As always, you can find the Dobbs v. Jackson decision here.

Paragraph 2 of 8

Sentence 2 of 2

In theory, the single claim in the next sentence is easy to verify, but I’m having trouble finding a copy of the document online. Here’s the sentence:

“Henry de Bracton’s 13th-century treatise explained that if a person has ‘struck a pregnant woman, or has given her poison, whereby he has caused abortion, if the foetus be already formed and animated, and particularly if it be animated, he commits homicide.’ 2 De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae 279 (T. Twiss ed. 1879); see also 1 Fleta, c. 23, reprinted in 72 Selden Soc. 60–61 (H. Richardson & G. Sayles eds. 1955) (13th-century treatise).25

This is one sentence and a whole lot of citations. Here’s the sentence without the clutter:

“Henry de Bracton’s 13th-century treatise explained that if a person has ‘struck a pregnant woman, or has given her poison, whereby he has caused abortion, if the foetus be already formed and animated, and particularly if it be animated, he commits homicide.’”

And here’s the clutter without the sentence:

• 2 De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae 279 (T. Twiss ed. 1879);
• see also 1 Fleta, c. 23, reprinted in 72 Selden Soc. 60–61 (H. Richardson & G. Sayles eds. 1955) (13th-century treatise).
• [End note] 25

Okay. So that’s a lot. All of this is just to establish that a person made a claim. Person A wrote thing X. Most of the garble that follows indicates a pair of sources that establish that, and at the very end we get end not 25 from the Dobbs document.

It looks like I’m going to have to make an effort to get my hands on a physical copy of the Bracton, so that will have to remain undetermined for now. But what does end note 25 have for us? Here it is:

“Even before Bracton’s time, English law imposed punishment for the killing of a fetus. See Leges Henrici Primi 222–223 (L. Downer ed. 1972) (imposing penalty for any abortion and treating a woman who aborted a “quick” child “as if she were a murderess”).”

Well, crap. Another ancient document that seems difficult to find online as a PDF.

I guess that makes two undetermined claims here:

• “Henry de Bracton’s 13th-century treatise explained that if a person has ‘struck a pregnant woman, or has given her poison, whereby he has caused abortion, if the foetus be already formed and animated, and particularly if it be animated, he commits homicide.’”
• “Even before Bracton’s time, English law imposed punishment for the killing of a fetus.”