The women of the old century who wanted a right to their own bodies were my forefathers. Abortion is the most talked-about thing in this century, but does it know how we use and enforce abortion laws? Since colonial times and the first set of laws, abortion has been included in the daily life of women. The history of abortion itself is very ancient, and according to common law, it is allowed before the "fetal movement ". Stricter anti-abortion laws had passed in the 1860s, and it was at this point that many women were found to be using illegal underground abortion services. Anti-abortion laws were only passed in many states during the 1960s; however, the laws were so vague that it was hard to enforce them. Abortion laws in our history have treated enslaved black women differently from the white ones. Slaves, being black women, were not given any freedom to control their bodies since slave owners prohibited abortions at all costs. Even with the abolition of slavery in 1865, there was still hostility towards black women: society still condemned and punished black women for having children and for aborting. Because everything they planned and did with their bodies was considered wrong. …show more content…
Beginning with the South African War, the coalition of male doctors wanting along with people wanting to control women's bodies, began to push for state laws around the world to enact abortion. The male medical profession wanted rights; women had to dominate the midwife profession in providing abortions. In 1910, anti-abortion laws were being tightly enforced across the country. Most police were men, and their investigations would degradingly humiliate women. Many of the women who were afraid of criminal charges tried many dangerous methods to self-abort that would put them in life endangerment situations, forcing them to go to the hospital, and patients might be reported to the