ProCon’s Abortion Quiz

Question: What’s the significance of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022?

Answer: The Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade (1973), ending the constitutional right to abortion and returning the issue of abortion regulation to the states.

Question: What’s the Ebers papyrus?

Answer: Abortion techniques were developed as early as 1550 bce, when the Ebers papyrus, an ancient Egyptian medical text, outlined how to induce an abortion.

Question: What’s the significance of the Supreme Court’s Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey decision in 1992?

Answer: The Supreme Court’s 1992 Casey decision confirmed a woman’s right to an abortion but allowed states to impose certain requirements, such as a waiting period, the notification of the father, and parental consent if the mother was a minor.

Question: How was abortion viewed in the days of the Roman Empire?

Answer: In the days of the Roman Empire, abortion was considered a crime against the father, who was deprived of a potential child.

Question: What’s the Mexico City Policy?

Answer: At the August 1984 U.N. International Conference on Population in Mexico City, U.S. Pres. Ronald Reagan announced the Mexico City Policy, which banned all foreign organizations funded by the U.S. from performing or promoting abortions.

Question: What’s the Hyde Amendment?

Answer: All of these answers are true about the Hyde Amendment.

Question: What’s the significance of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973?

Answer: The Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe decision established a federal constitutional right to an abortion.

Question: Throughout much of Western history, the criminality of abortion was tied to the issue of “quickening.”  What is “quickening”?

Answer: Throughout much of Western history, abortion was not considered a criminal act as long as it was performed before “quickening” (the first detectable movement of the fetus, which can occur between 13 and 25 weeks of pregnancy).