A look at the U.S. first abortion law spurred by the scandalous love affair

It was the titillating trial and salacious scandal of 1820s Connecticut that has ramifications that resonate today. A love affair between an older magnetic preacher and a young woman that led to pregnancy, botched attempts to end it and then a stillbirth – all amid a broken promise to marry.

The state wanted to throw the book at Ammi Rogers, a controversial reverend, but there were no laws banning abortion in 1820. Rogers, who spent the rest of his life proclaiming his innocence, was instead convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to two years in prison.   

He impregnated 21-year-old Asenath Smith, the granddaughter of one of his congregants. When she fell pregnant, he first gave her a medicine to end the baby's life but when that did not work, used a 'tool' to end the pregnancy. 

Smith's family ended up calling a doctor because she was in extreme pain. She delivered a still born not long afterwards.  

The furor over the court case pushed Connecticut to pass the nation's first abortion law the next year, in 1821. Other states followed suit and by the end of the 19th Century, 49 states had some type of law regulating abortion, with Kentucky passing legislation in 1910. 

A through line can be drawn from that court case and subsequent legislation in 1821 to the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade to the signing Wednesday of one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws in Alabama.

While the two laws are separated by nearly 200 years, their aim is the same: punish those that provide women with abortions. In the 1820s, a women, like Asenath Smith, Rogers' lover, would have been given some sort of medicine to get rid of the pregnancy. Now, those who provide abortions could be sentenced anywhere from 10 years up to 99 years when the Alabama law takes effect.

In 1817, Reverend Ammi Rogers was called to minister to the bedside of a woman who was dying. He met her granddaughter Asenath Smith and they soon struck up a relationship. When Smith realized she was pregnant, she went to Rogers. He asked that she end the pregnancy before they marry, and after two botched attempts, Smith delivered a stillborn child and Rogers fled. Above, a look at Ammi Rogers' memoir

In 1817, Reverend Ammi Rogers was called to minister to the bedside of a woman who was dying. He met her granddaughter Asenath Smith and they soon struck up a relationship. When Smith realized she was pregnant, she went to Rogers. He asked that she end the pregnancy before they marry, and after two botched attempts, Smith delivered a stillborn child and Rogers fled. Above, a look at Ammi Rogers' memoir

Ammi Rogers was a Episcopalian reverend that the church establishment in Connecticut tried to bar from preaching in the state. After Asenath Smith gave birth to a stillborn child, Rogers was arrested and put on trial in 1820. However, using medicines to induce abortions was not illegal at the time and he was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to two years in prison. The next year, in 1821, Connecticut banned the abortion-inducing medicine and those who provided it would face prosecution. Above, a sketch of St. Peter's Church in Connecticut where reportedly Rogers was a pastor

Ammi Rogers was a Episcopalian reverend that the church establishment in Connecticut tried to bar from preaching in the state. After Asenath Smith gave birth to a stillborn child, Rogers was arrested and put on trial in 1820. However, using medicines to induce abortions was not illegal at the time and he was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to two years in prison. The next year, in 1821, Connecticut banned the abortion-inducing medicine and those who provided it would face prosecution. Above, a sketch of St. Peter's Church in Connecticut where reportedly Rogers was a pastor

Ammi Rogers was a Yale-educated Episcopalian reverend. Others with the church tried to bar him from preaching in Connecticut, which he put down in his memoirs to the fact he publicly advocated for the separation of

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