Wrestling with Roe v. Wade: A Brief History of Reproductive Rights

The fight for women’s rights, like many other social movements in the US, has been anything but linear. Particularly, the conversation around whether women should be permitted to terminate their pregnancies and have access to birth control has sparked political controversy, leading to several federal and state policy changes. To commemorate the end of Women’s History Month, let’s take a look at how reproductive freedom has evolved since America’s founding. 

A woman’s right to an abortion did not come under attack until the 19th century. Before that time period, common law allowed women to terminate pregnancies up until they started experiencing “quickening,” or fetal movement experienced by women at around four months in. The late 1700s and early 1800s saw few surgical abortions, though medical literature and newspapers often discussed herbs and medicines that could be useful in self-managed abortions. Most women also had access to unrestricted reproductive care by midwives and nurses. However, there was a heightened interest in the reproduction of enslaved Black women. These women were prohibited from having abortions, either surgical or via medication and herbs, because white men technically owned their bodies under the law. Some enslaved women who had access to herbs that provoked menstruation were able to conduct their own abortions in secret. Despite their circumstances, Black women actually made up half of the women who provided reproductive care in the pre-Civil War era. 

When Britain started to place restrictions on abortion in the mid-1800s, America followed suit. In the 1860s, states began passing laws to outlaw the procedure. By 1880, abortion was illegal in most states. Wealthy, white women were often able to travel out of the US to access abortion, but most other women did not have the same luxury. In addition to the actual procedure becoming prohibited throughout the nation, the Comstock laws, passed in 1873, criminalized any information in the mail related to birth control or other contraceptives.  

In the 1910s, nurse and activist Margaret Sanger initiated the birth control movement. She opened up reproductive health clinics where she surveyed her clients, finding that the main reason many women sought either an abortion or a birth control prescription was that they already had some children and felt like they couldn’t handle any more financially. Additionally, some women had a fear of dying from pregnancy. Despite these concerns, abortion remained illegal nationwide for six more decades. 

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court declared that the Constitution protected a woman’s right to an abortion in the landmark case Roe v. Wade. Abortion, along with the birth control pill, was now legal in all fifty states. Unsurprisingly, there was a catch: other restrictive laws were passed in the years following Roe v. Wade that took advantage of systemic racism and specifically jeopardized women of color’s access to abortion. For example, the Hyde Amendment, passed in 1977, banned federal funds, including Medicaid dollars, from being used to cover abortions. The amendment particularly restricted the reproductive freedom of Black and Latinx people as these communities were less likely to have jobs that offer employer-sponsored health insurance and, in turn, more likely to rely on Medicaid. In addition, more conservative populations who were opposed to unrestricted abortion access wished to defund organizations that offered affordable contraceptives and reproductive services such as Planned Parenthood. 

In June 2022, the Supreme Court reopened the discussion around abortion with the Dobbs v. Jackson case. The justices ultimately decided to revoke the constitutional right to abortion and instead let each state create its own policy around terminating pregnancies. The Dobbs decision has serious implications for women across the nation, especially those residing in more right-leaning states. The harsh reality is that women are going to continue to have abortions, but now their safety is at risk. The decision has led the country to enter an era of decreased trust in medical institutions; people are concerned about how technology can allow outside organizations to access information about women and their reproductive health through GPS, social media platforms, and menstruation-tracking apps - media monitoring that resembles the 1873 Comstock laws. 

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, there has been a substantial increase in requests for abortion by medication due to the fact that abortion pills are accessible outside of the formal healthcare system - through community organizations, telehealth providers, and online vendors. In fact, more abortions took place in the US in 2023 than have taken place in over a decade because of a surge in medication abortion. Most recently, on March 26th, the Supreme Court heard arguments about a new case that puts access to mifepristone, a pill used for medication abortion, at risk, even in states where abortion is legal. The case would require the pill to be distributed solely in clinics by registered physicians, which would stop it from being available online and in pharmacies. Restrictions on mifepristone would disproportionately affect low-income and historically marginalized communities who already experience the most barriers to healthcare. It would also lead to an increase in potentially unsafe self-managed abortions. However, many providers of abortion medication say that they will continue to distribute the pill regardless of the Supreme Court decision. Aid Access, for instance, has declared that they will serve customers up to 13 weeks of pregnancy. The decision is expected to be released to the public by the summer. 

It can be disheartening and even frightening to watch women being stripped of their bodily autonomy during our lifetime. Now that you have a comprehensive overview of past and present legislation around abortion, it should be easier to break down new updates and policies and understand the steps you yourself can take to fight for causes you believe in - participating in protests (if it’s safe to do so), donating to pro-choice organizations, and even starting a club at your school or in your local community!