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Re: History of abortion law
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you're welcome Nic. I thought it was interesting too. maybe because I'm an old history teacher who just likes history to demonstrate the complexity of issues.
The following was a surprise though, because Poland is such a strong Catholic country. In the 1980's Catholic churches displayed powerful, impressive photos of mangled fetuses inside the church in its campaign against abortion. Something one does not forget.
I'm wondering what the real reason was for this 1932 law or if it was still in effect by the 1980's.
legalized abortion in cases of rape and threat to maternal health.[77]"
Ray
Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation rbrown@xxxxxxxxx
-------------------------------------------------- From: "Nic Marais" <marais.nic@xxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, June 05, 2009 12:17 AM To: <PARKINSN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: Re: History of abortion law
Ray,
Thanks for a very interesting mail. It really emphasizes how complicated and sensitive this issue is!!
Nic 57/15
On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 10:03 AM, rayilynlee <rayilynlee@xxxxxxx> wrote:
[edit] Legal: History of abortion law See also: Timeline of reproductive rights legislation and Abortion law The history of abortion law dates back to ancient times and has impacted men and women in a variety of ways in different times and places. The Code of Hammurabi, which was promulgated ca. 1760 BC, contains the earliest known laws about abortion. The code required monetary compensation for causing a woman to miscarry.[69][70] While laws regulating acceptable forms of abortion were found with the Romans, widespread regulation to have an abortion did not begin until the 13th century.[citation needed]
There were no laws against abortion in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire, as Roman law did not regard a fetus as distinct from the woman's body, and abortion was not infrequently practiced to control family size, to maintain one's physical appearance, or because of adultery. In 211 AD, at the intersection of the reigns of Septimius Severus and Caracalla, abortion was outlawed for a period of time as violating the rights of parents, punishable by temporary exile.[55] However, late Roman legislation is generally derived from a concern for population growth, and not as an issue of morality.[citation needed]
Historically, it is unclear how often the ethics of abortion (induced abortion) was discussed, but widespread regulation did not begin until the 18th century. One factor in abortion restrictions was a socio-economic struggle between male physicians and female mid-wives.[citation needed] In the 18th century, English and American common law allowed abortion if performed before "quickening." By the late 19th century many nations had passed laws that banned abortion. In the later half of the 20th century most Western nations began to legalize abortion.[citation needed]
According to English common law, abortion after fetal movement or "quickening" was punishable as homicide, and abortion was also punishable "if the foetus is already formed" but not yet quickened, according to Henry Bracton.[71]
[edit] 17th century to 19th century a.. 1765 - Post-quickening abortion was no longer considered homicide in England, but William Blackstone called it "a very heinous misdemeanor".[72] b.. 1803 - United Kingdom enacts the Malicious Shooting or Stabbing Act 1803, making abortion after quickening a capital crime, and providing lesser penalties for the felony of abortion before quickening.[73] c.. 1821 - Connecticut passes first statute that forbids using poison to induce miscarriages.[74] d.. 1842 - The Shogunate in Japan bans induced abortion in Edo. The law does not affect the rest of the country.[25] e.. 1861 - The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Offences against the Person Act 1861 which outlaws abortion.[citation needed] f.. 1869 - Pope Pius IX declared that abortion under any circumstance was gravely immoral (mortal sin), and, that anyone who participated in an abortion in any material way had by virtue of that act excommunicated themselves from the Church. In the same year, the Parliament of Canada unifies criminal law in all provinces, banning abortion.[citation needed] g.. 1873 - The passage of the Comstock Law in the United States makes it a crime to sell, distribute, or own abortion-related products and services, or to publish information on how to obtain them (see advertisement of abortion services).[citation needed] h.. 1820-1900 - Primarily through the efforts of physicians in the American Medical Association and legislators, most abortions in the U.S. were outlawed.[75]
[edit] 1920s to 1960s a.. 1920 - Lenin legalized all abortions in the Soviet Union.[76] b.. 1931 - Mexico as first country in the world legalized abortion in case of rape.[citation needed] c.. 1932 - Poland as first country in Europe outside Soviet Union legalized abortion in cases of rape and threat to maternal health.[77] d.. 1935 - Iceland became the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion under limited circumstances.[citation needed] e.. 1935 - Nazi Germany amended its eugenics law, to promote abortion for women who have hereditary disorders.[78] The law allowed abortion if a woman gave her permission, and if the fetus was not yet viable,[79][80] and for purposes of so-called racial hygiene.[81][82] f.. 1936 - Joseph Stalin reversed most parts of Lenin's legalization of abortion in the Soviet Union to increase population growth. Stalin's reversal was repealed in 1955.[83] g.. 1936 - Heinrich Himmler, Chief of the SS, creates the "Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion". Himmler, inspired by bureaucrats of the Race and Settlement Main Office, hoped to reverse a decline in the "Aryan" birthrate which he attributed to homosexuality among men and abortions among healthy Aryan women,[84] which were not allowed under the 1935 law, but nevertheless practiced. Reich Secretary Martin Bormann however refused to implement law in this respect, which would revert the 1935 law.[citation needed] h.. 1938 - In Britain, Dr. Aleck Bourne aborted the pregnancy of a young girl who had been raped by soldiers. Bourne was acquitted after turning himself into authorities. The legal precedent of allowing abortion in order to avoid mental or physical damage was picked up by the Commonwealth of Nations.[citation needed] i.. 1938 - Abortion legalized on a limited basis in Sweden.[citation needed] j.. 1948 - The Eugenic Protection Act in Japan expanded the circumstances in which abortion is allowed.[85] k.. 1959 - The American Law Institute drafts a model state abortion law to make legal abortions accessible.[74] l.. 1961 - California state legislature introduces an abortion reform law based on the American Law Institute model.[74] m.. 1966 - Mississippi reformed its abortion law and became the first U.S. state to allow abortion in cases of rape.[citation needed] n.. 1967 - The Abortion Act (effective 1968) legalized abortion in the United Kingdom (except in Northern Ireland). In the U.S., Colorado, California, and North Carolina reformed their abortion laws based on the 1962 ALI Model Penal Code (MPC). o.. 1967-1970 - Colorado becomes first state to loosen its abortion laws followed by Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia.[74] p.. 1968 - President Lyndon Johnson's Committee on The Status of Women releases a report calling for a repeal of all abortion laws.[74] q.. 1969 - Canada passed the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968-69, which began to allow abortion for selective reasons.[citation needed] r.. 1969 - Senator Robert Packwood of Oregon introduces legislation to legalize abortion in Washington D.C.; no action is taken.[74] s.. 1969 - The ruling in the Victorian case of R v Davidson defined for the first time which abortions are lawful in Australia.[citation needed] t.. 1969-1973 - The Jane Collective operated in Chicago, offering illegal abortions.[citation needed]
[edit] 1970s to present a.. 1970-1970 - Hawaii, New York, Alaska, Washington and Florida repealed their abortion laws and allowed abortion on demand; South Carolina and Virginia reformed their abortion laws based on the Model Penal Code.[citation needed] b.. 1971 - The Indian Parliament under the Prime Ministership of a lady Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, passes Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 (more commonly referred to as simply MTP Act 1971). India thus becomes one of the earliest nations to pass this Act. The Act gains importance, considering India had traditionally been a very conservative country in these matters. Most notably there was no similar Act in several US states around the same time.[86] c.. 1973 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in Roe v. Wade, declared all the individual state bans on abortion during the first trimester to be unconstitutional, allowed states to regulate but not proscribe abortion during the second trimester, and allowed states to proscribe abortion during the third trimester unless abortion is in the best interest of the woman's physical or mental health. The Court legalized abortion in all trimesters when a woman's doctor believes the abortion is necessary for her physical or mental health.[citation needed] d.. 1973-1980 - France (1975), West Germany (1976), New Zealand (1977), Italy (1978), and the Netherlands (1980) legalized abortion in limited circumstances.[citation needed] e.. 1976-1977 - Senator Harry Hyde of Illinois sponsors the Hyde Amendment, which passes, allows states to prohibit the use of Medicaid funding for abortions.[74] f.. 1979 - The People's Republic of China enacted a one-child policy, leaving some women to either undergo an abortion or violate the policy and face economic penalties in some circumstances.[citation needed] g.. 1983 - Ireland, by popular referendum, added an amendment to its Constitution recognizing "the right to life of the unborn." Abortion is still illegal in Ireland, except as urgent medical procedures to save a woman's life.[citation needed] h.. 1988 - France legalized the "abortion pill" mifepristone (RU-486). In R. v. Morgentaler, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down regulations of abortion for violating a woman's constitutional "security of person"; Canadian law has not regulated abortion ever since.[citation needed] i.. 1989 - Webster v. Reproductive Health Services reinforces the state's right to prevent all publicly funded facilities from providing or assisting with abortion services.[74] j.. 1990 - The Abortion Act in the UK was amended so that abortion is legal only up to 24 weeks, rather than 28, except in unusual cases.[citation needed] k.. 1992 - In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the trimester framework in Roe v. Wade, making it legal for states to proscribe abortion after the point of fetal viability, excepting instances that would risk the woman's health.[citation needed] l.. 1993 - Poland banned abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, severe congenital disorders, or threat to the life of the pregnant woman.[citation needed] m.. 1994 - Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act is passed by the United States Congress to forbid the use of force or obstruction to prevent someone from providing or receiving reproductive health services.[74] n.. 1996 - Republic of South Africa the 'Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act 92 of 1996' comes into effect (Repealing the 'Abortion and Sterilization Act 2 of 1975' which only allowed abortions in certain circumstances) lawfully permitting abortions by choice. Act is often challenged in Court.[citation needed] o.. 1998 - Republic of South Africa the abortion question is finally answered when the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court of South Africa in Christian Lawyers Association and Others v Minister of Health and Others held that abortions are legal in terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.[87] p.. 1999 - The United States Congress passed a ban on intact dilation and extraction, which President Bill Clinton vetoed. q.. 2000 - Mifepristone (RU-486) approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In Stenberg v. Carhart, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned a Nebraska state law that banned intact dilation and extraction.[citation needed] r.. 2003 - The U.S. enacted the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and President George W. Bush signed it into law. After the law was challenged in three appeals courts, the U.S. Supreme Court held that it was constitutional because, unlike the earlier Nebraska state law, it was not vague or overly broad. The court also held that banning the procedure did not constitute an "undue burden," even without a health exception.[citation needed] (see also: Gonzales v. Carhart) s.. 2007 - Supreme Court upholds the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.[74] t.. 2007 - The Parliament of Portugal voted to legalize abortion during the first ten weeks of pregnancy. This followed a referendum that, while revealing that a majority of Portuguese voters favored legalization of early-stage abortions, failed due to low voter turnout. Although, at the 2nd referendum, the vote for the legalization won. President Cavaco Silva signed the measure and it went on effect.[88] u.. 2007 - The government of Mexico City legalizes abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and offers free abortions. On August 28, 2008, the Mexican Supreme Court upholds the law.[89] v.. 2008 - The Australian state of Victoria passes a bill which decriminalizes abortion, making it legally accessible to women in the first 24 weeks of the pregnancy.[citation needed]
Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation rbrown@xxxxxxxxx
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