Were abortions illegal in the 1970s?
Asked by: Cristian Pfannerstill | Last update: February 1, 2026Score: 4.3/5 (49 votes)
Abortion laws in the 1970s were a mix: it was illegal in most states, but several states liberalized laws before the landmark 1973 *Roe v. Wade* Supreme Court decision made abortion legal nationwide, while others still had bans, forcing women to seek unsafe procedures or travel for care, though some underground networks like The Janes provided help.
Was abortion legal in 1971?
In 1971, for example, abortion on demand was effectively available in Alaska, California, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, New York and Washington.
Was abortion legal in 1979?
Fifty states and the District of Columbia reported 1,251,921 legal abortions in 1979, an 8.1% increase over the number reported for 1978 (Table 1).
Was abortion made legal in 1973?
The Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973, decriminalized abortion nationwide. It protected the right to access abortion legally all across the country, and freed many patients to access the care they needed when they needed it — without fear.
Was abortion legal in 1978?
The legal abortion rate rose between 1973 and 1978 from 16.6 to 27.5 per 1000 women of reproductive age. In 1978 there were 406 abortions for every 1000 live births. 1 in every 8 women of reproductive age in the U.S. has had at least 1 legal abortion since 1967.
How an Underground Abortion Network Got Started | Retro Report
What states allowed abortion in 1970?
Late 1960s and early 1970s: Abortion Reform
Between 1967 and 1973, four states — Alaska, Hawaii, New York, and Washington — repealed their abortion bans entirely, while 13 others enacted reforms that expanded exceptions.
What happened in 1973 for women's rights?
Roe v. Wade, a landmark case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, granted a federal constitutional right to abortion. Nearly 50 years later on June 24, 2022, in a historic reversal, the court took away that right and overturned Roe — allowing states to ban abortion.
Was abortion illegal in 1975?
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.
Was abortion illegal in the 1980s?
The 1973 Supreme Court rulings recognized that women have the constitutional right to decide whether to abort or continue a pregnancy while the 1980 Supreme Court ruling declared that state and federal governments are not obligated by the constitution to provide funds to insure that women can exercise their abortion ...
Were abortions illegal in the 1950s?
In the 1950s and 1960s, up to 1.2 million illegal abortions were performed each year in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute . In 1965, 17% of reported deaths attributed to pregnancy and childbirth were associated with illegal abortion.
What was abortion like in the 1970s?
The 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, legalizing abortion in all fifty states, changed everything and nothing. In the 1970s the anti-abortion movement remained heavily Catholic, and they continued to pitch their issue as a rights issue rather than a religious one.
What happened on January 22, 1973?
On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court issued a 7–2 decision in favor of "Jane Roe" (Norma McCorvey) holding that women in the United States had a fundamental right to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction and striking down Texas's abortion ban as unconstitutional.
How many weeks pregnant are you allowed to have an abortion?
You can have an abortion from very early in pregnancy (around 4-6 weeks with pills) up to later stages (like 24 weeks or more in some places for in-clinic procedures), but the timeframe depends heavily on state laws and the type of abortion (medication vs. in-clinic), with most abortions occurring in the first trimester (up to 13 weeks). Medication abortion (pills) usually works up to 9-11 weeks, while in-clinic procedures like suction (aspiration) or dilation & evacuation (D&E) are used later, with suction common up to 14-16 weeks and D&E in the second trimester.
What year was the highest abortion rate?
Since rates peaked in 1981, the incidence and rate of abortion have shown a significant long-term decline. In recent years, these declines have been relatively consistent across most geographic regions and have occurred for all groups.
What is the 1967 abortion act?
The 1967 Abortion Act took the concept of wellbeing further, by indicating that an abortion was lawful if 'the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman' (emphasis added).
Was abortion illegal in 1969?
The state's highest court recognized abortion rights under the California Constitution in 1969, four years before Roe. State law protects the right to personal reproductive decisions. In November 2022, Californians approved Prop 1, which explicitly adds abortion and contraception rights to the state constitution.
Why was abortion made legal in 1973?
In its 1973 decision Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court recognized that the right to liberty in the Constitution, which protects personal privacy, includes the right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy.
Was abortion illegal in the 90s?
1992 – In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the trimester framework in Roe v. Wade, making it legal for states to proscribe abortion after the point of fetal viability, excepting instances that would risk the woman's health.
What states banned abortion?
Note: As of January 8, 2025, 12 states have banned abortion (Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia). Private insurance includes both employer-sponsored insurance and individual off-exchange insurance.
Could you get an abortion in 1968?
The so-called Therapeutic Abortion Act actually an amendment to the criminal code of 1872-took effect on Nov. 8, 1967. During the first half of 1968 a total of 2,035 legal abortions were reported, almost a sevenfold increase above the estimated rate of therapeutic abortions before the new law.
Where was abortion legal in 1970?
In 1970, Hawaii legalized abortion through 20 weeks for residents of that state. New York became the first state to legalize abortion on demand through the 24th week of pregnancy. Washington, D.C., also allowed abortions. Two other states, Alaska and Washington, followed the same year.
Who overturned Roe vs. Wade?
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the 2022 case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion and returning regulatory power to individual states, a decision driven by the court's conservative majority, including three justices appointed by President Donald Trump, with Justice Alito writing the majority opinion.
How many abortions happened in 1973?
In 1973 615,831 legal abortions were reported to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) from 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City. The national abortion ratio (number of abortions per 1,000 live births) increased from 180.1 in 1972 to 195.1 in 1973.
Were there abortions before Roe v. Wade?
Before the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, abortions were prohibited in 33 states and only allowed in special circumstances in 13 others. But women in those states still had abortions, some through unsafe, so-called back alley procedures.
What does "overturned" mean legally?
Simple Definition of overturn
To overturn a legal decision means to reverse or invalidate it.