Home > Great American Court Cases > Massachusetts v. Bangs

Legal Citation: 9 Mass. 386 (1812)

Prosecution
The State of Massachusetts

Defendant
Isaiah Bangs

Crimes Charged
Causing an abortion, committing assault and battery on Lucy Holman and administering a harmful drug to her.

Chief Prosecutor
Solicitor General

Chief Defense Lawyer
Fay

Justices for the Court
Chief Justice Theophilus Parsons, Isaac Parker, Samuel Sewall

Justices Dissenting
None

Place
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Date of Decision
October term, 1812

Decision
Bangs was found not guilty.

Significance
Common law tradition permitted a woman to abort a fetus up until "quickening." This began to change in the nineteenth century, as this case shows.

Common law in both England and America held that abortion became a moral issue only...