California imposes no fine, and prescribes a sentence of from two to
five years in the State prison. All the statutes make the offense
much graver when the woman dies as a result of the practice. Under
these circumstances, the crime never takes lower rank than
manslaughter; and generally it is murder.

Evidently we possess sufficiently stringent laws regarding criminal
abortion; yet, as everyone knows, they do not prevent perpetration of
the crime. On good authority, we are informed that eighty thousand
unlawful abortions are performed annually in New York, in spite of a
possible penalty of four years in the State prison. This is due in
part to difficulty in securing evidence and failure to prosecute when
evidence could be gathered, but more particularly to the fact that
the general public does not appreciate the gravity of the offense.
The same feeling is illustrated in the advertising of abortifacients.
Newspapers and magazines unhesitatingly carry, under the guise of
remedies to regulate the health of women, notices of drugs and
equipment intended to destroy pregnancy. This is expressly forbidden
by many statutes. [Footnote: Thus, the Maryland law provides that
"any person who shall knowingly advertise, print, publish, distribute
or circulate any pamphlet, printed paper, book, newspaper notice,
advertisement or reference containing words or language or conveying
any notice, hint, or reference to any person or to the name of any
person, real or fictitious, from whom, or to any place, house, shop,
or office, where any poison, drug, mixture, preparation, medicine, or
noxious thing or any instrument or means whatever; or from whom
advice, direction, information or knowledge may be obtained for the
purpose of causing the miscarriage or abortion of any woman pregnant
with child, at any period of pregnancy, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the penitentiary for not less than three years, by a