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212-537: In the United States , where federal law describes an intact D&E on a live fetus as a partial-birth abortion , the procedure is uncommon. For example, in 2000, only 0.17% of all abortions in the United States (2,232 of 1,313,000) were performed using an intact D&E. Around that time, its usage became a focal point of the U.S. abortion debate . The 2003 federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act , which

424-514: A lower house based on population; and the Senate , an upper house based on equal representation for each state. Federalism provides substantial autonomy to the 50 states, while the country's political culture promotes liberty , equality , individualism , personal autonomy , and limited government . One of the world's most developed countries , the United States has had the largest nominal GDP since about 1890 and accounted for over 15% of

636-901: A right to live . Historically framed as a debate between the pro-choice and pro-life labels, most Americans agree with some positions of each side. Support for abortion gradually increased in the U.S. beginning in the early 1970s, and stabilized during the 2010s. The abortion rate has continuously declined from a peak in 1980 of 30 per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15–44) to 11.3 by 2018. In 2018, 78% of abortions were performed at 9 weeks or less gestation, and 92% of abortions were performed at 13 weeks or less gestation. By 2023, medication abortions accounted for 63% of all abortions. Almost 25% of women will have had an abortion by age 45, with 20% of 30 year olds having had one. In 2019, 60% of women who had abortions were already mothers, and 50% already had two or more children. Increased access to birth control has been statistically linked to reductions in

848-580: A " Special Relationship " with the United Kingdom and strong ties with Canada , Australia , New Zealand , the Philippines , Japan , South Korea , Israel , and several European Union countries ( France , Italy , Germany , Spain , and Poland ). The U.S. works closely with its NATO allies on military and national security issues, and with countries in the Americas through

1060-435: A "termination of pregnancy". Abortion was a fairly common practice in the history of the United States, and was not always controversial. At a time when society was more concerned with the more serious consequence of women becoming pregnant out of wedlock, family affairs were handled out of public view. Abortion did not become a public controversy until the health risk of unsafe abortions by (female) unlicensed practitioners

1272-470: A 15-week ban on abortion passed by the state in 2022, that the state should follow a 1902 law, based on a pre-ratification 1864 law, that disallowed nearly any abortion except in the case of a medical emergency, though the state government repealed the 1902 law in May 2024 to allow the 2022 law to take precedence. Some Republicans, including allies of presidential candidate Donald Trump, have pushed Project 2025 ,

1484-405: A Judiciary subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives . A journalist observed three intact and two non-intact D&E procedures involving fetuses ranging from 19 to 23 weeks. She "watched for any signs of fetal distress, but ... [she] could see no response, no reflexive spasm, nothing. Whether this was a result of the anesthesia or an undeveloped fetal system for pain sensitivity, one thing

1696-547: A birth. The bill included an exemption for the mother's health. The bill was passed by both the Senate and House of Representatives but was vetoed by governor Jennifer Granholm . Since the passage of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in the United States and similar state laws, providers of later abortions typically induce and document fetal death before beginning any later abortion procedure. Since

1908-414: A breech presentation while in the uterus (internal version). The fetal skull is usually the largest part of the fetal body and its removal may require mechanical collapse if it is too large to fit through the cervical canal. Decompression of the skull can be accomplished by incision and suction of the brain or by using forceps to collapse the skull. Recovery from an intact D&E is similar to recovery from

2120-430: A consequence of the procedure. Within the context of a sex scandal , Connecticut became the first state to regulate abortion by statute in 1821. Many states subsequently passed various abortion laws. In 1829, New York made post-quickening abortions a felony and pre-quickening abortions a misdemeanor . This was followed by 10 of the 26 states creating similar restrictions within the next few decades, in particular by

2332-542: A coordinated, continent-wide military effort. Finally, deteriorating relations between the British military establishment and the colonists, relations that were already less than positive, set the stage for further distrust and dislike of British troops. Following their victory in the French and Indian War, Britain began to assert greater control over local colonial affairs, resulting in colonial political resistance ; one of

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2544-534: A decentralized government that operated until 1789. After the British surrender at the siege of Yorktown in 1781 American sovereignty was internationally recognized by the Treaty of Paris (1783), through which the U.S. gained territory stretching west to the Mississippi River, north to present-day Canada, and south to Spanish Florida . The Northwest Ordinance (1787) established the precedent by which

2756-457: A decision of 5–4. Justice Kennedy wrote for the majority and was joined by Justices Thomas , Scalia , Alito , and Chief Justice Roberts . A dissenting opinion was written by Justice Ginsburg and joined by Justices Stevens , Souter and Breyer . Many states have bans on late-term abortions which apply to intact D&E if it is performed after fetal viability . Many states have also passed bans specifically on intact D&E. The first

2968-604: A decision was expected by the end of the 2021–22 Supreme Court term. On September 1, 2021, Texas passed the Texas Heartbeat Act , one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation, banning most procedures after six weeks. On May 2, 2022, a leaked draft majority opinion for Dobbs , written by Samuel Alito , set to overturn Roe was reported by Politico . On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overruled both Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in

3180-415: A desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed. It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death; But oh! thrice guilty is he who drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime." To many feminists of this era, abortion was regarded as an undesirable necessity forced upon women by thoughtless men. The free love wing of

3392-474: A federally mandated uniform framework for state legislation on the subject. It also established a minimal period during which abortion is legal, with more or fewer restrictions throughout the pregnancy. Evangelical Christians were initially generally either supportive or indifferent to Roe — citing what they saw as a lack of biblical condemnation on the matter, its perceived affirmation of religious liberty , and furthering of non-intrusive government — but by

3604-401: A fetus from a woman's body in dismembered pieces is legal, medically acceptable, and safe; but that pulling a fetus out intact, so that if the woman wishes the fetus can be wrapped in a blanket and handed to her, is appropriately punishable by a fine, or up to two years' imprisonment, or both." Alternately, opponents of abortion rights frame the issue as one in which a partially-born infant's life

3816-407: A few prominent industrialists , largely by their formation of trusts and monopolies to prevent competition. Tycoons led the nation's expansion in the railroad , petroleum , and steel industries. The United States emerged as a pioneer of the automotive industry . These changes were accompanied by significant increases in economic inequality , slum conditions , and social unrest , creating

4028-571: A fight on the night of the miscarriage. Basoria told police that he was not abusive. Texas' fetal homicide law did not allow charges against the mother because she had a right to terminate pregnancy, so only Flores was charged. In 2019 a woman in Alabama was indicted after she was shot in the stomach for intentionally causing the death of "unborn baby Jones by initiating a fight knowing she was five months pregnant". The charges were later dropped. Medical abortion via mifepristone and misoprostol

4240-601: A floating abortion clinic throughout much of the 1960s. Women seeking the procedure would call a designated number and be given instructions on how to find "Jane". In 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut struck down one of the remaining contraception Comstock laws in Connecticut and Massachusetts . However, Griswold only applied to marital relationships, allowing married couples to buy and use contraceptives without government restriction. It took until 1972, with Eisenstadt v. Baird , to extend

4452-638: A founding member of the World Bank , Organization of American States , NATO , and the United Nations , as well as a permanent member of the UN Security Council . The first documented use of the phrase "United States of America" is a letter from January 2, 1776. Stephen Moylan , a Continental Army aide to General George Washington , wrote to Joseph Reed , Washington's aide-de-camp , seeking to go "with full and ample powers from

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4664-431: A healthy fetus that is 20 weeks or more along." Some prominent opponents of abortion rights quickly defended the accuracy of Fitzsimmons's statements, whilst others condemned Fitzsimmons as self-serving. In support of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, a nurse who witnessed three intact D&E procedures found them deeply disturbing, and described one performed on a 26½-week fetus with Down Syndrome in testimony before

4876-478: A legal abortion, where it was confirmed that the fetus had severe deformities. In 1964, Gerri Santoro of Connecticut died trying to obtain an illegal abortion, and her photo became the symbol of an abortion-rights movement . Some women's rights activist groups developed their own skills to provide abortions to women who could not obtain them elsewhere. As an example, in Chicago, a group known as " Jane " operated

5088-490: A little extravagantly on these Matters; I am no Divine: But if you, great Men, must be making Laws, do not turn natural and useful Actions into Crimes, by your Prohibitions. Reflect a little on the horrid Consequences of this Law in particular: What Numbers of procur'd Abortions! and how many distress'd Mothers have been driven, by the Terror of Punishment and public Shame, to imbrue, contrary to Nature, their own trembling Hands in

5300-410: A local hospital and by requiring clinics to have costly hospital-grade facilities. The Court supported this argument and struck down these two provisions "facially" from the law at issue —that is, the very words of the provisions were invalid, no matter how they might be applied in any practical situation. According to the Supreme Court, the task of judging whether a law puts an unconstitutional burden on

5512-476: A majority of Americans support access to abortion. Abortion laws vary widely from state to state . From the American Revolution to the mid-19th century abortion was not an issue of significant controversy; most held to the traditional Protestant Christian belief that personhood began at quickening, sometime between 18 and 21 weeks. It was legal prior to quickening in every state under

5724-522: A marked shift in the people who were obtaining abortions. Before the start of the 19th century, most abortions were sought by unmarried women, who had become pregnant out of wedlock and for which there was much less compassion compared to married women who got an abortion; many of them were wealthy and paid well. Out of 54 abortion cases published in American medical journals between 1839 and 1880, over half were sought by married women, and well over 60% of

5936-497: A matter of constitutional law, that states have to allow abortions of post-viable fetuses if doing so is necessary for the woman's mental health, but many read Doe as implying as much. The concern that the health exception can be read so liberally partly explains why supporters of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act did not want to include one. In 2003, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (H.R. 760, S. 3)

6148-452: A meeting among herself, Charles T. Canady, and National Right to Life Committee lobbyist Douglas Johnson. Canady could not find this particular abortion practice named in any medical textbook, and therefore he and his aides named it. "Partial-birth abortion" was first used in the media on June 4, 1995, in a Washington Times article covering the bill. In the U.S., a federal statute defines "partial-birth abortion" as any abortion in which

6360-436: A new human being. Quickening was found to be not more or less crucial in the process of gestation than any other step. Many physicians concluded that if society considered it unjustifiable to terminate pregnancy after the fetus had quickened, and if quickening was a relatively unimportant step in the gestation process, then it was just as wrong to terminate a pregnancy before quickening as after quickening. Patricia Cline Cohen,

6572-409: A newspaper operated by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony , an 1869 opinion piece was published arguing that instead of merely attempting to pass a law against abortion, the root cause must also be addressed. The writer stated that simply passing an anti-abortion law would be "only mowing off the top of the noxious weed, while the root remains. ... No matter what the motive, love of ease, or

Intact dilation and extraction - Misplaced Pages Continue

6784-461: A non-intact D&E. Postoperative pain is usually minimal and managed with NSAIDs . In cases of uterine atony and corresponding blood loss, methergine or misoprostol can be given to encourage uterine contraction and achieve hemostasis . Patients who have recently undergone an intact D&E are monitored for signs of coagulopathy , uterine perforation , uterine atony, retained tissue, or hemorrhage . The risks of intact D&E are similar to

6996-616: A nuisance to public health. Despite campaigns to end the practice of abortion, abortifacient advertising was highly effective and abortion was commonly practiced, with the help of a midwife or other women, in the mid-19th century, although they were not always safe. While the precise abortion rate was not known, James Mohr's 1978 book Abortion in America documented multiple recorded estimates by 19th-century physicians, which suggested that between around 15% and 35% of all pregnancies ended in abortion during that period. This era also saw

7208-600: A panel on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals , leaving mifepristone on the market but reverting efforts made by the FDA to liberalize its use over seven years. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, and on June 13, 2024, the court ruled that the Alliance Defending Freedom lacked standing to bring the suit. Beyond limitations pertaining to abortion in the context of federal funding, there

7420-598: A period of heightened, overt racism following Reconstruction, a time often called the nadir of American race relations . A series of Supreme Court decisions, including Plessy v. Ferguson , emptied the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of their force, allowing Jim Crow laws in the South to remain unchecked, sundown towns in the Midwest, and segregation in communities across the country , which would be reinforced by

7632-598: A professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said that these laws had come about not because society saw abortion as a crime but from a small group of doctors who had taken it upon themselves to prove to the rest of the county that pre-quickening abortion should be seen as a crime. The doctors used flawed math to convince the American Medical Association to accept that pre-quickening abortion should also be outlawed, leading to

7844-488: A prominent leader in the early 1960s. The Great Society plan of President Lyndon Johnson 's administration resulted in groundbreaking and broad-reaching laws, policies and a constitutional amendment to counteract some of the worst effects of lingering institutional racism . The counterculture movement in the U.S. brought significant social changes, including the liberalization of attitudes toward recreational drug use and sexuality . It also encouraged open defiance of

8056-628: A referendum on legalizing early pregnancy abortions, becoming the first state to legalize abortion through a vote of the people. A law in Washington, D.C. , which allowed abortion to protect the life or health of the woman, was challenged in the Supreme Court in 1971 in United States v. Vuitch . The court upheld the law, deeming that "health" meant "psychological and physical well-being", essentially allowing abortion in Washington, D.C. By

8268-526: A sense of manifest destiny . The Missouri Compromise attempted to balance the desire of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery into new territories with that of southern states to extend it, admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It further prohibited slavery in all other lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36°30′ parallel . As Americans expanded further into land inhabited by Native Americans,

8480-614: A sense of American identity as well. Men who otherwise never left their own colony now traveled across the continent to fight alongside men from decidedly different backgrounds but who were no less "American". British officers trained American officers for battle, most notably George Washington ; these officers would lend their skills and expertise to the colonists' cause during the American Revolutionary War to come. In addition, colonial legislatures and officials found it necessary to cooperate intensively in pursuit of

8692-632: A status solidified after its involvement in World War I . After Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the U.S. entered World War II . Its aftermath left the U.S. and the Soviet Union as the world's two superpowers and led to the Cold War , during which both countries struggled for ideological dominance and international influence . Following the Soviet Union's collapse and

Intact dilation and extraction - Misplaced Pages Continue

8904-575: A statutory challenge in Beal v. Doe and an Equal Protection challenge in Maher v. Roe . Dr. Abu Hayat was convicted by a Manhattan Court in 1993 for performing an illegal third trimester abortion at his clinic in Alphabet City . The doctor began the dilation and evacuation procedure which was not legal in the third trimester. The baby was born alive before the procedure could be completed. She

9116-716: A substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus." In December 2021, the FDA legalized telemedicine provision of medication abortion pills with delivery by mail, but many states have laws which restrict this option. In 2022, Roe and Casey were overturned in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , ending protection of abortion rights by the United States Constitution and allowing individual states to regulate any aspect of abortion not preempted by federal law. Since 1976,

9328-692: A sweeping government reform plan that includes banning abortions at a federal level as well as access to medical abortions drugs. Democrats used the pushback against these Republican and conservative anti-abortion goals as a point of campaigning for the election. Abortion-related issues were a topic in the 2024 United States elections , including these referendums: 2024 Arizona Proposition 139 , 2024 Colorado Amendment 79 , 2024 Florida Amendment 4 , 2024 Montana Initiative 128 , 2024 Maryland Question 1 , 2024 Missouri Amendment 3 , 2024 New York Proposal 1 , 2024 Nebraska Initiative 439 , 2024 Nevada Question 6 , and 2024 South Dakota Amendment G . Gerardo Flores

9540-635: A violation is considered a predicate offense for purposes of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or R.I.C.O. . Since 1995, led by congressional Republicans , the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have moved several times to pass measures banning the procedure of intact dilation and extraction , commonly known as partial birth abortion . Such measures passed twice by wide margins, but President Bill Clinton vetoed those bills in April 1996 and October 1997 on

9752-550: A woman can obtain an abortion for health reasons, which the Court defined broadly to include psychological well-being. A central issue in the Roe case and in the wider abortion debate in general is whether human life or personhood begins at conception, birth, or at some point in between. The Court declined to make an attempt at resolving this issue, writing: "We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in

9964-585: A woman's ability to choose. The other count was the bill failed to provide a necessary exception for the health of the woman. The decision was appealed to and affirmed by both the Eighth Circuit and the Supreme Court in June 2000, thus resolving the legal challenges to similar state bans nationwide. Since the Stenberg v. Carhart decision, Virginia, Michigan, and Utah have adopted legislation very similar to

10176-637: A woman's right to abortion belongs with the courts, and not the legislatures. The Supreme Court ruled similarly in June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo on June 29, 2020, in a 5–4 decision that a Louisiana state law, modeled after the Texas law at the center of Whole Woman's Health , was unconstitutional. Like Texas' law, the Louisiana law required certain measures for abortion clinics that, if having gone into effect, would have closed five of

10388-401: A year). Juvenile correctional facilities are operated by local or state governments and serve as longer-term placements for any minor adjudicated as delinquent and ordered by a judge to be confined. As of January 2023, the United States has the sixth-highest per capita incarceration rate in the world—531 people per 100,000 inhabitants—and the largest prison and jail population in

10600-550: A year. In 1988, 17 year old Becky Bell died from an infection after an unsafe abortion. She lived in Indiana where parental consent was required to have a safe and legal abortion. Laurence H. Tribe wrote in Abortion: The Clash of Absolutes that Bell's best friend said that Becky "couldn't bear telling" her parents and considered other alternatives like an out-of-state abortion. It's not known if Becky attempted

10812-580: Is a country primarily located in North America . It is a federal union of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the states of Alaska to the northwest and the archipelagic Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean . The United States also asserts sovereignty over five major island territories and various uninhabited islands . The country has

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11024-472: Is a fundamentally different procedure. Some people believe the D&;E procedure illustrates that abortion, and especially late-term abortion , is the taking of a human life and therefore ought to be illegal. People who believe this consider the procedure to be infanticide , a position that many in the anti-abortion movement extend to cover all abortions. Some advocates, both for and against abortion rights, see

11236-591: Is believed to be the first widespread culture in the Americas. Over time, indigenous North American cultures grew increasingly sophisticated, and some, such as the Mississippian culture , developed agriculture , architecture , and complex societies . In the post-archaic period , the Mississippian cultures were located in the midwestern , eastern , and southern regions, and the Algonquian in

11448-418: Is disposable, whereas pulling the infant only a few more inches down the birth canal automatically transforms it into "a living person, possessing rights and deserving of protection." The U.S. Supreme Court has stated that intact D&E remains legal as long as there is first a feticidal injection while the fetus is still completely inside of the mother's body. There is also controversy about why this procedure

11660-498: Is known as the presidential system , in contrast to the parliamentary system , where the executive is part of the legislative body. Many countries around the world imitated this aspect of the 1789 Constitution of the United States , especially in the Americas. The Constitution is silent on political parties. However, they developed independently in the 18th century with the Federalist and Anti-Federalist parties. Since then,

11872-420: Is little federal legislation protecting or penalizing abortion in the United States. Abortion is left to each individual state. The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 (codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1531 ), Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (codified at 18 U.S.C. § 248 ), and Comstock Act of 1873 (codified at 18 U.S.C. 552 , 18 U.S.C. 1461 , 18 U.S.C. 1462 , and 18 U.S.C.1463 ) are some of

12084-639: Is never medically necessary." According to a BBC report about the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Gonzales v. Carhart , "government lawyers and others who favour the ban, have said there are alternative and more widely used procedures that are still legal - which involves dismembering the fetus in the uterus." An article in Harper's magazine stated that, "Defending the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban... requires arguing to judges that pulling

12296-438: Is now the United States experienced conflicts with Native Americans, they also engaged in trade, exchanging European tools for food and animal pelts. Relations ranged from close cooperation to warfare and massacres. The colonial authorities often pursued policies that forced Native Americans to adopt European lifestyles, including conversion to Christianity. Along the eastern seaboard, settlers trafficked African slaves through

12508-461: Is preceded by cervical preparation, which may take several days. Osmotic dilators , natural or synthetic rods that absorb moisture from the cervix , are placed in the cervix and mechanically dilate the cervix over the course of hours to days. Misoprostol can be used to soften the cervix further. Intact D&E can only be performed with 2–5 centimeters of cervical dilation . Fetal injection of digoxin or potassium chloride may be administered at

12720-475: Is the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists ' (RCOG) belief that this method of abortion is never used as a primary or pro-active technique and is only ever likely to be performed in unforeseen circumstances in order to reduce maternal mortality or severe morbidity . United States The United States of America ( USA ), commonly known as the United States ( U.S. ) or America ,

12932-552: Is the federal agency charged with addressing most environmental-related issues . The idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since 1964, with the Wilderness Act . The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides a way to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service implements and enforces the Act. In 2024, the U.S. ranked 34th among 180 countries in

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13144-486: Is used. Although prominent defenders of the method asserted during 1995 and 1996 that it was used only or mostly in acute medical circumstances, lobbyist Ron Fitzsimmons, executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers (a trade association of abortion providers), told The New York Times (February 26, 1997): "In the vast majority of cases, the procedure is performed on a healthy mother with

13356-470: The 2022 ballot in six states, as 2022 California Proposition 1 , 2022 Michigan Proposal 3 , and 2022 Vermont Proposal 5 enshrined the right to an abortion in state constitutions, while the 2022 Kansas abortion referendum , 2022 Kentucky Amendment 2 , and Montana Legislative Referendum No. 131 rejected restrictions on abortion. Voters in Ohio defeated August 2023 Ohio Issue 1 intended to make changes to

13568-603: The Allies of World War I , helping to turn the tide against the Central Powers . In 1920, a constitutional amendment granted nationwide women's suffrage . During the 1920s and '30s, radio for mass communication and the invention of early television transformed communications nationwide. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression , which President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded to with

13780-553: The Atlantic slave trade . The original Thirteen Colonies that would later found the United States were administered as possessions of Great Britain , and had local governments with elections open to most white male property owners . The colonial population grew rapidly, eclipsing Native American populations; by the 1770s, the natural increase of the population was such that only a small minority of Americans had been born overseas. The colonies' distance from Britain allowed for

13992-588: The Dobbs case on originalist grounds that a right to abortion cannot be found in the U.S. Constitution. John Roberts , the Chief Justice of the United States , concurred in the decision to uphold the law at question as constitutional, by a 6–3 vote, and did not support overruling both Roe and Casey . This enabled trigger laws , which had been passed in 13 states, to effectively ban abortions in those states. Abortion-related initiatives were placed on

14204-549: The Environmental Performance Index . The country joined the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2016 and has many other environmental commitments. The United States is a federal republic of 50 states and a separate federal capital district, Washington, D.C. It also asserts sovereignty over five unincorporated territories and several uninhabited island possessions . The U.S. is

14416-500: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Marshals Service have national jurisdiction and specialized duties, such as protecting civil rights , national security and enforcing U.S. federal courts ' rulings and federal laws. State courts conduct most civil and criminal trials, and federal courts handle designated crimes and appeals of state court decisions . There is no unified "criminal justice system" in

14628-664: The Great Lakes , Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico . British colonization of the East Coast began with the Virginia Colony (1607) and Plymouth Colony (1620). The Mayflower Compact and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut established precedents for representative self-governance and constitutionalism that would develop throughout the American colonies. While European settlers in what

14840-719: The Great Lakes region and along the Eastern Seaboard , while the Hohokam culture and Ancestral Puebloans inhabited the southwest . Native population estimates of what is now the United States before the arrival of European immigrants range from around 500,000 to nearly 10 million. Christopher Columbus began exploring the Caribbean for Spain in 1492, leading to Spanish-speaking settlements and missions from Puerto Rico and Florida to New Mexico and California . France established its own settlements along

15052-596: The Midwest . At the same time, about one million French Canadians migrated from Quebec to New England . During the Great Migration , millions of African Americans left the rural South for urban areas in the North. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867. The Compromise of 1877 effectively ended Reconstruction and white supremacists took local control of Southern politics . African Americans endured

15264-688: The National Park Service and other agencies. About 28% of the country's land is publicly owned and federally managed, primarily in the Western States . Most of this land is protected , though some is leased for commercial use, and less than one percent is used for military purposes. Environmental issues in the United States include debates on non-renewable resources and nuclear energy , air and water pollution , biodiversity , logging and deforestation , and climate change . The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

15476-827: The National Right to Life Committee . The forerunner of the NARAL Pro-Choice America was formed in 1969 to oppose restrictions on abortion and expand access to abortion. Following Roe v. Wade , in late 1973, NARAL became the National Abortion Rights Action League. Prior to Roe v. Wade , 30 states prohibited abortion without exception, 16 states banned abortion except in certain special circumstances (e.g. rape, incest, and health threat to mother), 3 states allowed residents to obtain abortions, and New York allowed abortions generally. Early that year, on January 22, 1973,

15688-596: The New Deal , a series of sweeping programs and public works projects combined with financial reforms and regulations . All were intended to protect against future economic depressions. Initially neutral during World War II , the U.S. began supplying war materiel to the Allies of World War II in March 1941 and entered the war in December after the Empire of Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor . The U.S. developed

15900-476: The Northern District of Texas under Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk to seek to overturn the FDA's original approval of mifepristone. The Alliance argued that the FDA had ignored some studies that showed the medication to have harmful side effects, while the current federal administration under Joe Biden, the manufacturers of the drugs, and several doctors vouched for the safety of the drugs and argued that

16112-778: The Organization of American States and the United States–Mexico–Canada Free Trade Agreement . In South America, Colombia is traditionally considered to be the closest ally of the United States. The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for Micronesia , the Marshall Islands , and Palau through the Compact of Free Association . It has increasingly conducted strategic cooperation with India , but its ties with China have steadily deteriorated. Since 2014,

16324-648: The Pentium microprocessor in accordance with Moore's law , rechargeable lithium-ion batteries , the first gene therapy trial, and cloning either emerged in the U.S. or were improved upon there. The Human Genome Project was formally launched in 1990, while Nasdaq became the first stock market in the United States to trade online in 1998. In the Gulf War of 1991, an American-led international coalition of states expelled an Iraqi invasion force that had occupied neighboring Kuwait . The September 11 attacks on

16536-531: The Republican Party has generally sought to restrict abortion access based on the stage of pregnancy or to criminalize abortion, whereas the Democratic Party has generally defended access to abortion and has made contraception easier to obtain. The abortion-rights movement advocates for patient choice and bodily autonomy, while the anti-abortion movement maintains that the fetus has

16748-591: The Spanish–American War . (The Philippines was granted full independence from the U.S. on July 4, 1946, following World War II. Puerto Rico and Guam have remained U.S. territories.) American Samoa was acquired by the United States in 1900 after the Second Samoan Civil War . The U.S. Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark in 1917. The United States entered World War I alongside

16960-400: The U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade invalidated all of these laws, and set guidelines for the availability of abortion. The decision returned abortion to its liberalized pre-1820 status. Roe established that the right of privacy of a woman to obtain an abortion "must be considered against important state interests in regulation". Roe also established a trimester framework, defined as

17172-648: The cotton gin made the institution increasingly profitable for Southern elites . This sectional conflict regarding slavery culminated in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Eleven slave states seceded and formed the Confederate States of America , while the other states remained in the Union . War broke out in April 1861 after the Confederates bombarded Fort Sumter . After

17384-523: The end of the Cold War in 1991, the U.S. emerged as the world's sole superpower , wielding significant geopolitical influence globally . The U.S. national government is a presidential constitutional federal republic and liberal democracy with three separate branches : legislative , executive , and judicial . It has a bicameral national legislature composed of the House of Representatives ,

17596-537: The fall of communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union , which marked the end of the Cold War and left the United States as the world's sole superpower . The 1990s saw the longest recorded economic expansion in American history , a dramatic decline in U.S. crime rates , and advances in technology . Throughout this decade, technological innovations such as the World Wide Web , the evolution of

17808-400: The global economy in 2023. It possesses by far the largest amount of wealth of any country and has the highest disposable household income per capita among OECD countries. The U.S. ranks among the world's highest in economic competitiveness , productivity , innovation , human rights , and higher education . Its hard power and cultural influence have a global reach. The U.S. is

18020-457: The induced abortion of a pregnancy, which is also how the term "abortion" is used in a legal sense. The terms "elective abortion" and "voluntary abortion" refer to the interruption of pregnancy, before viability, at the request of the woman but not for medical reasons. In medical parlance, "abortion" can refer to a spontaneous miscarriage or to an induced miscarriage before the fetus is viable. After viability, doctors call an induced miscarriage

18232-813: The 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord , igniting the American Revolutionary War . At the Second Continental Congress , the colonies appointed George Washington commander-in-chief of the Continental Army , and created a committee that named Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence . Two days after passing the Lee Resolution to create an independent nation the Declaration

18444-441: The 17th century, and the conservatism of most in the medical profession with regards to sexual matters prevented the wide expansion of abortion techniques. Physicians , who were the leading advocates of abortion criminalization laws, appear to have been motivated at least in part by advances in medical knowledge. Science had discovered that fertilization inaugurated a more or less continuous process of development, which produced

18656-421: The 1860s and 1870s. The first laws related to abortion were made to protect women from real or perceived risks, and those more restrictive penalized only the provider. Criminalization did not end the practice of abortion; unlicensed doctors and midwives continued to perform them. Most of the women receiving abortions from unlicensed practitioners were poor. Women's safety continued to be a concern, especially after

18868-506: The 1980s began to join anti-abortion Catholics to overturn the decision. That basic framework, modified in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), remained nominally in place, although the effective availability of abortion varied significantly from state to state, as many counties had no abortion providers. Casey held that a law could not place legal restrictions imposing an " undue burden " for "the purpose or effect of placing

19080-520: The 2010s, political polarization in the country increased between liberal and conservative factions. This polarization was capitalized upon in the January 2021 Capitol attack , when a mob of insurrectionists entered the U.S. Capitol and sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in an attempted self-coup d'état . The United States is the world's third-largest country by total area behind Russia and Canada. The 48 contiguous states and

19292-545: The 20th century, and it was feminists and physicians who came to question anti-abortion laws and raise public interest in the 1960s. Physicians, one of the most famous and consequential being Horatio Storer , remained the loudest voice in the anti-abortion debate, and they carried their agenda to state legislatures around the country, advocating not only anti-abortion laws but also laws against birth control on racist and pseudoscientific grounds; religious groups were not particularly active within this movement, which presaged

19504-596: The American West have an alpine climate . The climate is arid in the Southwest, Mediterranean in coastal California , and oceanic in coastal Oregon , Washington , and southern Alaska . Most of Alaska is subarctic or polar . Hawaii , the southern tip of Florida and U.S. territories in the Caribbean and Pacific are tropical . States bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of

19716-571: The Blood of their helpless Offspring! Nature would have induc'd them to nurse it up with a Parent's Fondness. 'Tis the Law therefore, 'tis the Law itself that is guilty of all these Barbarities and Murders. Repeal it then, Gentlemen; let it be expung'd for ever from your Books: And on the other hand, take into your wise Consideration, the great and growing Number of Batchelors in the Country, many of whom, from

19928-475: The Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The term "United States" and the initialism "U.S.", used as nouns or as adjectives in English, are common short names for the country. The initialism "USA", a noun, is also common. "United States" and "U.S." are the established terms throughout the U.S. federal government , with prescribed rules. In English, the term "America" rarely refers to topics unrelated to

20140-573: The District of Columbia occupy a combined area of 3,119,885 square miles (8,080,470 km ). The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way to inland forests and rolling hills in the Piedmont plateau region. The Appalachian Mountains and the Adirondack massif separate the East Coast from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest . The Mississippi River System ,

20352-573: The Elder concluded that major military resources needed to be devoted to North America to win the war against France. For the first time, the continent became one of the main theaters of what could be termed a " world war ". The British colonies' position as an integral part of the British Empire became more apparent during the war, with British military and civilian officials becoming a more significant presence in American life. The war increased

20564-491: The FDA approved the distribution of mifepristone via mail. In states where abortion is banned or restricted, women are able to obtain pills through ordering from overseas online pharmacies, purchasing from pharmacies in Mexico, from services such as Aid Access , or through a network of U.S.-Mexico border organizations that includes Red Necesito Abortar, Las Libres  [ es ] , and Marea Verde . In January 2023,

20776-683: The January 1863 Emancipation Proclamation , many freed slaves joined the Union army . The war began to turn in the Union's favor following the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg and Battle of Gettysburg , and the Confederacy surrendered in 1865 after the Union's victory in the Battle of Appomattox Court House . The Reconstruction era followed the war. After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln , Reconstruction Amendments were passed to protect

20988-594: The Nebraska law overturned as unconstitutional. The Michigan law was similarly struck down for broadness and failure to provide a health exemption. Utah's law remains on the books, pending trial, but is unenforceable under a court-ordered preliminary injunction. Virginia's Law was initially ruled invalid, but was reversed and remanded to the District Court in the wake of the Gonzales v. Carhart decision, where it

21200-611: The Rocky Mountains, the Yellowstone Caldera , is the continent's largest volcanic feature. In 2021, the United States had 8% of global permanent meadows and pastures and 10% of cropland. With its large size and geographic variety, the United States includes most climate types. East of the 100th meridian , the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The western Great Plains are semi-arid . Many mountainous areas of

21412-484: The State is interested in protecting fetal life after viability, it may go so far as to proscribe abortion during that period, except when it is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother." The Court held that a right to privacy existed and included the right to have an abortion. The court found that a mother had a right to abortion until viability, a point to be determined by the abortion doctor. After viability

21624-628: The U.S. Department of Justice stated that USPS mailing of pills for medication abortion, even into states where abortion services are restricted, does not violate federal law. In 2023, online access to abortion medication by mail delivered by the US Postal Service is currently available to citizens of all states. In light of the Dobbs decision, the Alliance Defending Freedom launched a lawsuit in November 2022 in

21836-647: The U.S. has become a key ally of Ukraine ; it has also provided the country with significant military equipment and other support in response to Russia's 2022 invasion . The president is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces and appoints its leaders, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff . The Department of Defense , which is headquartered at the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., administers five of

22048-565: The U.S. legally choose abortion after viability when screenings reveal abnormalities that do not cause a baby to die shortly after birth. In the 1992 case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey , the Court abandoned Roe's strict trimester framework but maintained its central holding that women have a right to choose to have an abortion before viability. Roe had held that statutes regulating abortion must be subject to " strict scrutiny "—the traditional Supreme Court test for impositions upon fundamental Constitutional rights. Casey instead adopted

22260-661: The U.S. territories." Despite disparate systems of confinement, four main institutions dominate: federal prisons , state prisons , local jails, and juvenile correctional facilities . Federal prisons are run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and hold people who have been convicted of federal crimes, including pretrial detainees. State prisons, run by the official department of correction of each state, hold sentenced people serving prison time (usually longer than one year) for felony offenses. Local jails are county or municipal facilities that incarcerate defendants prior to trial; they also hold those serving short sentences (typically under

22472-547: The United States John Adams praised the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus for refusing his sister-in-law from having an abortion even though it prevented him from assuming power. Early U.S. statutes did not prohibit early-term abortions: for the most part, abortion was not a crime until quickening , and most exceptions to this in practice were penalties imposed on practitioners if a woman under their care died as

22684-490: The United States . The term is not recognized as a medical term by the American Medical Association nor the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists . This term was first suggested in 1995 by Congressman Charles T. Canady , while developing the original proposed Partial-Birth Abortion Ban . According to Keri Folmar, the lawyer responsible for the bill's language, the term was developed in early 1995 in

22896-464: The United States and the peaceful transfer of power , respectively. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 from France nearly doubled the territory of the United States. Lingering issues with Britain remained , leading to the War of 1812 , which was fought to a draw. Spain ceded Florida and its Gulf Coast territory in 1819. In the late 18th century, American settlers began to expand westward , many with

23108-714: The United States entered the Cold War, where geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union led the two countries to dominate world affairs . The U.S. utilized the policy of containment to limit the USSR's sphere of influence, and prevailed in the Space Race , which culminated with the first crewed Moon landing in 1969. Domestically, the U.S. experienced economic growth , urbanization , and population growth following World War II . The civil rights movement emerged, with Martin Luther King Jr. becoming

23320-666: The United States has operated as a de facto two-party system , though the parties in that system have been different at different times. The two main national parties are presently the Democratic and the Republican . The former is perceived as relatively liberal in its political platform while the latter is perceived as relatively conservative . In the American federal system , sovereign powers are shared between two levels of elected government: national and state. People in

23532-593: The United States in 2001 by the pan-Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda led to the war on terror , and subsequent military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq . The cultural impact of the attacks was profound and long-lasting. The U.S. housing bubble culminated in 2007 with the Great Recession , the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression. Coming to a head in

23744-597: The United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the Revolutionary War effort. The first known public usage is an anonymous essay published in the Williamsburg newspaper, The Virginia Gazette , on April 6, 1776. By June 1776, the "United States of America" appeared in the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence . The Second Continental Congress adopted

23956-593: The United States, despite the usage of "the Americas " as the totality of North and South America. "The States" is an established colloquial shortening of the name, used particularly from abroad; "stateside" is the corresponding adjective or adverb. The first inhabitants of North America migrated from Siberia across the Bering land bridge about 12,000 years ago; the Clovis culture , which appeared around 11,000 BC,

24168-624: The United States, except Iran , North Korea , and Bhutan . Though Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic relations with the U.S., it maintains close unofficial relations. The United States regularly supplies Taiwan with military equipment to deter potential Chinese aggression. Its geopolitical attention also turned to the Indo-Pacific when the United States joined the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Australia, India, and Japan. The United States has

24380-509: The United States. The American prison system is largely heterogenous, with thousands of relatively independent systems operating across federal, state, local, and tribal levels. In 2023, "these systems [held] almost 2 million people in 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,323 juvenile correctional facilities, 181 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian country jails, as well as in military prisons , civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in

24592-519: The abortion by herself but it was not done safely and she died from an infection. Her parents publicly campaigned against parental consent laws after her death. Rosie Jimenez died from sepsis in 1977 following an abortion procedure at the home of a midwife who was not licensed to perform abortions. She did not go to a licensed physician because the Hyde Amendment barring public Medicaid funding for abortions had gone into effect after surviving

24804-607: The abortion rate. As of 2024, Alaska , Arizona , California , Colorado , Illinois , Kansas , Maryland , Michigan , Minnesota , Missouri , Montana , New York , North Dakota , Ohio , Vermont , and Wyoming have a right to abortion in their state constitutions, either explicitly or as interpreted by the state supreme court. Other states, such as Oregon and Massachusetts , protect abortion under state law. The state constitutions of Alabama , Louisiana , Tennessee , and West Virginia explicitly contain no right to an abortion. The abortion debate most commonly relates to

25016-484: The ban unconstitutional that same year. Their respective federal courts of appeals —the Ninth Circuit , Second Circuit , and Eighth Circuit , respectively—affirmed these rulings on appeal. The three cases were all appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court , and were consolidated into the case Gonzales v. Carhart . On April 18, 2007, the Supreme Court voted to uphold the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act by

25228-620: The bans only apply to abortions of living fetuses, this protects the abortion providers from prosecution. The most common method of inducing fetal demise is to inject digoxin intrafetally or potassium chloride intrathoracically. Questioned about the policy of the UK government on the issue in Parliament , Baroness Andrews stated that: We are not aware of the procedure referred to as "partial-birth abortion" being used in Great Britain. It

25440-457: The beginning of the procedure to allow for softening of the fetal bones or to comply with relevant laws in the physician's jurisdiction and the U.S. federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Umbilical cord transection can also be used to induce fetal demise prior to removal. During the surgery, the fetus is removed from the uterus in the breech position . If the fetal presentation is not breech, forceps or manual manipulation can be used to turn it to

25652-452: The case of Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt , the Supreme Court in a 5–3 decision on June 27, 2016, swept away forms of state restrictions on the way abortion clinics can function. The Texas legislature enacted in 2013 restrictions on the delivery of abortions services that, it was argued by its opponents, created an undue burden for women seeking an abortion by requiring abortion doctors to have difficult-to-obtain "admitting privileges" at

25864-471: The cases before us is 'liberty'." The Supreme Court continues to make decisions on this subject. On April 18, 2007, it issued a ruling in the case of Gonzales v. Carhart , involving a federal law entitled the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 which President George W. Bush had signed into law. The law banned intact dilation and extraction , which opponents of abortion rights referred to as "partial-birth abortion", and stipulated that anyone breaking

26076-570: The common law . Connecticut was the first state to regulate abortion in 1821; it outlawed abortion after quickening, the moment in pregnancy when the pregnant woman starts to feel the fetus's movement in the uterus, and forbade the use of poisons to induce one post-quickening. Many states subsequently passed various laws on abortion until the Supreme Court of the United States decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decriminalized abortion nationwide in 1973. The Roe decision imposed

26288-405: The contiguous United States are in the State of California, about 84 miles (135 km) apart. At an elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190.5 m), Alaska's Denali is the highest peak in the country and continent. Active volcanoes are common throughout Alaska's Alexander and Aleutian Islands , and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in

26500-556: The country's GDP. The U.S. has 42% of the world's nuclear weapons —the second-largest share after Russia. The United States has the third-largest combined armed forces in the world, behind the Chinese People's Liberation Army and Indian Armed Forces . The military operates about 800 bases and facilities abroad, and maintains deployments greater than 100 active duty personnel in 25 foreign countries. State defense forces (SDFs) are military units that operate under

26712-469: The country's territory would expand with the admission of new states , rather than the expansion of existing states. The U.S. Constitution was drafted at the 1787 Constitutional Convention to overcome the limitations of the Articles. It went into effect in 1789, creating a federal republic governed by three separate branches that together ensured a system of checks and balances . George Washington

26924-480: The court's respect for the past judgment in that case. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in May 2021, a case that challenges the impact of Roe v. Wade in blocking enforcement of a 2018 Mississippi law (the Gestational Age Act ) that had banned any abortions after the first 15 weeks. Oral arguments to Dobbs were held in December 2021, and

27136-713: The development of self-governance, and the First Great Awakening , a series of Christian revivals , fueled colonial interest in religious liberty . For a century, the American colonists had been providing their own troops and materiel in conflicts with indigenous peoples allied with Britain's colonial rivals , especially France, and the Americans had begun to develop a sense of self-defense and self-reliance separate from Britain. The French and Indian War (1754–1763) took on new significance for all North American colonists after Parliament under William Pitt

27348-414: The dispossession of native inhabitants . As more states were admitted , a North–South division over slavery led to the secession of the Confederate States of America , which fought states remaining in the Union in the 1861–1865 American Civil War . With the victory and preservation of the United States, slavery was abolished nationally . By 1900, the country had established itself as a great power ,

27560-442: The early 1960s, a controversy centered around children's television host Sherri Finkbine that helped bring abortion and abortion law more directly into the American public eye. Living in the area of Phoenix, Arizona , Finkbine had had four healthy children; during her pregnancy with her fifth child, she discovered the child might have severe deformities when born. This was likely because Finkbine had been taking sleeping pills that she

27772-432: The end of 1972, 13 states had a law similar to that of Colorado, while Mississippi allowed abortion in cases of rape or incest only and Alabama and Massachusetts allowed abortions only in cases where the woman's physical health was endangered. In order to obtain abortions during this period, women would often travel from a state where abortion was illegal to one where it was legal. The legal position prior to Roe v. Wade

27984-469: The end of the first pregnancy trimester (12 weeks), as the threshold for state interest, such that states were prohibited from banning abortion in the first trimester but allowed to impose increasing restrictions or outright bans later in pregnancy. In deciding Roe v. Wade , the Court ruled that a Texas statute forbidding abortion except when necessary to save the life of the mother was unconstitutional. The Court arrived at its decision by concluding that

28196-580: The environment for labor unions to begin to flourish . This period eventually ended with the advent of the Progressive Era , which was characterized by significant reforms. Pro-American elements in Hawaii overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy ; the islands were annexed in 1898. That same year, Puerto Rico , the Philippines , and Guam were ceded to the U.S. by Spain after the latter's defeat in

28408-414: The federal government often applied policies of Indian removal or assimilation . The Trail of Tears (1830–1850) was a U.S. government policy that forcibly removed and displaced most Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River to lands far to the west. These and earlier organized displacements prompted a long series of American Indian Wars west of the Mississippi. The Republic of Texas

28620-450: The federal statute are not vague because the statute specifically detailed the procedure being banned: it specified anatomical landmarks past which the fetus must not be delivered, and criminalized such a procedure only if an "overt" fatal act is performed on the fetus after "partial delivery." Since 1995, led by Republicans in Congress , the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have moved several times to pass measures banning

28832-399: The feminist movement refused to advocate for abortion and treated the practice as an example of the hideous extremes to which modern marriage was driving women. Marital rape and the seduction of unmarried women were societal ills, which feminists believed caused the need to abort, as men did not respect women's right to abstinence . Feminist opposition to abortion was much less prevalent by

29044-445: The fetuses are not legally entitled to the protection afforded by the right to life specifically enumerated in the Fourteenth Amendment. Rather than asserting that human life begins at any specific point, the Court declared that the state has a "compelling interest" in protecting "potential life" at the point of viability. Under Roe v. Wade , state governments may not prohibit late terminations of pregnancy when "necessary to preserve

29256-425: The few pieces of existing federal law that provide substantive criminal provisions either protecting or penalizing abortion. The provisions in the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act and the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act cover activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce , whereas the provisions of the Comstock Act cover activity using the mail or postal system . The Comstock Act is particularly punitive as

29468-434: The first nuclear weapons and used them against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, ending the war. The United States was one of the " Four Policemen " who met to plan the post-war world , alongside the United Kingdom , Soviet Union , and China . The U.S. emerged relatively unscathed from the war, with even greater economic power and international political influence . After World War II,

29680-411: The first settlement of the Thirteen Colonies in Virginia in 1607. Clashes with the British Crown over taxation and political representation sparked the American Revolution , with the Second Continental Congress formally declaring independence on July 4, 1776. Following its victory in the 1775–1783 Revolutionary War , the country continued to expand westward across North America , resulting in

29892-492: The first state to decriminalize abortion in cases of rape, incest, or in which pregnancy would lead to permanent physical disability of the woman. Similar laws were passed in California , Oregon , and North Carolina . In 1970, Hawaii became the first state to legalize abortions on the request of the woman, and New York repealed its 1830 law and allowed abortions up to the 24th week of pregnancy. Similar laws were soon passed in Alaska and Washington . In 1970, Washington held

30104-401: The grounds that "it permitted the partial birth procedure when necessary to prevent significant health risks." In 2003, the Michigan Senate introduced Senate Bill No. 395, which would have changed the definition of birth and therefore effectively ban intact D&E. The definition of birth as defined in the bill was that once any part of the body had passed beyond the introitus, it is considered

30316-404: The grounds that they did not include health exceptions. Congressional supporters of the bill argue that a health exception would render the bill unenforceable, since the Doe v. Bolton decision defined "health" in vague terms, justifying any motive for obtaining an abortion. Congress was unsuccessful with subsequent attempts to override the vetoes. The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (BAIPA)

30528-428: The highly publicized death of Mary Rogers . Wealthier women could pay willing physicians to broadly interpret health exceptions in their favor. Euphemistic advertisements for abortifacients offered an assortment of herbal remedies. Abortions increased during World War II as the need for female labor outweighed other concerns and bribes were often accepted in exchange for lax enforcement. Regulations were tightened after

30740-470: The intact D&E issue as a central battleground in the wider abortion debate, attempting to set a legal precedent so as to either gradually reduce or gradually increase access to all abortion methods. Dr. Martin Haskell has called the intact D&E procedure "a quick, surgical outpatient method" for late second-trimester and early third-trimester abortions. The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 describes it as "a gruesome and inhumane procedure that

30952-403: The intact D&E procedure may be used to remove a deceased fetus (e.g., due to a miscarriage or feticide ) that is developed enough to require dilation of the cervix for its extraction. Removing a dead fetus does not meet the federal legal definition of "partial-birth abortion," which specifies that partial live delivery must precede "the overt act, other than completion of delivery, that kills

31164-463: The integration of Army National Guard units and personnel into the U.S. Army and (since 1947) the U.S. Air Force. There are about 18,000 U.S. police agencies from local to national level in the United States. Law in the United States is mainly enforced by local police departments and sheriff departments in their municipal or county jurisdictions. The state police departments have authority in their respective state , and federal agencies such as

31376-538: The issue of abortion and abortion rights falls under the right of privacy in the United States (e.g. federal constitutionally-protected right), in the sense of the right of a person not to be encroached by the state. In its opinion, it listed several landmark cases where the court had previously found a right to privacy implied by the Constitution. The Court did not recognize a right to abortion in all cases, saying: "State regulation protective of fetal life after viability thus has both logical and biological justifications. If

31588-498: The law pending further review, and agreed to hear the case in full in October 2019. It was the first abortion-related case to be heard by President Donald Trump 's appointees to the Court, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh . The Supreme Court found the Louisiana law unconstitutional for the same reasons as the Texas one, reversing the Fifth Circuit. The judgment was supported by Chief Justice John Roberts who had dissented on Whole Woman's Health but joined in judgment as to upholding

31800-419: The law would get a prison sentence up to 2.5 years. The United States Supreme Court upheld the 2003 ban by a narrow majority of 5–4, marking the first time the Court has allowed a ban on any type of abortion since 1973. The opinion, which came from justice Anthony Kennedy, was joined by Justices Antonin Scalia , Clarence Thomas , and the two recent appointees, Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts . In

32012-486: The life of the fetus is terminated after having been extracted from the mother's body to a point "past the navel [of the fetus]" or "in the case of head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother" at the time the life is terminated. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the terms "partial-birth abortion" and "intact dilation and extraction" are basically synonymous. However, there are cases where these overlapping terms do not coincide. For example,

32224-431: The life or health of the mother", even if it would cause the demise of a viable fetus. This rule was clarified by the 1973 judicial decision Doe v. Bolton , which specifies "that the medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors—physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age—relevant to the well-being of the patient". It is by this provision for the mother's mental health that women in

32436-526: The lower, undue burden standard for evaluating state abortion restrictions, but re-emphasized the right to abortion as grounded in the general sense of liberty and privacy protected under the constitution: "Constitutional protection of the woman's decision to terminate her pregnancy derives from the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution . It declares that no state shall "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." The controlling word in

32648-449: The married women already had at least one child. The sense that married women were now frequently obtaining abortions worried many conservative physicians, who were almost exclusively men. In the Reconstruction era , much of the blame was placed on the burgeoning women's rights movement . Although the medical profession expressed hostility toward feminism , many feminists of the era were also opposed to abortion. In The Revolution ,

32860-549: The mean Fear of the Expense of a Family, have never sincerely and honourably Courted a Woman in their Lives; and by their Manner of Living, leave unproduced (which I think is little better than Murder) Hundreds of their Posterity to the Thousandth Generation. Is not theirs a greater Offence against the Public Good, than mine? Compel them then, by a Law, either to Marry, or pay double the Fine of Fornication every Year. In 1716, New York passed an ordinance prohibiting midwives from providing abortion. Founding Father and Second President of

33072-473: The mid-18th century, Benjamin Franklin included a recipe for an abortifacient in a math textbook. In 1728, Franklin condemned publisher Samuel Keimer for publishing an article on abortion. According to biographer Walter Isaacson , Franklin did not have a strong view on the issue. In The Speech of Polly Baker , Franklin places the blame for abortion and infanticide on the sexual double standard against women. He stated: Forgive me Gentlemen, if I talk

33284-427: The military draft (leading to the end of conscription in 1973) and wide opposition to U.S. intervention in Vietnam (with the U.S. totally withdrawing in 1975). A societal shift in the roles of women was significantly responsible for the large increase in female paid labor participation during the 1970s, and by 1985 the majority of American women aged 16 and older were employed. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw

33496-435: The modern debate over women's body rights. Although many of these laws indicated the woman as a co-criminal, she was rarely prosecuted. A campaign was launched against the movement and the use and availability of contraceptives . Criminalization of abortion accelerated from the late 1860s through the efforts of concerned legislators, doctors, and the American Medical Association influenced by Storer, and were facilitated by

33708-612: The most attractive to the population are the most vulnerable. The U.S. is one of 17 megadiverse countries containing large numbers of endemic species : about 17,000 species of vascular plants occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of flowering plants are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland. The United States is home to 428 mammal species, 784 birds, 311 reptiles, 295 amphibians , and around 91,000 insect species. There are 63 national parks , and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and wilderness areas , managed by

33920-478: The most violent, the California genocide of thousands of Native inhabitants, lasted into the early 1870s, just as additional western territories and states were created. During the colonial period, slavery had been legal in the American colonies , though the practice began to be significantly questioned during the American Revolution. States in the North enacted abolition laws , though support for slavery strengthened in Southern states , as inventions such as

34132-430: The partially delivered, living fetus." In addition to the federal ban, there have also been a number of state partial-birth abortion bans . There, courts have found that state legislation (rather than federal legislation) intended to ban "partial-birth abortions" could be interpreted to apply to some non-intact dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedures. Non-intact D&E, though performed at similar gestational ages,

34344-408: The physician may not be able to remove the fetus intact due to anatomical limitations. This may present a psychological problem for the patient who wishes to view the remains, or make a comprehensive autopsy impossible, precluding an accurate postmortem diagnosis of fetal anomalies. The term "partial-birth abortion" is primarily used in political discourse—chiefly regarding the legality of abortion in

34556-405: The plaintiffs lacked standing. Judge Kacsmaryk ruled for the Alliance on April 7, 2023, reversing the FDA's approval and banning mifepristone across the United States after seven days. A district judge in a separate lawsuit, Thomas O. Rice of the Eastern District of Washington , ruled that the FDA should not reverse access to mifepristone in 16 states. Kacsmaryk's ruling was partially reversed by

34768-408: The policy of redlining later adopted by the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation . An explosion of technological advancement accompanied by the exploitation of cheap immigrant labor led to rapid economic expansion during the late 19th and early 20th centuries , allowing the United States to outpace the economies of England, France, and Germany combined. This fostered the amassing of power by

34980-465: The precedent of Griswold to unmarried persons as well. Following the Griswold case, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a medical bulletin accepting a recommendation from six years earlier that clarified that "conception is the implantation of a fertilized ovum", and consequently birth control methods that prevented implantation became classified as contraceptives , not abortifacients . In 1967, Colorado became

35192-445: The press. In 1873, Anthony Comstock created the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice , an institution dedicated to supervising the morality of the public. Later that year, Comstock successfully influenced the United States Congress to pass the Comstock Law , which made it illegal to deliver through the U.S. mail any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" material. It also prohibited producing or publishing information pertaining to

35404-420: The primary colonial grievances was a denial of their rights as Englishmen , particularly the right to representation in the British government that taxed them . To demonstrate their dissatisfaction and resolve, the First Continental Congress met in 1774 and passed the Continental Association , a colonial boycott of British goods that proved effective. The British attempt to then disarm the colonists resulted in

35616-492: The procedure in special circumstances. The 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade , which declared many state-level abortion restrictions unconstitutional, allowed states to ban abortions of post-viable fetuses unless an abortion was "necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother." The companion ruling, Doe v. Bolton , upheld against a vagueness challenge a state law that defined health to include mental as well as physical health. The Court has never explicitly held, as

35828-411: The procedure. Congress passed two such measures by wide margins during Bill Clinton's presidency , but Clinton vetoed those bills in April 1996 and October 1997 on the grounds that they did not include health exceptions. Subsequent congressional attempts at overriding the veto were unsuccessful. A major part of the legal battle over banning the procedure relates to health exceptions, which would permit

36040-455: The procurement of abortion, birth control , and venereal disease , including to medical students. The production, publication, importation, and distribution of such materials was suppressed under the Comstock Law as being obscene, and similar prohibitions were passed by 24 of the 37 states. By 1900, abortion was normally a felony in every state. Some states included provisions allowing for abortion in limited circumstances, generally to protect

36252-432: The proposed federal bans and all lacking an exemption for the health of the woman. Many of these state laws faced legal challenges, with Nebraska's the first to reach decision in Stenberg v. Carhart . The Federal District Court held Nebraska's statute unconstitutional on two counts. One being the bill's language was too broad, potentially rendering a range of abortion procedures illegal, and thus, creating an undue burden on

36464-409: The raft of state laws banning abortion in the latter half of the 19th century. Doctors were also influenced by practical reasons to advocate anti-abortion laws. For one, abortion providers were usually female midwives without formal training or education. In an age where the leading doctors in the nation were attempting to standardize the medical profession, these unlicensed practitioners were considered

36676-411: The rate of serious complications is higher in non-intact D&E. Data directly comparing the safety of non-intact to intact D&E are limited. There is no difference in postoperative blood loss or major complications when compared to non-intact D&E. There is no difference in risk of subsequent preterm delivery. The risk of retained tissue is lower since the fetus is removed intact. In some cases,

36888-413: The remains, grieving, and achieving closure . In cases where an autopsy has been requested, an intact procedure allows for a more complete examination of the body. An intact D&E is also used in abortions to minimize the passage of instruments into the uterus, reducing the risk of trauma. It also reduces the risk of cervical lacerations that may be caused by the removal of bony parts from the uterus and

37100-412: The respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer." Instead, it chose to point out that historically, under English and American common law and statutes, "the unborn have never been recognized ... as persons in the whole sense", and thus

37312-515: The rights of African Americans . National infrastructure, including transcontinental telegraph and railroads , spurred growth in the American frontier . From 1865 through 1917 an unprecedented stream of immigrants arrived in the United States, including 24.4 million from Europe. Most came through the port of New York City , and New York City and other large cities on the East Coast became home to large Jewish , Irish , and Italian populations, while many Germans and Central Europeans moved to

37524-423: The risk of infection. In cases where the woman is Rh-negative, Rho(D) immunoglobulin (RhoGam) is administered to prevent the risk of developing erythroblastosis fetalis (hemolytic disease of the newborn) in subsequent pregnancies. Intact D&E is more feasible among women with higher parity , at higher gestational ages, and when cervical dilation is greater. There are no absolute contraindications. The surgery

37736-447: The risk of retention of fetal parts in the uterus such as brain matter and tissue. As with non-intact D&E, intact D&E may be performed in freestanding clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, and in hospitals. Intra-operative pain control is usually dependent on the setting and patient characteristics but commonly involves local analgesia with either IV sedation or general anesthesia. Preoperative antibiotics are administered to reduce

37948-429: The risks of non-intact D&E and include postoperative infection, hemorrhage, or uterine injury. Overall, the complication rate is low, with rates of serious complications (those requiring blood transfusion, surgery, or hospital treatment) ranging from 0 per 1,000 cases to 2.94 per 1,000 cases. The rate of minor complications is approximately 50 in 1,000 (5%), the same as the minor complication rate for non-intact D&E;

38160-437: The rocky Great Basin and Chihuahua , Sonoran , and Mojave deserts. In the northwest corner of Arizona , carved by the Colorado River over millions of years, is the Grand Canyon , a steep-sided canyon and popular tourist destination known for its overwhelming visual size and intricate, colorful landscape. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast . The lowest and highest points in

38372-458: The six clinics in the state. The case in Louisiana was put on hold pending the result of Whole Woman's Health , and was retried based on the Supreme Court's decision. While the District Court ruled the law unconstitutional, the Fifth Circuit found that unlike the Texas law, the burden of the Louisiana law passed the tests outlined in Whole Woman's Health , and thus the law was constitutional. The Supreme Court issued an order to suspend enforcement of

38584-464: The six service branches, which are made up of the U.S. Army , Marine Corps , Navy , Air Force , and Space Force . The Coast Guard is administered by the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy in wartime. The United States spent $ 916 billion on its military in 2023, which is by far the largest amount of any country , making up 37% of global military spending and accounting for 3.4% of

38796-407: The sole authority of a state government. SDFs are authorized by state and federal law but are under the command of the state's governor . They are distinct from the state's National Guard units in that they cannot become federalized entities. A state's National Guard personnel, however, may be federalized under the National Defense Act Amendments of 1933 , which created the Guard and provides for

39008-460: The state's constitution more difficult, ahead of November 2023 Ohio Issue 1 , which added the right to an abortion to the Ohio constitution . FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine brought into question the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s approval and rules around mifepristone , after lower courts had deemed the FDA's approval unlawful. In Arizona, the state Supreme Court ruled in Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Mayes that instead of

39220-543: The states are also represented by local elected governments , which are administrative divisions of the states. States are subdivided into counties or county equivalents , and further divided into municipalities . The District of Columbia is a federal district containing the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C. . The federal district is an administrative division of the federal government. Federally recognized tribes govern 326 Indian reservations . The United States has an established structure of foreign relations, and it has

39432-451: The structure and responsibilities of the national federal government and its relationship with the individual states. The U.S. Constitution is the world's oldest national constitution still in effect (from March 4, 1789). Composed of three branches, all headquartered in Washington, D.C., the federal government is the national government of the United States. It is regulated by a strong system of checks and balances . The three-branch system

39644-504: The umbilical cord has been cut or if the expulsion of the infant was natural, induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is a proposed piece of legislation that would result in criminal penalties for any practitioner who denies a born-alive infant care. On October 2, 2003, with a vote of 281–142, the House approved the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act to ban intact dilation and extraction, with an exemption in cases of fatal threats to

39856-429: The war to encourage a return to traditional family life, until a reform movement started in the 1950s drawing attention to the public health issue of illegal abortions, and a consensus grew in the medical community that physicians should make decisions about when health exceptions apply. A number of other factors likely played a role in the rise of anti-abortion laws. As in Europe, abortion techniques advanced starting in

40068-415: The woman's health or to terminate pregnancies arising from rape or incest. Most Americans did not view abortion as a crime, and abortions continued to occur and became increasingly available. The American Birth Control League was founded by Margaret Sanger in 1921; it would become Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942. By the 1930s, licensed physicians performed an estimated 800,000 abortions

40280-414: The woman. Through this legislation, a doctor could face up to two years in prison and civil lawsuits for performing such a procedure. A woman undergoing the procedure could not be prosecuted under the measure. On October 21, 2003, the United States Senate passed the bill by a vote of 64–34, with a number of Democrats joining in support. The bill was signed by President George W. Bush on November 5, 2003, but

40492-406: The world's fourth-longest river system , runs predominantly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat and fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region in the southeast. The Rocky Mountains , west of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, peaking at over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado . Farther west are

40704-449: The world's second-largest diplomatic corps as of 2024 . It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council , and home to the United Nations headquarters . The United States is a member of the G7 , G20 , and OECD intergovernmental organizations. Almost all countries have embassies and many have consulates (official representatives) in the country. Likewise, nearly all countries host formal diplomatic missions with

40916-461: The world's third-largest land area , largest exclusive economic zone , and third-largest population , exceeding 334 million. Its three largest metropolitan areas are New York , Los Angeles , and Chicago , and its three most populous states are California , Texas , and Florida . Paleo-Indians migrated across the Bering land bridge more than 12,000 years ago, and formed various civilizations and societies . British colonization led to

41128-444: The world's oldest surviving federation, and its presidential system of national government has been adopted, in whole or in part, by many newly independent states worldwide following their decolonization . It is a liberal representative democracy "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law ". The Constitution of the United States serves as the country's supreme legal document , also establishing

41340-423: The world's tornadoes occur in the country , mainly in Tornado Alley . Overall, the United States receives more high-impact extreme weather incidents than any other country. Extreme weather became more frequent in the U.S. in the 21st century, with three times the number of reported heat waves as in the 1960s. In the American Southwest , droughts became more persistent and more severe. The regions considered as

41552-423: The world, with almost 2 million people incarcerated . An analysis of the World Health Organization Mortality Database from 2010 showed U.S. homicide rates "were 7 times higher than in other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25 times higher". Abortion in the United States In the United States , abortion is a divisive issue in politics and culture wars , though

41764-458: Was annexed in 1845, and the 1846 Oregon Treaty led to U.S. control of the present-day American Northwest . Victory in the Mexican–American War resulted in the 1848 Mexican Cession of California, Nevada, Utah, and much of present-day Colorado and the American Southwest . The California gold rush of 1848–1849 spurred a huge migration of white settlers to the Pacific coast, leading to even more confrontations with Native populations. One of

41976-440: Was Ohio, which in 1995 enacted a law that referred to the procedure as dilation and extraction . In 1997, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found the law unconstitutional on the grounds that it placed a substantial and unconstitutional obstacle in the path of women seeking pre-viability abortions in the second trimester . Between 1995 and 2000, 28 more states passed Partial-Birth Abortion bans, all similar to

42188-703: Was adopted on July 4, 1776. The political values of the American Revolution included liberty , inalienable individual rights ; and the sovereignty of the people ; supporting republicanism and rejecting monarchy , aristocracy , and all hereditary political power; civic virtue ; and vilification of political corruption . The Founding Fathers of the United States , who included Washington, Jefferson, John Adams , Benjamin Franklin , Alexander Hamilton , John Jay , James Madison , Thomas Paine , and many others, were inspired by Greco-Roman , Renaissance , and Enlightenment philosophies and ideas. The Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781 and established

42400-455: Was approved for abortion in the United States by the FDA in September 2000. As of 2007 , it was legal and available in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam , and Puerto Rico . It was a prescription drug, and required that it could only be distributed to the public through specially qualified licensed physicians. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic on December 16, 2021, in light of the difficulties in accessing in-person healthcare services,

42612-460: Was brought to the public attention in the 19th century. James Mohr wrote that even though pre-quickening abortion was legal in the first three decades of the 19th century, only 1 in 25 to 1 in 30 pregnancies ended in abortion. By the 1850s and 1860s, this number had increased to 1 in 5 or 1 in 6. John Keown highlighted some challenges in pinning down the common law view, observing that "evidence of quickening would clearly facilitate prosecution". In

42824-455: Was clear: There was no discernible response by the fetus." Abortion provider Warren Hern asserted in 2003, "No peer-reviewed articles or case reports have ever been published describing anything such as 'partial-birth' abortion, 'Intact D&E' (for 'dilation and extraction'), or any of its synonyms." Therefore, Hern expressed uncertainty about what all of these terms mean. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Gonzales v. Carhart that these terms of

43036-414: Was convicted of two counts of capital murder in 2005 under Texas' fetal homicide law. His girlfriend Erica Basoria testified that she had asked him to step on her stomach because her attempts to induce miscarriage on herself had been unsuccessful. Flores said he initially refused but she would not relent until he agreed. Flores admitted to police that he "accidentally, probably" hit Basoria in the face during

43248-404: Was elected the country's first president under the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791 to allay skeptics' concerns about the power of the more centralized government. His resignation as commander-in-chief after the Revolutionary War and his later refusal to run for a third term as the country's first president established a precedent for the supremacy of civil authority in

43460-454: Was enacted August 5, 2002, by an Act of Congress and signed into law by George W. Bush. It asserts the human rights of infants born after a failed attempt to induce abortion. A "born-alive infant" is specified as a "person, human being, child, individual". "Born alive" is defined as the complete expulsion of an infant at any stage of development that has a heartbeat, pulsation of the umbilical cord, breath, or voluntary muscle movement, no matter if

43672-418: Was missing an arm that had been severed during the D&E. He cited Roe v. Wade when he appealed his conviction for assaulting the baby based on an argument that the baby had not yet been born when he attempted the procedure. Another patient was forced to leave the clinic halfway through a procedure after Dr. Hayat demanded more money that her husband could not afford to pay. The patient nearly died and

43884-526: Was signed into law; the House passed it on October 2 with a vote of 281–142, the Senate passed it on October 21 with a vote of 64–34, and President George W. Bush signed it into law on November 5. Beginning in early 2004, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America , the National Abortion Federation , and abortion doctors in Nebraska challenged the ban in federal district courts in the Northern District of California , Southern District of New York , and District of Nebraska . All three district courts ruled

44096-479: Was that abortion was illegal in 30 states and legal under certain circumstances in 20 states. In the late 1960s, a number of organizations were formed to mobilize opinion both against and for the legalization of abortion. In 1966, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops assigned Monsignor James T. McHugh to document efforts to reform abortion laws, and anti-abortion groups began forming in various states in 1967. In 1968, McHugh led an advisory group which became

44308-438: Was treated at a local hospital for severe infection caused by pieces of dismembered fetus being left in her uterus. 17 year old Sophie McCoy died in 1990 from an infected uterine perforation after receiving an abortion at Dr. Hayat's clinic. Inequality in access to safe and legal abortions persists to this day whereby many women cannot afford to obtain a legal abortion; in such cases, women may turn to illegal abortion . In

44520-492: Was unaware contained thalidomide , a drug that increases the risk of fetal deformities during pregnancy. Though Finkbine wanted an abortion, the abortion laws of Arizona only allowed abortions if a pregnancy posed a threat to the woman's life. The situation gained public attention after Finkbine shared the story with a reporter from The Arizona Republic , who disclosed her identity in spite of her requests for anonymity. On August 18, 1962, Finkbine traveled to Sweden to obtain

44732-419: Was upheld as constitutional. This is despite the fact the Virginia law criminalizes abortions for accidental or intentional intact D&E. In 2000, Ohio introduced another "partial-birth abortion" ban. The law differed from previous attempts at the ban in that it specifically excluded D&E procedures, while also providing a narrow health exception. This law was upheld on appeal to the Sixth Circuit in 2003 on

44944-471: Was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Gonzales v. Carhart , outlaws an intact D&E of a fetus with a heartbeat under most, though not all, circumstances. As with non-intact D&E or labor induction in the second trimester, the purpose of D&E is to end a pregnancy by removing the fetus and placenta. Patients who have a fetus diagnosed with severe congenital anomalies may prefer an intact procedure to allow for viewing of

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