Abortion has been a controversial topic for decades due to the fact that it isn’t simply black and white. The real question is one of moral value and context, with no simple or uniform answer to it. Abortions have had their fair share of battles in the courts. One of the most important being the Roe v Wade decision. It states that the right to privacy which is protected under the 14th amendment of the Constitution, also protects the right of women to get legal and safe abortions. However, it also allowed for states to impose their own restrictions on it during the second and third trimesters. People who support abortion, referred to as “pro-choice”, argue that restricting abortions pose threats the health of women, infringe their constitutional …show more content…
They argue that it protects the health of women since they are not forced to turn to unsafe illegal abortions. Back in 1930s when abortion wasn’t legal, “an estimated 800,000 illegal abortions were taking place annually, resulting in 8,000-17,000 women 's death each year” (American Civil Rights Union). If abortions are restricted they will become unattainable to certain women, forcing them to get illegal abortions which can lead to not only health complications but even death as seen back in time when it wasn 't legal. Also it has been proven that: “Highly restrictive abortion laws are not associated with lower abortion rates.” (“The Impact of Illegal Abortion”). This indicates that even if abortions ar restricted or not, women will still get them, probably the illegal route. Women will resort to illegal abortions if they are restricted or made illegal. These illegal abortions result in consequences that could bring health risks and even …show more content…
This applies to their right to seek and get safe abortions. Currently many states across the United States pose restrictions upon abortion that makes it very difficult and virtually impossible for certain women to get them. Acknowledging the fact that all restrictions can’t be lifted, restrictions that hinder the rights of women and are irrational should be lifted. These restrictions include the gestational limits, public funding, coverage by insurance and refusal. These restrictions should be lifted because it infringes the rights of women. The public funding and coverage by private insurance restrictions strain the ability to get an abortion for women of lower incomes, making it unattainable for some. It is evident that it is unfair. These restrictions are imposed so that women, such as low income women, don’t get access to abortions. They are not there to “protect the health and lives” of women as they claim to be, but they are there to consequently prevent women from getting
The states currently hold the right to decide whether or not to allow abortion for the second and third trimesters. Regardless of the method, women fight
Roe vs. Wade is the highly publicized Supreme Court ruling that overturned a Texas interpretation of abortion law and made abortion legal in the United States. The Roe v. Wade decision held that a woman, with her doctor, has the right to choose abortion in earlier months of pregnancy without legal restriction, and with restrictions in later months, based on the right to privacy. As a result, all state laws that limited women 's access to abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy were invalidated by this particular case. State laws limiting such access during the second trimester were upheld only when the restrictions were for the purpose of protecting the health of the pregnant woman. Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the greater United States, which was not legal at all in many states and was limited by law in others.
During Roe v. Wade (1973), the Supreme Court held that a pregnant woman has the fundamental right to privacy in the cases of abortion. This case recognized that the constitutional right to privacy extends a woman’s right to make her own personal medical decisions, including the decision to have an abortion without interference from politicians. Furthermore, it affirms the legality of a woman’s right to have an abortion under the 14th amendment to the constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court Case of Roe vs. Wade has made abortion legal in America. The ruling was that babies are not legal “persons”; from that point on, they have had no rights or protection under Constitution.
Abortion restrictions are about control—they are designed to make care harder to provide, obtain and afford. As of 2023 24 states have some sort of ban on abortion and 12 states have a total ban. Unfortunately, in some states like Missouri, they are trying to
According to the article “Reproductive Rights”, “In addition to the highly controversial issue of abortion, reproductive rights encompass the ability to access contraception, sex education, surrogate motherhood, in vitro fertilization, and forced and voluntary sterilization”(1). Defunding Planned Parenthood defunds the opportunity for men and women to have these rights that all Americans are given. According to Special Interest Group Profiles for Students, “At a PPFA health center, clients may receive family-planning services such as counseling, abortions or abortion referral, screening for sexually transmitted diseases, contraception or voluntary sterilization, sex education, and adoption referrals”(2). Without these simple reproductive rights families are forced into situations that could be avoided completely. According to ACLU, “But laws that make it difficult if not impossible for a woman to get an abortion if she needs one, particularly if she is poor, are increasing at an alarming pace”(2).
As humans, we are given different rights that are meant to provide us with a chance at a good life. However, these rights can become compromised when it comes to conflicts between a pregnant woman and her fetus. The right of the fetus to live is seen as inferior to the right of the mother to have an abortion. Although each of the rights is different, it is not appropriate to say that one citizen’s rights are more superior than another citizen’s rights.
In the case of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that multiple U.S. amendments give Americans the right to privacy. Although the case ruled abortion a right for women, many states still implement rules and regulations that make a professionally administered abortion very hard, if not nearly impossible to obtain (Abortion). I believe that abortion should be legalized and made readily available all over the world. The easy availability of professional abortions reduces the rate of maternal death (Abortion).
The Right to Abortion On January 22, 1973, in a 7-2 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down it’s landmark decision in the case of Roe v. Wade, which recognized that the constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman’s right to make her own personal medical decisions — including the decision to have an abortion without interference from politicians (Planned Parenthood). There are many moments in history when Roe v. Wade has been so close to being overturned, yet it is still in place. Abortion should stay legal, or not overturned, for the health of women everywhere. First, this important case took place at the time of abortion being illegal in most states, including Texas, where Roe v. Wade began.
So abortion is federally legal in the U.S. but different states may ban it or not for their own personal reasons. This topic is very controversial because many different people have different opinions on this topic. For example the two main opinions are called pro life and pro choice. The people who support pro life believe that all life is important and that an abortion should never happen unless to save the mother. The opposite opinion of pro life is pro choice and these people believe that it 's the woman 's choice to decide whether or not they want to have an abortion.
With almost half the nation divided among their views, abortion remains one of the most controversial topics in our society. Since Roe v. Wade, our views in society as well as following court cases have been progressing toward the woman’s right to choose. The precedent set by Roe v. Wade made the Supreme Court acknowledge that it cannot rule specifically when life begins and it also affirms that it is the woman’s right to have an abortion under the 14th Amendment. In the 1st Amendment, the Establishment Clause forbids the government from passing laws “which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another”. Many Christian pro-lifers use their religious beliefs to dispute when life begins.
Everyday, anti-abortion protesters heckle at and demean women who are simply seeking to exercise their reproductive rights. Additionally, abortion clinics are closing down due to politicians and their voters enacting laws and stopping funding; for example, the amount of abortion clinics in the state of Kentucky is 1, down from 17 in 1978. Across the countries more arbitrary rules are being enforced on women to intimidate them and prevent them going through with the procedure, such as restricting insurance payout for such operations, having waiting periods, imposing a strict time frame in which a woman can get an abortion, and even forcing the patient to undergo an ultrasound to see the foetus’ shape and hear the embryo’s heartbeat. Like the women of the Gilead, American women seeking abortions have their freedoms revoked by people who do not share there same beliefs, often using religion and personal morals to defend their stance. In America especially, women have to cross a vast amount of barriers in order to receive an abortion, regardless of whether it is elective or medically necessary.
The Court ruled that the states were forbidden from outlawing any aspect of abortion performed during the first trimester of pregnancy, could only enact abortion regulations reasonably related to maternal health in the second and third trimesters, and could enact abortion laws protecting the life of the fetus only in the third trimester (McBride). At the time Roe was decided, most states severely restricted or banned the practice of abortion. My thoughts on the abortion debate fall in between conservative and liberal views. I believe that women have aright to have an abortion under certain circumstances. If the mother needs an abortion to live it should be legal.
Doris Gudino Professor Chounlamountry Political Science 1 27 July 2015 Pro-Choice Anyone? A woman has, undoubtedly, the freedom to procreate, but once a woman chooses to retreat from that freedom, a commotion arises. Abortion is a woman’s choice for many reasons. It’s her body, therefore, no one else can decide for said person.
For the last couple of years, americans have been deeply polarized over the issue of abortion. They debate has been cast in terms of “ pro-life” views and “pro-choice” views. The legality of abortion was confirmed in 1973 when the United States Supreme Court struck down a Texas
The legal status of abortion actually does not affect the number of abortions performed. However, the rate of unsafe abortions increases when abortion is made illegal and women are forced to turn to unofficial and unqualified sources. If a woman is planning to get an abortion, she will not be deterred from using any available option, regardless of the word of law. By trying to control women’s decisions to protect them, the generally male legislators who would make laws banning abortion would actually lead the women to more