Abortion may be the most contentious topic we face in this year’s election. Pro-life and Pro-Choice have dug into their respective positions. Many will be voting for their candidate based on this one issue alone. For a better understanding we will take a Side Eye look at the brief history of abortion in America, and the unexpected effects associated with legal abortions and total bans. We will not be debating the moral issues related to abortion. Instead, we will be looking at abortion laws and their effectiveness in moving the needle on the numbers of abortions performed and what is gained or lost when selecting a candidate based solely on this issue.
From the very beginning of the American colonies and continuing until the 1860’s abortions were performed in America on a regular basis, mostly by midwives[1]. It wasn’t until the 1860’s that anti-abortion laws began to spread across Americas states and territories. By the early 20th century abortions were illegal in almost every state in the union[2]. There are multiple opinions for the ignition point that transformed societies acceptance of abortion. Some suggest it was the newly formed AMA in their quest to control everything medical and others sighting the instructions contained in the Bible, but in any event, the seed was sown for a change. When we look at the anti-abortion movement in relation to the years 1800 – 1868, one thing stands out, the anti-abortion issue was addressing only the white population. The black population at this time continued to suffer from involuntary sexual reproduction, often by means of rape by their owners. Three years after the AMA started their push to ban abortions in 1857, the last slave ship arrived in America[3]. Slaves made up the majority population in southern states, and for several hundred years had no control regarding any aspect of their lives and especially over their reproductive rights. Thomas Jefferson once penned the importance this commodity, “I know no error more consuming to an estate than that of stocking farms with men almost exclusively. I consider a woman who brings a child every two years as more profitable than the best man of the farm. [W]hat she produces is an addition to the capital, while his labors disappear in mere consumption” [4]. Without the resupply of human souls via slave ships this evil practice exploded exponentially and continued until the end of the civil war. In the Jim Crow south, from the end of reconstruction through the first half of the 20th century, the abortion ban only magnified rape or the threat of rape against the black community as a form of domestic terrorism employed by the KKK. Forcing a rape victim to carry the child of the rapist or seek out an illegal abortion with all its own risks. One of the law’s unintended consequences.
The next big event regarding abortion occurred after the end of WWII. Returning soldiers began retaking their jobs that had been filled by women during the war. Male insecurity or coincidence, enforcement of the abortion band gained momentum. Women were expected to retake their traditional roles, aka “bare foot and pregnant”. An example of the struggles women faced to secure basic reproductive rights can be seen in the 1965 court case, Griswold v. Connecticut (Griswold),[5] that finally and completely rolled back state and local laws that had outlawed the use of contraception by married couples. During the abortion ban of the 1950’s and 60’s 1.2 million illegal abortions were performed yearly[7]. On par with the totals of the last few years of Roe vs Wade, with one major exception, 17% of pregnancy deaths were attributed to illegal abortions. Another unintended consequence of the abortion law.
Late 60’s and 70’s women began taking control of their future, bodies, and reproductive rights. Several lawsuits filed by women precluded the 1973 Roe vs Wade decision. With legal abortion women were no longer sidelined by an unwanted pregnancy. Able to move up the career ladder and support themselves financially. During the 80’s and 90’s abortion rose to its highest rate at more than 1.5 million per year. Then began a steady decline to the current rate of just under one million per year,[7] on par with the yearly totals of the 1950-60 numbers when abortion was illegal. This extreme rise was yet another unintended consequence of the abortion law. The steady decline in the abortion rate over the past 35 years corresponds directly with the availability of contraceptives[6] and sex education in schools.
Today we find ourselves in a post Roe vs Wade world where states are voting on their individual abortion restrictions. This single issue has many voters supporting a flawed leader as a means to an end. Their “quid pro quo” is unwavering support in return for a total abortion ban without exceptions. When we look at the ineffectiveness of an abortion ban, I fear they have sacrificed so much for so little.
Summary;
Laws making abortion illegal have fared no better than laws against robbery, auto theft, or murder. History shows that when abortion was illegal, in the 50’s and 60’s, it was still performed at yearly rates equivalent to the last years of Roe vs Wade. There is a far greater chance of reducing unwanted pregnancies and in turn abortions by expanding support for women before and after a birth, making contraceptives easily available, and continued sex education in schools. We can see its success with the steady (40%) decline in the abortion rate beginning in the 90’s. As contraception usage and sex education increased abortions decreased. If reelected, the previous administration, has promised further cuts to women’s health services, cuts to sex education in schools, and reduced access to medical insurance (eliminating the ACA) and has alluded to the possibility of banning all contraceptives. This will exponentially exacerbate the illegal abortion crisis.
1,2 A Brief History of Abortion in the U.S. | Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine
3 The ‘Clotilda,’ the Last Known Slave Ship to Arrive in the U.S., Is Found | Smithsonian
5 Griswold v. Connecticut | 381 U.S. 479 (1965) | Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center
6 Pill-History-FactSheet_June2015_r1.indd
7 What the data says about abortion in the U.S. | Pew Research Center
One thought on “Abortion Laws and Their Unintended Consequences”
You pointed out some interesting aspects of issues surrounding the evolution of the perspectives on abortion in the U.S. As we are finding out, simply establishing a law to control perceived inappropriate behaviors, fails to get to the root of the issue and fails to establish an individual understanding and a societal focus on the cause of the generate behaviors leading to uniformed decision making. Abortion is a prime example of diverse attitudes and prospectives towards a concern that has changed over time. I wasn’t aware that America’s first anti-abortion movement was motivated by the American Medical Association that wanted to authenticate the association as a viable entity to establish credibility for the medical profession. So, from that point on the rhetoric and ever changing efforts at control of abortions has fluctuated to the current environment where abortion has become emotionally packed political rhetoric. What actions do you perceive could be taken to stop the shifting tide on the topic and move to a focus on the health and welfare of all women, including the under privileged and the underserved?
Comments are closed.