on and that abortion can save women from dying from illegal abortions and can help them look after their chosen children better.

Effect of Legalization on "back-street" abortions. Pro-choicers point to the decline in the number of deaths resulting from illegal abortions. Pro-lifers say this decreased number of deaths from illegal abortions is due to improved drugs. They also say that the records used are unreliable because many deaths are not reported. Although, it should be noted that those who perform illegal abortions due not always have access to the most recent drugs, or simply don't use them due to expense.

Medical Effects: Pro-choicers say abortions are usually safer than delivery, especially when done early. They also say that any mental illness suffered is far less than the effect of post-partum depression. Pro-lifers say that people who die in childbirth are usually older than those who die of abortions.

Public Opinion: Pro-choicers point to a survey which found that 67% of those interviewed said abortion should be up to a woman and her doctor. Pro-lifers point to a survey which said that 78% voted against the extension of abortion laws. It should be noted that these surveys are looking at two different questions. The first looks at women's views of abortion in general, while the second looks at women's views on legislation of abortion.

Vote for bans on abortion by party

(According to the book Abortion Freedom by Colin Francome)

This table shows the number of members of the senate in each party who voted for or against a ban on abortion in 1976.

	Against a ban	For a ban
Republicans	15	20
Democrats	32	20
Total	47	40

A Brief History and Timeline

(According to the article History of Abortion by the National Abortion Federation)

Abortion was legal at the start of the US colonies
Abortion has been performed for thousands of years, and in every society studied so far. It was legal in the United States from the time the earliest settlers arrived. In fact, at the time the Constitution was adopted, abortions were openly advertised and commonly performed.

Making Abortion Illegal
In the mid-to-late 1800s, states began passing laws to make abortion illegal. Although the motivations for anti-abortion laws varied from state to state, one of the reasons was fear that if we did not encourage having a lot of children, immigrants, who had more children, would take over the country.

Medical Practice
During the 1800s, all surgical procedures, including abortion, were extremely risky. Hospitals, the few that existed, did not have the modern medicine and technology we have today. But by the time the procedure became safer, abortions had been banned.
The vast majority of women who needed abortions had no choice but to get them from illegal practitioners who didn’t have the resources to perform the procedure safely or to perform them themselves using things like coat hangars. The "back alley" abortion remained a dangerous, often deadly procedure, while areas of legally sanctioned medicine improved dramatically.
But, criminalization of abortion did not reduce the numbers of women who sought abortions. In the years before Roe v. Wade, the estimates of illegal abortions ranged as high as 1.2 million per year. Although accurate records could not be kept, it is known that between the 1880s and 1973, many thousands of women were harmed as a result of illegal abortion.
However, the rate of abortions did start to decline toward the middle of the twentieth century when doctors’ reputations were at risk if they performed abortions.

Liberalization of Abortion Laws
Between 1967 and 1973 one-third of the states liberalized or repealed their criminal abortion laws. However, the right to have an abortion in all states was only made available to American women in 1973 when the Supreme Court struck down the remaining restrictive state laws with its ruling in Roe v. Wade.

Roe v. Wade
The 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade made it possible for women to get safe, legal abortions from well-trained medical practitioners. This led to dramatic decreases in pregnancy-related injury and death.
The Roe case arose out of a Texas law that prohibited legal abortion except to save a woman's life. At that time, most other states had laws similar to the one in Texas. Those laws forced large numbers of women to resort to illegal abortions.
Jane Roe, a 21-year-old pregnant woman, represented all women who wanted abortions but could not get them legally and safely. Henry Wade was the Texas Attorney General who defended the law that made abortions illegal.
After hearing the case, the Supreme Court ruled that Americans' right to privacy included the right of a woman to decide whether to have children, and the right of a woman and her doctor to make that decision without state interference.

After Roe v. Wade
The reaction to Roe was swift. Supporters of legal abortion rejoiced and generally felt their battle was won. However, others faulted the Court for the decision. Those opposed to legal abortion immediately began working to prevent any federal or state funding for abortion and to undermine or limit the effect of the decision.
Some turned to measures directly aimed at disrupting clinics where abortions were being performed. Their tactics have included demonstrating in front of abortion clinics, harassing people trying to enter, vandalizing clinic property, and blocking access to clinics.
As time passed, the level of anti-abortion violence escalated. Increasingly, clinic bombings, physical attacks, and even murders endanger abortion providers and create a hostile environment for women seeking abortions.

Retreat from Roe v. Wade
In recent years the Supreme Court has begun to allow more restrictions on abortion.
For instance, the Supreme Court's ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992 established that states can restrict abortions during the third trimester of pregnancy. Restrictions can also be placed on first trimester abortions in ways that are not medically necessary, as long as the restrictions do not place an "undue burden" on women seeking abortion services.
Many states now have restrictions in place such as parental involvement, mandatory waiting periods, and biased counseling. Only the requirement that a woman involve her spouse in her decision was disallowed.

A Timeline of Reproductive Rights:

1821	1860	1965	1967	1970	1972	1973	1976
Connecticut passes the first law in the United States barring abortions after "quickening."	Twenty states have laws limiting abortion.	Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court decision strikes down a state law that prohibited giving married people information, instruction, or medical advice on contraception	Colorado is the first state to liberalize its abortion laws.	Alaska, Hawaii, New York, and Washington liberalize abortion laws, making abortion available at the request of a woman and her doctor.	Eisenstadt v. Baird Supreme Court decision establishes the right of unmarried people to use contraceptives.	Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision strikes down state laws that made abortion illegal.	Congress adopts the first Hyde Amendment barring the use of federal Medicaid funds to provide abortions to low-income women.
1977	1991	1992	1994	2000	2000	2003	2004
A revised Hyde Amendment is passed allowing states to deny Medicaid funding except in cases of rape, incest, or "severe and long-lasting" damage to the woman's physical health.	Rust v. Sullivan upholds the constitutionality of the 1988 "gag rule" which prohibits doctors and counselors at clinics which receive federal funding from providing their patients with information about and referrals for abortion.	.Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey reaffirms the "core" holdings of Roe that women have a right to abortion before fetal viability, but allows states to restrict abortion access so long as these restrictions do not impose an "undue burden" on women seeking abortions.	Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act is passed by Congress with a large majority in response to the murder of Dr. David Gunn. The FACE Act forbids the use of "force, threat of force or physical obstruction" to prevent someone from providing or receiving reproductive health services. The law also provides for both criminal and civil penalties for those who break the law.	Stenberg v. Carhart rules that the Nebraska statute banning so-called "partial-birth abortion" is unconstitutional for two independent reasons: the statute lacks the necessary exception for preserving the health of the woman, and the definition of the targeted procedures is so broad as to prohibit abortions in the second trimester, thereby being an "undue burden" on women. This effectively invalidates 29 of 31 similar statewide bans.	Food and Drug Administration approves mifepristone (RU-486) as an option in abortion care for very early pregnancy.	A federal ban on abortion procedures is passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. The National Abortion Federation immediately challenges the law in court and is successful in blocking enforcement of the law for its members.	NAF wins lawsuit against federal abortion ban. Justice Department appeals rulings by three trial courts against ban.

Contact Info: msanders@mtholyoke.edu