Until the mid-1800s abortion was not a crime in this country. However, by the beginning of the 1900s, it was banned in every state. In 1930, approximately 800,000 abortions were performed illegally, resulting in an annual death toll of approximately 8,000 to 17,000. Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) represented the first major development in reproductive rights. In Griswold the Court ruled a Connecti…
In Bigelow v. Virginia (1975) the Court invalidated a Virginia statute that prohibited the use of abortion service advertisements. A year later the landmark case, Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth (1976), invalidated a statutory provision requiring unmarried minors to obtain the written consent of one parent before obtaining an abortion. The statute was invalidated because it did …
In 84 percent of U.S. counties no physicians are willing to perform an abortion. Between 1977 and 1994 more than 2,500 bombings, arsons, blockades and episodes of vandalism were directed at abortion clinics. In response to these acts of violence, Congress passed The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (FACE). This statute prohibits the use or threats of force, physical obstruction, a…
Though far less devisive than abortion, the regulation of contraception use has been the focus of heated legal debate. In 1965, Griswold v. Connecticut set the precedent for legal debate over contraception rights. In Griswold the Court ruled that states cannot prohibit married couples from using contraceptives. In Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972), consistent with the Griswold decision, the Court invalid…
Legal issues related to surrogacy and in-vitro fertilization have been addressed by the courts on a case by case basis. In 1985, William and Dr. Elizabeth Stern contracted with Mary Beth Whitehead to be a "surrogate mother." Under the terms of the contract, Whitehead would be artificially inseminated with Stern's sperm making Whitehead the child's biological mother. Whitehead agreed to give the ch…
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