A Timeline of Reproductive Rights

1821

Connecticut passes the first law in the United States barring abortion after “quickening”.

1860

Twenty states have laws limiting abortion.

1965

Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court decision strikes down a state law that prohibited giving married people information, instruction, or medical advice on contraception.

1967

Colorado is the first state to liberalize its abortion laws.

1970

Alaska, Hawaii, New York and Washington liberalize abortion laws, making abortion available at the request of a woman or her doctor.

1972

Eisenstadt v. Baird Supreme Court decision establishes the right of unmarried people to use contraceptives.

1973

Roe v. Wade Supreme Court strikes down state laws that made abortion illegal.

1976

Congress adopts the first Hyde Amendment barring the use of federal Medicaid funds to provide abortions to low-income women.

1977

A revised Hyde Amendment is passed allowing states to deny Medicaid funding except in cases of rape, incest, or severe long-lasting damage to the woman’s physical health.

1991

Rust v. Sullivan upholds the constitutionality of the 1988 “gag rule” which prohibits doctors and counselors at clinics which receive federal funding from providing their patients with information about and referrals for abortion.

1992

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey reaffirms the “core” holdings of Roe that women have a right to abortion before fetal viability, but allows states to restrict abortion access so long as these restrictions do not impose an “undue burden” on women seeking abortions.

1994

Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act is passed by Congress with a large majority in response to the murder of Dr. David Gunn. The FACE Act forbids the use of “force, threat of force or physical obstruction” to prevent someone from providing or receiving reproductive health services. The law also provides for both criminal and civil penalties for those who break the law.