Abortion in the united States, and abortion-related issues, are the subject of intense public and political debate and discussion. It is a burning issue and ongoing discussion today in some aspects is even more Intense than it used to be. It has become a very useful political tool to focus on the appearance of the abortion legislation for instance in times of election. Ever since the early 1 900 almost every state had its own designed ant-abortion laws.
Abortion was prohibited in more than 30 states and legal under specific circumstances in about 20 states. Circumstances that could make It legal for a woman to get an abortion could be pregnancies resulting from rape, Incest or rare cases of date drugs. In 1973 one of the most controversial and famous cases of The Supreme Court, the decision Roe v. Wade invalidated all of these laws, and established that the availability of abortion is a part of the constitutional rights too private life. The key, deliberated article of the U. S.
Constitution Is the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that: “All persons born or naturalized in the united States, and subject to the Jurisdiction thereof, are tizzies of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” Roe vs…
Wade stated that the abortion right “must be considered against important state interests in regulation. ” Furthermore the decision established a “trimester” threshold of state Interest In the life of the fetus responding to Its Increasing “viability” (likelihood of survival outside the uterus) over the course of a pregnancy, such that states were prohibited from banning abortion early in pregnancy but allowed to impose increasing restrictions or outright bans later In pregnancy.
For liberal and feminist groups the decision was a huge success. Conservative groups Instead found It Intolerable and organized themselves to fight against what they saw as an unacceptable involvement from the legislative body in the separate states political decision. Since 1973 there is also an absolute arbitration for the federal government paying for abortions for federal aid. When President Obama came In power he took away the absolute blockade against international organization offering abortion counseling paid by other non-American funds.
This on the other hand create problems in some areas as major organizations does not want to go against the worlds largest humanitarian donor and the enormous Influence that come out of that. The American people In average took stand and split up in two camps. Either one decided to identify themselves as a pro- hooch (the women right to make her own choices supported by the Democratic Party) or pro-life (the unborn child right to life supported by the Republican Party).
Therefore one could say that the terms “pro-life” and “pro-choice” generally boll down to the question of whether the Individual wants to see abortion banned, but there’s more to the debate than that regarding the issue and the political debate of 1 OFF believes that the government has an obligation to preserve all human life, regardless of intent, viability, or quality-of-life concerns. From a legal perspective the decision Roe vs… Wade has led to a discussion of the role of the Supreme Court as interpreters of the American Constitution.
In 1992 another case confirmed but Jet modified in some aspects their previous viewpoint. Just recently the Senate in Texas, which is Republican enacted a law that is prohibiting abortions after week 20 and also sets stringent on clinics that perform abortions. In several Republican states such as Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Just recently Ohio, the similar winds pull out. Some legislation even requires that the woman participate in counseling before the abortion is carried out and also emends an ultrasound to be preformed so the woman can actually see the fetus.
Some of the states also prohibit private or state health insurance to cover the surgery. As an argument the politicians use that this will make it more safely for the women. -We need to have at least as high demands on those who care for women as those who take care of animals, says Republican Jackie Schaffer in North Carolinas state house??. But the critics against these new stringent requirements mean that many of the abortion clinics will have to close down and that this is a way to limit the women rights.
On the other hand last week the state of California where Democrats control all statewide offices and both houses of the State Legislature expanded access to abortion in California, signing a bill to allow nurse practitioners, midwives and physician assistants to perform a common type of the procedure, an aspiration abortion, during the first trimester. Several other states like Oregon, Montana, Vermont and New Hampshire have similar legislation but the new California law goes further and while other states have passed a tide of laws restricting abortion access, California has gone against the current political tide.
Conclusion It is 40 years ago since the Supreme Court in the US held that a state is not allowed to ban abortions as that will go against the constitutional rights to a private life. As the separate states have the possibility to either facilitate or complicate the opportunities to perform an abortion the debate is following the political winds of that state. The U:S. Republican Party express that they support any future human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.
They also oppose using public venues to promote or perform abortion or fund organizations that perform or advocate it and will not fund or subsidize health care that includes abortion coverage. The Democratic Party on the other hand strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy, including a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay. Abortion is an intensely personal decision between a woman, her family, her doctor, and her clergy; and one could question if there is place for politicians or government to get in the way. The debate will continue.