Mary Ziegler, author of several books on the history of abortion (and a critic of the draft decision), said this part was correct. But opinion, she and others say, underestimates the fact that for most of the first 100 years of American history, early abortions – before the “acceleration” of the fetus (generally defined as the moment when fetal movements can be detected) – were not illegal. .
This is the argument made in the historians’ summary, which outlines the history of abortion regulation until 1866. For decades after the founding of the United States, common law did not regulate abortion or even recognize that abortion occurs at this early stage. “This is because common law does not even recognize that the fetus exists separately from a pregnant woman” before it accelerated, historians say.
The main historical statements in Roe “were correct”, the summary says, “and remain so today”.
Leslie J. Reagan, author of When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867-1973, said in an interview that abortion was common in the early 19th century, perhaps even more so than Rowe depicted.
And the regulation was based on women’s own experience, because they were the ones who would know when the “acceleration” came. Even before the “acceleration”, Professor Reagan said, taking medication or other treatments was not even considered an abortion, but an “attempt to get your period back” – the menstrual period – a “return”.
“After the acceleration, it was against the law and was considered immoral,” she said. “After accelerating, the women themselves stop trying to get their periods back. It was considered life. “
Judge Alito’s sources
Although the draft refers to historians’ summaries, it relies heavily on other sources, including Dispelling Myths About the History of Abortion, a 2006 book by Joseph W. Delapena that challenges Judge Blackman’s historical arguments. in Roe.
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