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Criminalization and Vilification
-By 1880, all states had laws to restrict abortion — with exceptions in some states if a doctor said the abortion was needed to save the life or health of the patient, or for therapeutic reasons. -As abortion became criminalized, the stigma surrounding it grew. -
Abortion Bans Nationwide
-By 1910, abortion was not only restricted but outright illegal at every stage in pregnancy in every state in the country. These abortion bans had some exceptions in instances to save the patient’s life — a decision that only doctors, 95% of whom were men, had the power to make. -
Deaths from Illegal, Unsafe Abortions
-Criminalizing abortion sent the practice underground, which resulted in a high death toll. -
Thalidomide
In the late 1950s and early ’60s, thousands of pregnant women took a drug called thalidomide to ease pregnancy symptoms. The problem: It was found to cause severe birth defects. -
Conference on Abortion Legalization
-In response to increasingly alarming media coverage of unsafe, illegal abortions, Planned Parenthood held a first-of-its-kind conference on the issue of abortion. -The doctors who attended the national conference on abortion made the bold move to publicly call for abortion law reform. -
Abortion Reform
By the late 1960s, a nationwide effort was underway to reform abortion laws in nearly every state. -
Association for the Study of Abortion (ASA)
-In 1964, abortion law reform activists registered their first national group: the Association for the Study of Abortion (ASA) -Planned Parenthood joined doctors and laypeople leading the ASA in advocating for abortion law reforms and for studies that would advance abortion procedure safety. -
NARAL Established
-The National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL) was established in Chicago at the First National Conference on Abortion Laws. -NARAL was the first national group created solely to campaign for the legalization of abortion, marking the start of direct action to repeal abortion bans. -
Legal Abortion in New York
In 1970, New York state legalized abortion. One day after that law took effect, a Planned Parenthood health center in Syracuse became the the first Planned Parenthood health center to provide abortion services, and the first free-standing abortion center nationwide. -
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade protected the right to abortion in all 50 states, making abortion services safer and more accessible throughout the country. The decision also set a legal precedent that affected dozens of subsequent Supreme Court cases.