History of Abortion

  • Connecticut passes first law in the US barring abortions after “quickening.”

  • 20 states have laws limiting abortion

  • Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court decision creates state law that prohibits married people info, instruction, or medical advice on contraception.

  • Colorado is the first state to liberalize its abortion laws.

  • Alaska, Hawaii, New York, and Washington get rid of its abortion laws, making abortion available to anyone.

  • Eisenstadt v. Baird Supreme Court decision makes the right of unmarried people to use contraceptives.

  • Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision makes abortion illegal

  • Congress takes on the first Hyde Amendment barring the use of federal medicaid funds to provide abortions to low-income women.

  • A revised Hyde Amendment is passed allowing states to deny Medicaid funding in certain situations.

  • Rust v. Sullivan upholds the "gag rule" from 1988, prohibiting doctors with federal funding from providing their patients info on abortions.

  • A planned parenthood case in Pennsylcania reaffirms that women have a right to abortion before fetal viability, but allows states to restrict abortion access.

  • The FACE Act forbids the use of "Force, threat of force or physical obstruction" to prevent someone form giving or taking reproductive health services.

  • Stenberg v. Carhart case rules that the Nebraska Statue banning ("partial-birth abortion) is unconstitutional and is an undue burden on women.

  • Food and Drug Administration approves mifepristone as an option in abortion care for early pregnancy.

  • A federal ban on abortion procedures is passed and signed by President Bush into law. The NAF challenges the law and is sucessful in blocking enforcement.

  • NAF wins lawsuit against federal abortion ban and the Justice Department appeals rulings by three trial courts against ban.