Pope Pius IX, born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, marked his contribution to the abortion debate by removing the distinction between an “animated” and “unanimated” fetus from

Written by Orli Lotan on behalf of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) Center for Research and Information, “Limitations in Abortion Legislation: A Comparative Study” (hereafter abbreviated “Legislation”) examines

Known for dropping a long-held distinction in the

Almost ten years after the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) the battle over abortion was still being waged. The reproductive rights of women in the United States were being challenged by the

Court: Supreme Court of Massachusetts
Citation: 9 Metcalf, 263, 50 Mass. 263
Status as current law: Questionable
Value as precedent: None

Case significance:

The Court settled the question left open from the case of Commonwealth v. Bangs that it must be proved a woman was “quick with child” in order for abortion prohibitions to have any effect in Massachusetts.

Pope Gregory XIV, born Nicolo Sfondrati, reversed the bull of Pope Sixtus V, Effraenatum, under which an abortion at any time of

Pope John Paul II’s views on abortion and embryology have been very influential to the Roman Catholic Church. He strictly forbade

Mother Teresa, a