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

Paragraph 2 of 2

Sentence 3 of 3

The final sentence for this section is a single claim:

“And by the 19th century, courts frequently explained that the common law made abortion of a quick child a crime. See, e.g., Smith v. Gaffard, 31 Ala. 45, 51 (1857); Smith v. State, 33 Me. 48, 55 (1851); State v. Cooper, 22 N. J. L. 52, 52–55 (1849); Commonwealth v. Parker, 50 Mass. 263, 264–268 (1845).”

The claim without citations:

• “And by the 19th century, courts frequently explained that the common law made abortion of a quick child a crime.”

And the citations without the claim:

• Smith v. Gaffard, 31 Ala. 45, 51 (1857);
• Smith v. State, 33 Me. 48, 55 (1851);
• State v. Cooper, 22 N. J. L. 52, 52–55 (1849);
• Commonwealth v. Parker, 50 Mass. 263, 264–268 (1845).

I’m struggling to maintain enthusiasm for the pursuit of more historical instances of the repetition of this idea. I recognize that the Court is working to establish history and tradition, and that they see history and tradition as important, but I need to move on. This will have to wait until I can deal with some elements of the argument that engage me more. For now (and even though I don’t doubt that these citations will live up to their billing) I’m going to declare this claim undetermined:

• “And by the 19th century, courts frequently explained that the common law made abortion of a quick child a crime.”