to drink it, and if she miscarries, she is considered guilty."(Abortion in history) Early Catholics didn't believe that the soul entered the fetus until later, 40 days for boys and 90 days for girls. Only in 1869 did the Catholic Church declare that the soul entered the fetus at conception, therefore rendering abortion murder. Until the second half of the nineteenth century, the English Common Law was that abortions were permitted until the quickening, that is until the baby started moving. After that, with the new advances in the medicine field we came to understand more what happens to a woman's body during pregnancy and abortions. The abortion laws were made to protect the women from uncertified abortionists. There is one remarkable legal battle that changed the American abortion laws to what they are now, Roe v. Wade. It took place in 1973 in Texas. Roe, Norma McCorvey, was an anonymous plaintiff against the State. The ruling, abortion is legal. It gives the mother the right of whether or not to terminated her pregnancy. However, that does not give the woman the right to terminate her pregnancy for any reason during all nine months. "The court said that the woman may have an abortion until fetal viability, the time at which it first becomes realistically possible for a fetus to live outside the woman's body. At that point the state's interest outweighs the woman's right." (Roe v. Wade) There are obvious exceptions to that law if the mother's health is at risk. And just as a passing comment, Roe has now changed sides. She was an active abortion act
             ...