Think Piece 1 - Term Paper Example

There is also a difference between criminalization and decriminalization; this is due to the fact that criminalization is a form of punishment, while decriminalization is the change of a previously punishable act to a legal one, in order to save vulnerable people, for example abortion. Various acts and behaviors have been criminalized in the United States, while others have been decriminalized. Keywords: Crime, Process of Criminalization, Process of Decriminalization, Criminalization, Decriminalization, Punishment, Violation, Criminal HIV Transmission, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Prostitution, Abortion, Homosexuality, Gambling, Marijuana Crime can be defined as an abuse of society rules of behavior as stated and expressed by a criminal legal code (Siegel, 2009).

Walston-Dunham on the other hand defined crime as “conduct in abuse of the criminal laws of a state, the government, or a local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse” (1990, p. 499). Criminalization refers to both the absolute means that place certain conduct under the threat of punishment, and to the legal action of introducing these means. Criminalization can therefore be defined as the “legally binding decision to put a certain form of conduct under the threat of punishment” (Duff, Farmer, Marshall, Renzo, & Tadros, 2010, p. 239). The difference between crime and the process of criminalization is that crime is a violation of rules that are set to govern a society, while the process of criminalization is a punishment for the law breakers.

Decriminalization refers to “adjustment of moral boundaries to social change or, to retain the vocabulary borrowed from Piaget, as normative accommodation” (Abel, 1995, p. 214). Criminalization takes precedence over its counterpart decriminalization (Spierenburg, 2008). The difference between the process of criminalization and decriminalization is that in criminalization, there is a form of punishment and the acts and behaviors are regarded as illegal, while decriminalization is the change of a previously punishable act to a legal one, in order to save vulnerable people; hence in decriminalization the acts and behaviors that were regarded as illegal are no longer illegal.

Examples of acts and behaviors that have been decriminalized in the United States include abortion, homosexuality, marijuana use, and gambling. Examples of acts and behaviors that have been criminalized in the United States include criminal HIV transmission, child abuse, prostitution, and domestic violence. Laws governing abortion have been varied in different states. In 1973 many states criminalized abortion. However, it was permitted when a woman`s life was at risk and many US courts stated that all abortion laws were unconstitutional.

The court recognized that a woman`s right to privacy includes a right to determine whether or not to continue her pregnancy, but that right is not absolute (Marshall Cavendish, 2009). Abortion has been the central platform for the women’s movement. Its decriminalization maintains that abortion can either be a medical or a legal issue, but a woman`s right (Anleu, 2000). Decriminalization doesn’t provide women with an absolute right to abortion, and is to be practiced by medical practitioners under critical circumstances.

Homosexuality in the United States is a behavior that has been decriminaliz