When Abortion Was A Crime Summary

Reagan, Leslie J. When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867-1973. University of California Press, 2008.

According to Leslie Reagan, doctors and physicians have a saying in regulating abortion. Government forces doctors to report to police if any women came to them for abortion in the 1900s. The punishment for abortion in the 1900s were shame of public exposure and prison. The author talks about both the medicine involved in abortion, along with doctors, the government and how the regulation were set. The author said that the changes in medicine influenced what crime meant in abortion. Religion was also mentioned and that it came into place when issuing abortion. Christian and catholics are against abortion since antiquity and only accepted it once it became a life threat to a women. Abortion was never a crime in the 1800s and was only illegal after when a fetus is 4 months. Abortion became very popular and became part of a daily life. Many abortion in the 1800 and 1900 are perform to get profit.

This book resource is useful for answering the question of why abortion is a big deal. The author mentioned that many illegal abortion was performed because of money and profits. It can be used to write about the past and how regulation and restriction came into place with

Thus, both of the parties, the Democrats and the Republican make a strong view on an abortion in a opposite ways. Although abortion is relatively a rare issues, however public opinions are crucial to take actions. The study shows that, approximately 60 percent of Americans are allow to do abortion in the first trimester on the other hand, 44 percent of Americans are not allow to do during the second trimester. Most Americans are anxious with an abortion yet there is circumstances that is needed to