Dobbs Sentences #90: Part II B 2 c

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

Paragraph 4 of 6

Sentence 2 of 3

This sentence is similar to the last one:

“By 1868, the year when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified, three-quarters of the States, 28 out of 37, had enacted statutes making abortion a crime even if it was performed before quickening.34”

One claim, and it doesn’t need isolating from citations. The end note has more substance:

“Some scholars assert that only 27 States prohibited abortion at all stages. See, e.g., Dellapenna 315; Witherspoon 34–35, and n. 15. Those scholars appear to have overlooked Rhode Island, which criminalized abortion at all stages in 1861. See Acts and Resolves R. I. 1861, ch. 371, §1, p. 133 (criminalizing the attempt to “procure the miscarriage” of ‘any pregnant woman’ or ‘any woman supposed by such person to be pregnant,’ without mention of quickening). The amicus brief for the American Historical Association asserts that only 26 States prohibited abortion at all stages, but that brief incorrectly excludes West Virginia and Nebraska from its count. Compare Brief for American Historical Association 27–28 (citing Quay), with Appendix A, infra.”

Some quibbling over details here, which definitely deserves attention, and at some point it will get that attention. For now, this is undetermined:

  • “By 1868, the year when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified, three-quarters of the States, 28 out of 37, had enacted statutes making abortion a crime even if it was performed before quickening.”

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