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ALI
The American Law Institute (ALI) proposes a model penal code for state abortion laws. The code advocates legalizing abortion for reasons including the mental or physical health of the mother, pregnancy due to rape and incest, and fetal deformity. -
Liberalized
Apr. 25: Colorado Gov. John A. Love signs the first “liberalized” ALI-model abortion law in the United States, allowing abortion in cases of permanent mental or physical disability of either the child or mother or in cases of rape or incest. Similar laws are passed in California, Oregon, and North Carolina. -
Pro-Abortion
As pro-abortion efforts continue and more state right-to-life organizations form, it becomes clear that there is a need for a national organization to coordinate the flow of information among the states. National Right to Life is formed in the summer of 1968 and publishes its first newsletter in October 1968. Over the next five years, the board of directors grows to include representatives with a diverse range of backgrounds including doctors, lawyers, nurses, homemakers, and educators. -
Demand
Apr. 11: New York allows abortion on demand up to the 24th week of pregnancy, as Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller signs a bill repealing the state’s 1830 law that banned abortion after quickening except to save a woman’s life. Similar laws are passed in Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington state. -
Supreme Court Rules
Apr. 21: The U.S. Supreme Court rules on its first case involving abortion in United States v. Vuitch, upholding a District of Columbia law permitting abortion only to preserve a woman’s life or “health.” However, the Court makes it clear that by “health” it means “psychological and physical well-being,” effectively allowing abortion for any reason. -
ALI Law
By year’s end a total of 13 states have an ALI-type law. Four states allow abortion on demand. Mississippi allows abortion for rape and incest [1966] while Alabama allows abortion for the mother’s physical health [1954]. However, 31 states allow abortion only to save the mother’s life. -
Pregnant Minors
In Bellotti vs. Baird, Supreme Court rules that pregnant minors can petition court for permission to have an abortion without parental notification -
Akron Ordinance
The court strikes down an Akron ordinance that requires doctors to give abortion patients antiabortion literature, imposes a 24-hour waiting period, requires abortions after the first trimester to be performed in a hospital, requires parental consent and requires the aborted fetus to be disposed of in a human manner. -
Holding
In Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, the court reaffirms Roes core holding that states may not ban abortions or interfere with a woman's decision to have an abortion. The court does uphold mandatory 24-hour waiting periods and parental-consent laws. -
The bombing
Two bombs blast outside an Atlanta building containing an abortion clinic; six people injured; the clinic is left in ruins and the blast blows out windows across the street.