[12] Some beliefs counted the days past conception, but the soon accepted sign of life was movement in the womb, termed "quickening." [12] The Supreme Court was not willing to allow non-scientifically based beliefs to determine when a fetus was a person and when it was not. They, therefore, held that a viable fetus (one that could survive apart from the mother) could be protected by the laws of the States. [12] .
After this Supreme Court ruling, many States began recognizing the responsibility Roe v. Wade had administered to them. In State v. Horne, the Supreme Court of South Carolina held that any future "action for homicide based on killing an unborn child may be maintained." [8] Because the law could not be enforced retroactively, Horne simply got away with intentionally killing a baby in its mother's womb. [8] South Carolina now recognizes viable fetuses as possible subjects to child abuse and sentenced a Malissa Crawley to five years after she bore a baby with cocaine-tainted blood in 1991. [4] South Carolina also found Cornelia Whitner guilty of substance abuse during pregnancy and sentenced her to eight years in prison. [4].
At the time Roe v. Wade was decided, Justice Blackmun held that the average age of a viable fetus was 28 weeks gestation, but a physician must make the ultimate decision of when a fetus could be sustained apart from the mother. [12] Since 1973, many advances have taken place in the Neonatal field. A practicing pediatrician and clinical investigator, Dr. Jean A. Wright, testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 21, 1998, about her first-hand knowledge of the changes in pre-natal care since the Roe v. Wade decision. [17] She stated that a "very different conclusion might be reached if" the decision were made in 1998 due to "the limited information that was available in 1973." [17] According to the Perinatal Education Associates, Inc.