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1550
history
The first recorded evidence of induced abortion is from the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus in 1550 BCE. Many of the methods employed in early cultures were non-surgical. Physical activities such as: strenuous labor, climbing, paddling, weightlifting, or diving were a common technique. -
Important facts p1
In the 18th century and until about 1880, abortions were allowed under common law and widely practiced. They were illegal only after "quickening," the highly subjective term used to describe when pregnant women could feel the fetus moving, Reagan said.
"At conception and the earliest stage of pregnancy, before quickening, no one believed that a human life existed; not even the Catholic Church took this view," Reagan wrote... -
important facts p2
"Rather, the popular ethic regarding abortion and common law were grounded in the female experience of their own bodies."
Though it is considered taboo in Christian traditions, until the mid-19th century, "the Catholic Church implicitly accepted early abortions prior to ensoulment," she explained. "Not until 1869, at about the same time that abortion became politicized in this country, did the church condemn abortion; -
abortion
Abortions became illegal by statute in Britain in 1803 with Lord Ellenborough's Act. Various anti-abortion statutes that codified or expanded common law began to appear in the United States in the 1820s. -
History
The practice of abortion—the termination of a pregnancy—has been known since ancient history. Various methods have been used to perform or attempt an abortion, including the administration of abortifacient herbs, the use of sharpened implements, the application of abdominal pressure, and other techniques. -
History
Abortion laws and their enforcement have fluctuated through various eras. In many western countries during the 20th century abortion-rights movements were successful in having abortion bans repealed. While abortion remains legal in most of the West, this legality is regularly challenged by anti-abortion groups. -
First outlawed
Abortions became illegal by statute in Britain in 1803 with Lord Ellenborough's Act. Various anti-abortion statutes that codified or expanded common law began to appear in the United States in the 1820s. -
legal
Abortion was not just legal—it was a safe, condoned, and practiced procedure in colonial America and common enough to appear in the legal and medical records of the period. Official abortion laws did not appear on the books in the United States until 1821, and abortion before quickening did not become illegal until the 1860s. If a woman living in New England in the 17th or 18th centuries wanted an abortion, no legal, social, or religious force would have stopped her. -
important facts p3
1895, it condemned therapeutic abortion," meaning procedures to save a woman's life.
Abortions would become criminalized by 1880, except when necessary to save a woman's life, not at the urging of social or religious conservatives but under pressure from the medical establishment -- and the very organization that today speaks out in support of abortion access, Reagan explained. -
countries made it legal
Wade – the U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion nationwide), Tunisia (1973), Denmark (1973), Austria (1974), France (1975), Sweden (1975), New Zealand (1977), Italy (1978), the Netherlands (1980), and Belgium (1990). -
brought into hospitals
There was a time when abortion was simply part of life in the United States. People didn't scream about it in protest, and services were marketed openly.
In Latin America, requests for abortions rise as Zika spreads
In Latin America, requests for abortions rise as Zika spreads
Drugs to induce abortions were a booming business. -
brought into hospitals p2
They were advertised in newspapers and could be bought from pharmacists, from physicians and even through the mail. If drugs didn't work, women could visit practitioners for instrumental procedures.
The earliest efforts to govern abortions centered on concerns about poisoning, not morality, religion or politics. It was the mid-19th century, long before abortion became the hot-button issue it is now. -
Depression
Even after abortions became illegal, women continued to have them; they just weren't advertised the same way. Practitioners did their work behind closed doors or in private homes. Or women without means resorted to desperate -- and often dangerous or deadly -- measures. At times, abortion rates increased in the face of the law. The Depression was a perfect example. -
Economic issue
At times, abortion rates increased in the face of the law. The Depression was a perfect example. Specialists passed out business cards and opened up clinics, Reagan explained In the 1950s and 1960s, the estimated number of illegal abortions ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year. Inspired by the civil rights and anti-war movements, the women's liberation movement gained steam in the 1960s -- and reproductive rights took center stage. -
Supreme Court
)n Monday, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, which has been called the biggest abortion case to hit the high court in two decades. In a 5-3 ruling, the high court struck down a controversial Texas abortion law, giving a victory to abortion rights groups. But it came as many states have clamored to ramp up abortion restrictions.
How Ruth Bader Ginsburg steered the court on Texas' abortion law -
supreme court p2
How Ruth Bader Ginsburg steered the court on Texas' abortion law
Since 1973, when Roe v. Wade legalized abortion across the United States, states have enacted more than 1,074 laws to limit access to the procedure, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive rights organization. More than a quarter of these laws passed between 2010 and 2015. -
Protests
Abortion has been one of the most contentious and volatile issues in the United States, igniting public protest for and against it. While Roe v. Wade protects the right of women to seek an abortion, the First Amendment protects the rights of abortion opponents to challenge the Supreme Court’s decision. 5,000 people, women and men,... -
protest p2
... march around the Minnesota Capitol building protesting the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, ruling against state laws that criminalize abortion, in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jan. 22, 1973. The marchers formed a "ring of life" around the building. (AP Photo, used with permission from the Associated Press) -
Abortion Act
Changes to the Abortion Act 1967 were introduced in Parliament through the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The time limits were lowered from 28 to 24 weeks for most cases on the grounds that medical technology had advanced sufficiently to justify the change. -
Issue #5
The vast majority of Americans expect abortion to remain at least mostly legal in the U.S. A survey conducted in December 2018 asked Americans what they think the status of abortion laws in the country will be in 2050; about three-quarters said it will either be legal with no restrictions (22%) or legal with some restrictions (55%). Far fewer said it will be illegal except in certain cases (16%) or illegal with no exceptions (5%). -
issues #1
About six-in-ten U.S. adults (61%) said in a 2019 survey that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared with 38% said it should be illegal all or most of the time. Americans are more likely than not to leave room for exceptions, more saying abortion should be legal or illegal most of the time rather than always. Public support for legal abortion remains as high as it has been in two decades of polling, and there is virtually no difference between the views of men and women. -
issue #2
There is a substantial and growing partisan divide on abortion, with Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party much more likely than Republicans and GOP leaners to support legal abortion in all or most cases (82% vs. 36%).Protestants (77%) say abortion should be illegal Americans (83%) take the opposing view, saying that abortion should be mostly or entirely legal. -
Issue #3
When it comes to the Supreme Court’s 1973 landmark abortion ruling, seven-in-ten Americans (70%) in the 2019 survey said Roe v. Wade should not be completely overturned. Again, Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to hold this view and are roughly evenly divided, with 50% saying they do not want to see Roe v. Wade completely overturned and 48% saying they would like the decision tossed out. Overall, similar majorities of women (70%) and men (69%) do not want Roe v. Wade overturned. -
issue #4
In a December 2017 survey, roughly half of Americans (48%) said having an abortion is morally wrong, while 20% said they think it is morally acceptable and 31% said it is not a moral issue. These views also differed by religious affiliation: About three-quarters of evangelical Protestants (77%) said having an abortion is morally wrong, but just 24% of religiously unaffiliated people agreed. -
Summary p2
Almost every one of these deaths and disabilities could have been prevented through sexuality education, family planning, and the provision of safe, legal induced abortion and care for complications of abortion. In nearly all developed countries, safe abortions are legally available upon request or under broad social and economic grounds. -
Summary p1
Over the past two decades, the health evidence, technologies and human rights rationale for providing safe, comprehensive abortion care have evolved greatly. Despite these advances, an estimated 22 million abortions continue to be performed unsafely each year, resulting in the death of an estimated 47 000 women and disabilities for an additional 5 million women -
Summary p3
Services are generally easily accessible and available. In countries where induced abortion is legally highly restricted and/or unavailable, safe abortion has frequently become the privilege of the rich, while poor women have little choice but to resort to unsafe providers, causing deaths and morbidities that become the social and financial responsibility of the public health system. -
Importance
A woman should have the choice to carry a pregnancy to term or not;
Abortion services should be part of a comprehensive sexual health programm. Lack of funding and illegality do not reduce the number of abortions, they only serve to put the woman's health in danger. abortion is a way for an individual woman to correct a mistake that she and her partner have made and avoid an otherwise unavoidable future & it is part of our further social evolution towards equality.
