333:
record...As the debates over this issue have shown, both sides can muster evidence:there is case law—albeit very little—that seems to classify abortion as murder without reference to stages of fetal development, and there are cases and other material which seem to regard abortion as less serious, some appearing to disregard it altogether. Part of the reason for this very real confusion is that medieval and early modern
England did not have a single unified legal system, though one was evolving: law was still partly related to local custom and could vary from place to place; multiple court systems were in play; ecclesiastical law and common law had contested and at times overlapping jurisdiction. at the level of enforcement—often this is all the records show us—officers of the law were "often partisan or highly erratic in their performance". These factors make it difficult to establish the conclusive answers each side in the modern abortion debate seeks.
445:: Justice Anthony Kennedy asked counsel for the Reproductive Health Clinic if states had the right to 'prohibit an abortion after the fetus is eight months old.' Mr. Susman's response went immediately to the old issue of the dividing line between legal and illegal abortions. "I am willing to recognize the compelling interest granted in
156:". The law held that no women could be granted a second reprieve from the original sentence on the ground of subsequent pregnancy, even if the fetus had quickened. In Ireland on 16 March 1831 Baron Pennefather in Limerick stated that pregnancy was not alone sufficient for a delay but there had to be quickening.
131:
with child, and by a potion, or otherwise, killeth it in her womb; or if any one beat her, whereby the child dieth in her body, and she is delivered of a dead child; this, though not murder, was by the ancient law homicide or manslaughter. But at present it is not looked upon in quite so atrocious a
332:
Dellapenna's book is a recent example of analysis which distorts the evidence to press an absolutist position about the legal history, ignoring context and culture to do so. Bypassing the importance of intellectual and social history to an understanding of the law, Dellapenna himself falsifies the
90:
The study of the early history of common law in the context of the abortion debate presents some challenges. Over the years dedicated scholars have uncovered case law that supports the argument that abortion was considered murder, in at least some cases, even before quickening. However, due to the
70:
muscles, are first to sense fetal motion. Therefore, her body weight usually does not have a substantial effect on when movements are initially perceived. Women who have previously given birth have more relaxed uterine muscles which are more sensitive to fetal motion during subsequent pregnancies.
440:
Closely tied to the question of
English legal scholars' positions on abortion was the issue of a dividing line or point to separate legal from illegal abortions. This point was called "quickening" by the early authorities. Questions about this line were also raised in oral argument in
114:
as a legally protected right "inherent by nature in every individual". Blackstone wrote that life became a legally protected right "as soon as an infant is able to stir in the mother's womb". Blackstone explained the subject of quickening in the eighteenth century, relative to
58:
The first natural sensation of quickening may feel like a light tapping or fluttering. These sensations eventually become stronger and more regular as the pregnancy progresses. Sometimes, the first movements are mis-attributed to gas or hunger pangs.
91:
greater impact of local customs and contested jurisdictions in earlier stages of legal history, the customary origins of the common law are murky, and scholars can point to other cases where abortion was not considered such a serious matter.
398:
Blackstone's
Commentaries: With Notes of Reference, To the Constitution and Laws, Of the Federal Government of The United States; And of the Commonwealth of Virginia, In Five Volumes. Book I, Vol. II, Of the Rights of Persons,
449:
of the state in potential fetal life after the point of viability," Susman responded. He then linked the ancient concept of quickening as the dividing line to that of the modern viability standard.
152:
In
England in the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, a woman convicted of a capital crime could claim a delay in her execution if she were pregnant; a woman who did so was said to "
102:
If one strikes a pregnant woman or gives her poison in order to procure an abortion, if the fetus is already formed or quickened, especially if it is quickened, he commits homicide.
82:
woman) typically feels fetal movements at about 20–21 weeks, whereas a woman who has given birth at least once will typically feel movements around 18 weeks.
501:
255:
1098:
1067:
79:
240:
225:
304:
78:, usually felt 14–26 weeks after conception, or between the fourth and sixth month. A woman pregnant for the first time (i.e., a
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278:
768:
349:
1367:
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137:
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Life... begins in contemplation of law as soon as an infant is able to stir in the mother's womb. For if a woman is
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1138:
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187:, in turn citing The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. copyright 2000
20:
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773:
743:
141:
and other widely consulted common law authorities drew a dividing line at quickening analogous to the
1303:
915:
655:
579:
241:
Big, Beautiful & Pregnant: Expert Advice and
Comforting Wisdom for the Expecting Plus-size Woman
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320:"To "Bring Down the Flowers": The Cultural Context of Abortion Law in Early Modern England"
8:
1362:
1273:
1228:
1128:
987:
905:
888:
853:
708:
629:
589:
386:
To "Bring Down the
Flowers": The Cultural Context of Abortion Law in Early Modern England
1480:
1248:
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356:. Translated by Thorne, Samuel Edmund. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
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Moment in pregnancy when the pregnant woman starts to feel movement in the uterus
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107:
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The first legal writer to describe abortion of a quick fetus as homicide was
1439:
1019:
972:
920:
878:
513:
256:"Scarlet Letters: Getting the History of Abortion and Contraception Right"
1429:
1024:
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200:
When
Children Became People: The Birth of Childhood in Early Christianity
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1434:
952:
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47:
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35:
27:
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when the pregnant woman starts to feel the fetus's movement in the
71:
For them fetal motion can sometimes be felt as early as 14 weeks.
836:
436:
Litigating
Morality: American Legal thought and its English Roots
423:. Vol. 5. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 388.
67:
279:"What Alito Gets Wrong About the History of Abortion in America"
1342:
804:
799:
63:
42:. It was believed that the quickening marked the moment that a
39:
1388:
1052:
821:
350:"The crime of homicide and the divisions into which it falls"
324:
William & Mary
Journal of Race, Gender and Social Justice
110:
post-quickening was recognized by the
British legal scholar
43:
238:
Van Der Ziel, Cornelia & Tourville, Jacqueline.
229:, page 480 (HarperCollins 2004). Retrieved 2007-02-15.
388:
14 Wm. & Mary J. Women & L. 107 (2007), 133.
132:
light, though it remains a very heinous misdemeanor.
434:Bartee, Wayne C.; Bartee, Alice Fleetwood (1993).
1472:
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308:(Blackwell 2000), page 8. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
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543:
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166:Abortion in the United States § History
536:
522:
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226:Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy
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145:the Supreme Court attempted to draw in
1473:
508:Fetal movement: Feeling your baby kick
276:
517:
460:
244:(Marlowe 2006). Retrieved 2007-02-15.
253:
190:
1368:Psychiatric disorders of childbirth
420:Commentaries on the Laws of England
13:
354:On the Laws and Customs of England
277:Reagan, Leslie J. (June 2, 2022).
74:Quickening indicates the start of
14:
1497:
504:, American Pregnancy Association.
495:
196:
1373:Postpartum physiological changes
1073:Postpartum physiological changes
598:Assisted reproductive technology
502:First Fetal Movement: Quickening
471:from the original on 2006-10-20.
352:. In Woodbine, George E. (ed.).
53:
1425:Adaptation to extrauterine life
475:
454:
427:
403:
391:
378:
305:Essentials of Neonatal Medicine
254:Dine, Ranana (August 8, 2013).
185:Quickening in Farlex dictionary
1068:Maternal physiological changes
338:
311:
296:
258:. Center for American Progress
247:
232:
217:
178:
1:
623:partner-assisted reproduction
85:
7:
859:Traditional birth attendant
159:
98:in the early 13th century:
21:Quickening (disambiguation)
10:
1502:
1091:Brain health and pollution
415:"Amendment IX, Document 1"
46:entered the fetus, termed
18:
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1304:Chorionic villus sampling
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656:Obstetric ultrasonography
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588:
580:Pre-conception counseling
555:
438:. Bloomsbury. p. 2.
138:Blackstone's Commentaries
66:muscles, rather than her
1194:Intrahepatic cholestasis
384:See also Carla Spivack,
171:
1264:Motor vehicle emissions
1125:Concomitant conditions
1099:environmental toxicants
842:Auxiliary nurse midwife
603:artificial insemination
570:Natural family planning
318:Spivack, Carla (2007).
302:Levene, Malcolm et al.
1358:Postpartum confinement
618:in vitro fertilisation
461:Defoe, Daniel (1722).
134:
104:
1353:Postpartum depression
1234:Pruritic folliculitis
978:Unassisted childbirth
482:Limerick Evening Post
125:
100:
1460:Gravidity and parity
1440:Congenital disorders
1399:Lactation consultant
1269:Pre-existing disease
948:Childbirth positions
938:Rupture of membranes
635:Unintended pregnancy
613:fertility medication
19:For other uses, see
1363:Sex after pregnancy
1170:Endocrine diseases
1116:Prenatal depression
988:Placental expulsion
906:Uterine contraction
889:cervical effacement
630:Fertility awareness
411:Blackstone, William
1139:Hypercoagulability
968:Natural childbirth
817:Postterm pregnancy
575:Male contraceptive
203:. Fortress Press.
197:Bakke, Odd Magne.
112:William Blackstone
1468:
1467:
1453:Obstetric history
1448:
1447:
1409:Confinement nanny
1322:
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1189:Acute fatty liver
996:
995:
884:cervical dilation
510:, babycenter.com.
363:978-0-674-08038-6
210:978-1-4514-1530-8
34:is the moment in
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1299:Cardiotocography
1005:
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911:Vaginal delivery
784:Nesting instinct
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744:Rudimentary horn
673:Prenatal testing
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1179:Thyroid disease
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1034:
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958:Labor induction
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54:Medical facts
51:
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29:
22:
1134:Hypertension
1121:Immunization
1104:in pregnancy
1020:Amniotic sac
973:Silent birth
916:Presentation
879:Bishop score
849:Obstetrician
739:Interstitial
666:home testing
485:
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286:. Retrieved
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80:primigravida
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31:
25:
1430:Apgar score
1214:Hepatitis C
1200:Infections
1040:Development
1025:Endometrium
983:Water birth
901:Bloody show
832:Men's roles
762:Preparation
714:Heterotopic
147:Roe v. Wade
1475:Categories
1435:Child care
1328:Postpartum
1287:Procedures
1239:Dermatoses
1095:Nutrition
953:Home birth
875:Pelvimetry
754:Childbirth
734:Unintended
590:Conception
549:childbirth
106:The fetal
86:Common law
62:A woman's
48:ensoulment
32:quickening
1481:Midwifery
943:Caesarean
709:Abdominal
545:Pregnancy
413:(1979) .
348:(1977) .
68:abdominal
36:pregnancy
28:pregnancy
1336:Maternal
1314:Abortion
1259:Bleeding
1209:COVID-19
1174:Diabetes
1159:Cannabis
1109:prenatal
1030:Placenta
1001:Prenatal
931:shoulder
926:cephalic
894:position
868:Delivery
729:Postterm
694:Cervical
557:Planning
469:Archived
288:July 26,
283:Politico
262:July 26,
160:See also
121:abortion
117:feticide
1245:Others
1219:Malaria
1164:Opioids
1154:Alcohol
1149:Smoking
1008:Anatomy
837:Midwife
805:Newborn
724:Ovarian
704:Ectopic
699:Cryptic
644:Testing
443:Webster
64:uterine
30:terms,
1418:Infant
1343:Lochia
1129:Anemia
1048:Embryo
921:breech
800:Mother
779:Lamaze
370:
360:
207:
40:uterus
1486:Souls
1389:Doula
1382:Roles
1274:Sleep
1249:Drugs
1229:Lupus
1053:Fetus
822:Doula
793:Roles
719:Molar
687:Types
172:Notes
129:quick
1083:Care
547:and
484:and
399:130.
372:1872
368:OCLC
358:ISBN
290:2022
264:2022
205:ISBN
119:and
44:soul
1204:HIV
447:Roe
149:.
26:In
1477::
877:/
467:.
417:.
366:.
330:.
328:14
326:.
322:.
281:.
123::
50:.
537:e
530:t
523:v
374:.
292:.
266:.
213:.
23:.
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