First Paragraph
The wave of rapid abortion law reform in the Western world in the second half of the twentieth century was generated by numerous factors and attitudinal modifications. In the 1950s society began to focus on reducing maternal mortality as well as on increasing reproductive choices. Then, in the 1960s the attitudes of the "sexual revolution" and the invention of the contraceptive pill prompted men and women to reconsider traditional sex roles in society. In addition, world population growth became the focus of international organizations. Another practical reason was the advent of more advanced medical technology. Technologically advanced procedures to monitor pregnancy now prevent potential danger to the life of the woman; thus, modern medicine eliminated the justification for abortion existing in the late nineteenth century abortion laws which allowed abortion to save the life of the mother.
Recommended Citation
Elizabeth J. Kapo, Abortion Law Reform: The Nexus Between Abortion and the Role of Women in the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, 10 Penn St. Int'l L. Rev. 137 (1991).
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