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Another factor likely to be connected with restrictive abortion laws passing in the USA in the 19th century was immigration - birth rates of white Protestant women was declining, while there was an increase in immigration of Catholics. This concerned the eugenics movement.

By the end of the 19th century, most states had laws banning abortion except under very narrow circumstances. Publishing information pertinent to contraceptives and abortifacients was also illegal under Comstock laws.