Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019 Reproductive Health, Gender, & Power

Timeline of Abortion Law in the United States


1600s to 1800s – Abortion is legal and widely practiced

Abortions occurred unregulated until the 1800s and were widely available to purchase from pharmacists and midwives.1

1821 – Connecticut enacts first antiabortion law

Connecticut prohibits abortion after “quickening,” the point at which the mother begins feeling fetus movement in her womb usually after the fourth month of pregnancy. The law forbids pregnant women to use “poison” to induce miscarriage.2

1847 – American Medical Association launches national abortion criminalization campaign

Founded in 1847, the American Medical Association, a professional association of doctors and medical students, made outlawing abortion one of its top priorities.3 The AMA believed that abortion was not only immoral but also medically dangerous. The most significant consequence of this physician-led antiabortion campaign was a “century of criminalization” characterized by a flourishing market of unsafe and illegal “back alley” abortions.4 By 1880, all states had laws restricting abortion access, which became the norm until Roe v. Wade in 1973. The criminalization of abortion resulted in a high maternal mortality rate; 18% of maternal deaths recorded in 1930 were attributed to abortion.5

1873 – Comstock Act criminalizes contraception and abortifacients

The Comstock Act prohibits the publication, distribution, and possession of information pertaining to birth control and abortion– subjects considered “obscene, lewd or lascivious.” Violators of the Comstock Act risk up to five years of imprisonment and a $2,000 fine. Anthony Comstock, founder of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, lobbied Congress to adopt the bill in response to the proliferation of immoral publications in the 1870s.6

1962 – Thalidomide

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a drug called thalidomide was widely used to treat morning sickness in pregnant women, but it soon became apparent that it caused severe birth defects in thousands of children. The drug garnered greater attention for abortion law reform, especially after news broke that pregnant TV host Sherri Finkbine, who had taken thalidomide, traveled to Sweden to obtain an abortion. A 1962 Gallup poll revealed that Finkbine’s decision was supported by 52% of Americans.7

1973 – Roe v. Wade legalizes abortion

Norma McCorvey, aka “Jane Roe,” challenged a Texas law criminalizing abortion except in the case of threat to life to the woman. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that women have the right to abortion based on the due process clause of the 14th amendment. For the first time, the Court determined that the breadth of the constitutional right to privacy included a woman’s decision to terminate her pregnancy. The landmark decision protects the right to abortion for women in all 50 states.8

1976 – Hyde Amendment bans Medicaid-funded abortion

Congress enacts the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal dollars for abortion services except in cases of incest, rape, and severe damage to the mother’s physical health. As a result, abortion is made inaccessible to the 1 in 5 women of reproductive age on Medicaid. The Hyde Amendment, however, does not ban states from using their own funds to cover abortion for Medicaid enrollees; fifteen states currently allow for state funding of abortion, but most states still abide by the Hyde Amendment.9

1992 – Planned Parenthood v. Casey

In the case of a Pennsylvania law requiring spousal awareness for married women seeking abortions, the Supreme Court reaffirms Roe’s essential ruling regarding a constitutionally protected right to abortion. Although Casey blocks states from interfering with a woman’s choice to have an abortion, the ruling did introduce an “undue burden” clause requiring proof that laws have “the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle” on those seeking abortion. In response to Casey, numerous states passed abortion restrictions, such as mandatory 24-hour waiting periods and parental-consent laws, which courts have determined do not impose an undue burden.10

2007 – Gonzalez v. Planned Parenthood Federation of America

In deliberating the constitutionality of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which prohibits a certain method of second semester abortion, the Supreme Court determined that Congress’s ban on partial-birth abortion did not violate the undue burden clause. By upholding the first federal abortion criminalization legislation, the Supreme Court overruled a critical aspect of Roe prioritizing the patient’s health.11

2016 – Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt

The Supreme Court struck down two Texas abortion restrictions requiring abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges and abide to expensive building requirements. The Court ruled that these requirements constitute an undue burden on the constitutional right to abortion. 12

2020 – June Medical Services v. Russo

In a case very similar to Whole Woman’s Health, the Supreme Court determined the unconstitutionality of a Louisiana law requiring abortion doctors to hold admitting privileges at local hospitals.13

2021 – Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization

In May 2022, the Supreme Court accepted the Dobbs case, which focuses on the constitutionality of Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. The Supreme Court’s ruling on Dobbs is expected by June 2022. 14

Endnotes

  1. “U.S. Abortion History Timeline & Facts.” Eastside Gynecology. https://eastsidegynecology.com/blog/us-abortion-history-timeline/
  2. Ibid.
  3. “Historical Abortion Law Timeline: 1850 to Today.” Planned Parenthood Action Fund. https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/abortion/abortion-central-history-reproductive-health-care-america/historical-abortion-law-timeline-1850-today
  4. Joffe, C.E., T.A. Weitz, and C.L. Stacey. 2004. “Uneasy Allies: Pro-Choice Physicians, Feminist Health Activists and the Struggle for Abortion Rights.” In Sociology of Health & Illness , 775–96. https://sociology.ucdavis.edu/people/fzjoffe/pdf/uneasyalliesfinalinprint1.pdf
  5. Gold, Rachel Benson. 2003. “Lessons from Before Roe: Will Past Be Prologue?” Guttmacher Policy Review. March 1, 2003. https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2003/03/lessons-roe-will-past-be-prologue
  6. Burnette, Brandon R. n.d. “Comstock Act of 1873.” The First Amendment Encyclopedia. https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1038/comstock-act-of-1873
  7. Brenan, Megan. 2018. “Gallup Vault: Public Supported Therapeutic Abortion in 1962.” Gallup Vault. June 12, 2018.
  8. Roe v. Wade: Behind the Case That Established the Legal Right to Access Abortion.” Planned Parenthood Action Fund. https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/abortion/roe-v-wade/roe-v-wade-behind-case-established-legal-right-access-abortion
  9. “Hyde Amendment.” Planned Parenthood Action Fund. https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/abortion/federal-and-state-bans-and-restrictions-abortion/hyde-amendment
  10. “Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey.” Oyez. https://www.oyez.org/cases/1991/91-744
  11. “Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.” Oyez. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2006/05-1382
  12. “Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.” Oyez. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2015/15-274
  13. “June Medical Services LLC v. Russo.” Oyez. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2019/18-1323
  14. “Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.” Oyez. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/19-1392
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