Story Archives of 'Abortion'

When the residents of Saco, Maine, discovered the body of a dead 20 year old woman tied up and floating in the river, they dubbed her "Mary Bean" and opened up a murder investigation. The year was 1850, and the much-publicized case unearthed issues that were as pertinent to the time as they are to our modern age. Mary Bean had died of a botched abortion, and her doctor was charged with murder. We'll hear the whole story and what it reveals about the US as it first began to grapple with issues of urbanization, mass media and discrimination.

Our guest is Elizabeth A. De Wolfe, author of the new book The Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories. She's chair of the History Department at the University of New England.

You can read more about Dr. De Wolfe's work here and here.

The 1973 Supreme Court ruling made abortion legal in the U.S. but the decision was criticized from the get-go as being on shaky constitutional grounds. Since then abortion opponents have tried vigorously to chip away at it and today those efforts are stronger than ever. We’ll look at how Roe v. Wade came to be, how it’s held up, and how it might fare in the face of future challenges. Laura's guests are Neil Siegel, Assistant Professor of Law and Political Science at Duke Law School and Mathew Staver, President of the Liberty Counsel.

New Hampshire has taken center stage in the national debate over abortion rights.

The US Supreme Court will decide whether the state's parental notification law for teenagers seeking abortions is constitutional.

The opportunity to present a case before the high court was a first for New Hampshire's Attorney General, Kelly Ayotte.

And many state lawmakers on both sides of the issue traveled to Washington to weigh in and to be a witness to history.

NHPR Correspondent Julie Donnelly reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding New Hampshire's abortion parental notification law today. We talk with Helena Silverstein about similar laws on the books in other states and how they could be affected by the outcome of this case. Helena is Associate Professor of Government and Law at Lafayette College.

We also talk with Portsmouth attorney Steve Tober. He's the chairman of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary. That title means that he, along with fourteen other attorneys across the nation are responsible for reviewing the qualifications of nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court. We'll talk with him about what exactly the committee does, and what it's like to be the first lawyer from New Hampshire to serve as chair of the committee.

Tomorrow the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments over the state's parental notification law.

Lawyers, activists and politicians will all discuss the merits of the law that requires a parent or guardian to be notified 48 hours before a girl under 18 can receive an abortion.

But the arguments heard in Washington tomorrow can't include the voices of those on the front lines- teenagers.

New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein spoke with a dozen students about parental notification Monday.