Abortion was not considered illegal until the 19th century when Britain and the United States passed their first antiabortion laws. During this antiabortion period, abortions continued to be performed, but they were done in highly septic environments, using any means that a woman could find: needles, coat hangers, vaginal douches with toxic solutions, or the ingestion of strong chemicals. Resorting to such measures reflected women's resolve to find any means to induce an abortion when faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Such practices resulted in high rates of mortality, mostly from infection; when not fatal, serious complications such as sepsis and uterine perforation often resulted. Sepsis often led to secondary infertility, due to obstruction of the fallopian tubes, as well as other chronic conditions. Psychological stress was also significant. And, because the tradition of early abortion was well-rooted in these societies, abortions continued to be performed openly, and juries refused to convict abortionists.
In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court held that limiting a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy violated the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution (Roe v. Wade). In 1976, the Hyde Amendment banned the use of Medicaid funds for abortion, except when the woman's life was in danger. Nearly 20 years later, the law was broadened to allow Medicaid coverage for abortion services in cases of rape or incest. To date, many religions and institutions, such as the Roman Catholic Church, consider abortion unacceptable, except when performed in cases of rape or incest.
During the antiabortion era of the late 1800s, an estimated 2 million abortions were performed. One hundred years later, approximately 1.5 million abortions are now performed each year. These, in our bodies, figures themselves, speak to the inability of the law to control the extent to which women access abortion. However, laws do affect the practice of abortion, as antiabortion laws encourage the illegal and clandestine practice of abortion, most often performed in nonoptimal conditions, leading to adverse outcomes and even maternal death. The legalization of abortion has contributed to dramatic reductions in maternal mortality.
