Roe v Wade Understanding Case law / Common law

Before Roe  Until 1973, the pre-born baby was protected by American law.

History  In the years prior to and immediately after the American Revolution, colonists and citizens followed the rule of law brought by British settlers, the "common law."  Rather than being a code of statutes passed by a legislature and printed in a book, the common law was a set of legal standards established in England through court decisions and legal custom.

The History  According to Sir William Blackstone, the renowned 18th century English jurist, under common law, the abortion of a 'quickened' fetus was a 'very heinous misdemeanor  At that time the penalty for misdemeanors could be severe; loss of a limb, confiscation of property or life in prison.

The law  The first US law against abortion, adopted by Connecticut in 1821, criminalized the administration of poison or of any "destructive substance" to induce a miscarriage.  It applied only to cases where the baby had "quickened."

Protecting the unborn  In 1840, however, Maine became the first state to pass a law that expressly protected all babies, "quick or not."

AMA  In the mid-19th century, the newly formed American Medical Association undertook to organize physicians and medical societies in support of laws against abortion.

Abortion laws passed in many states  In the 20 years following this AMA report, aided by lobbying from the medical profession, 31 states passed or amended their laws on abortion to protect pre-term infants at all stages of gestation.

More laws  By 1910, every state except Kentucky had passed an anti- abortion law  Kentucky's courts had declared abortion at any stage of  gestation to be illegal  By 1967, not much had changed. In 49 states, abortion was a felony; in New Jersey, it was a high misdemeanor.  Furthermore, 29 states banned abortion advertising, and many outlawed the manufacture or distribution of abortifacients.

The tide changes  In 1967, though, state abortion laws began to change, but only after years of organized campaigns by pro-abortion forces.  The American Law Institute (ALI) proposed, in its 1959 model criminal code for all the states, a "reform" abortion law. The model bill, approved by ALI in 1962, declared that abortion should be permitted for the physical or mental health of the mother, for fetal abnormality, and for rape or incest.  That same year, Colorado, North Carolina, and California became the first states to adopt versions of the ALI "reform" abortion law. By  1970, though, four states - New York, Alaska, Hawaii and Washington passed laws that basically allowed abortion on demand.  Of those four, New York's was the only law without a residency requirement and the state quickly became the nation's abortion capital.

The change  the Supreme Court handed down Roe vs Wade in January  With one judicial stroke, over 200 years of legal protection for the unborn was rendered null and void.  For the first time in American history, abortion was the "law of the land".