Abortion law and policy - Term Paper Example

Abortion The issue of abortion has been one of the most controversial topics of all times in the American history. Abortion is a global issue that has attracted diversified opinion across people based on culture and political affiliations. Various states have developed different legislations on abortion; this has created lack of uniformity in handling of abortion cases. Most of the legislations have focused on reducing induced abortion, its advocates have had two lines of thoughts which have kept on changing with time. There are those who have stood by the ‘pro-life’ concept while others ‘pro-choice’. In addition, states have also begun to consider the issue of spontaneous abortion. Despite the anti-abortion laws, there several cases of abortion that continues to be experienced across the country. American laws on abortion have a long history, dating back in 19th Century. Individual states in America started making legislation about abortion, as incidences of abortion were becoming noticeable (Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada 2). . The states of Connecticut was one of the pioneers in legislating on abortion related issue where they made a law that was to prosecute apothecaries who were selling poison to women, a situation that led to abortion. Other states followed suit including the New York City. It is notable that the laws adopted by the United States at independence were based on the British Common Law, it was clear from the law that life began at conception and all should protect its dignity. At the beginning of the 20th Century, abortion was considered a felony across all the states. It was a criminal offense punishable in a court of law. A landmark ruling in a case by the Supreme Court allowing the use of contraceptives changed the view of abortion. They had declared that life began at conception that takes place after implantation and not after fertilization, as was the original view. This led to the era of use of contraceptives as a birth control method. The debate continued with various groups in support of legalization of abortion in some circumstances while, there are those who thought it should be completely legalized. One famous notorious group called Jane initiated an abortion program that facilitated those who wanted to have abortion around 1960s. The states began slowly changing the legislations, becoming soft on the issue of abortion. The first state to legalize abortion was the state of Colorado; however, it was not permitted under all circumstances, but in the cases on incest, rape, or situations where the pregnancy would subject the woman to a chronic condition. Following the regulations pressure from the activists made other states to begin embracing abortion. Other states that followed include North Carolina, Oregon, New York City, Alaska, Washington and California. The legislations went further to include the request of the mother to have abortion legalized, this first began in Alaska around 1970. The Supreme Court was again called to intervene in a case United States versus Vuitch, they established that when the law talks about health it includes psychological as well as physical well being (Gruskin 1). This created an avenue for abortion to be adopted. Several states upheld abortion as illegal while there are those who set conditions for the legalization of abortion. The states of Alabama and Massachusetts allowed abortion under all conditions of the safety of mother and her health while Mississippi only allowed under the circumstances of incest and rape. In the recent past abortion has been at the centre of legislations in some of the American states. An attempt to ban abortion in Mississippi flouted after there was disagreements between the Senate and the House, the bill had initially been given a go ahead by the House Public Health committee, this demonstrates the path that the states are taking in reversing the abortion issues. In another case, a pro-life statute was signed into law by the South Dakota governor and was repealed in a referendum in 2006, the law provides that abortion is a felony and should be punishable under the provisions of the law. These efforts are seen to be attempting to change the concept of abortion from the pro-choice view that gained root in the 1960s and 1970s. in line with these efforts, Virginia has passed various laws that have affected the way abortion has been done, the law declares that life begins at fertilization and should not be terminated, however, due to the current loophole in the law providing for exceptions another bill was passed. The second bill ensures that anyone undertaking abortion should have transvaginal ultrasound prior to the abortion. The states are making concerted efforts to make abortions illegal, in 2010 Colorado, the first state to allow abortion made news when they sought to change the law on abortion through a constitutional amendment. Despite the failure of the amendment in the referendum, the effort has been noticeable. A similar scenario was evident in Mississippi where they also wanted to change the constitution to introduce measures that would facilitate the banning of abortion. Surprisingly, the two incidences in Mississippi and Colorado were spearheaded by the members of the public as opposed to the legislative teams of the state. Various cases have come up that are have exposed the controversy that surrounds abortion. In a case that shaped the dimension of thinking about abortion, Roe versus Wade, the Supreme Court made a ruling that abortion rights as rights to privacy. In this ruling, a Texas statute that made abortion illegal under all circumstances except when it was necessary to protect the life of the mother, was declared unconstitutional. It was also declared that the well-being of the mother does not need to ne necessarily physical but also psychological. The judges were very categorical that the issue of defining when life begins was a difficult one that has not been resolved even by the specialists. Stating that the right to have an abortion is a right to privacy, they mentioned that unborn beings are not subjected to any legal provisions, but the state was not blind on protecting a potential life on grounds of viability. In another case, Planned Parenthood versus Casey, the court decided to ignore the strict framework that had been adopted and emphasized on liberty and the aspect of privacy. In the recent past, cases have appeared that have been decided by the court based on the provisions of the law (Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada 2). Many reasons surround the prevalence of abortion cases in the United States. Almost half of the pregnancies in the United States have been described as unintended, at least thirty percent of these are terminated using abortion, with a very small percentage opting for health reasons. There a myriad of interrelated motivations that drive individuals to terminate the life of unborn. According to a 2005 survey by Finer et al, which was conducted among 1029 abortion patients in eleven large facilities, it was established that most of the reasons for abortion are majorly related to taking the responsibility to the aspect of inadequate resources. Some of the key issues highlighted by the participants were financial constrains and lack of support from the partner (Finer 110). Other reasons that have been cited include the need to postpone child bearing while others have reasons related to their unpreparedness for the baby. In addition, others say they are young to start taking care of babies, and others have a feeling that the baby will be an impediment to their jobs or studies while some others do not want more children at all. Trends of abortions have varied across the racial affiliations of the people in United States. It is estimated that almost 22% of all the pregnancies ends up being aborted. The blacks dominate having most of the unintended pregnancies accounting to 67% while the whites 40% and the Hispanics 53 % (Dehlendorf and Harris 1). These statistics indicates the vulnerability of the communities based on their racial affiliations. It is apparent that there is reasoning behind these trends; more research needs to unearth this. Federal legislations have touched on the controversial issue of abortion. Partial birth abortion has been a subject of several debates in both houses. The republicans in both houses spearheaded the enactment of a legislation to ban intact dilation and extraction procedure since 1995 but they suffered a setback when the president declined to ascent to the legislation citing the need to consider the health factors of the mothers. In 2003, the House of Representatives passed another similar legislation dubbed the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, this law was also passed by the Senate and saw the light of the day when President George Bush accented to it hence becoming law (United States 1). A judge petitioned the law but the Supreme Court ruled that the law was consistent with the prevailing laws. According to all these landmark events, the current state of law on abortion is that abortion is legal; however, the state has a capacity to limit this right according to the prevailing circumstances. The constitution in the fourteenth amendment captures the need to have personal privacy and liberty including that of the right to do an abortion. It is unacceptable for an individual to do a late abortion unless the circumstances call for it. The United States politics have influenced the direction the debate on abortion takes. The democrats have stood by the pro-choice ideology while the republicans have preferred the pro-life approach. republicans have officially opposed the termination of life that is usually done during abortion, they have stood with the line of thought that life begins at fertilization. This has influenced the legislations made in an effort to eradicate or reduce abortions in the United States. In what was seen as a supremacy contest in the political circles, the republicans passed the Partial birth abortion legislation but President Bill Clinton refused to ascent to it. However, the legislation was passed afterwards in the Bush regime. Massive support by the republicans on the strategies and legislations to ban abortion has been witnessed, majority of the party delegates have always voted for the approach during the Republicans National Convection. However there are a few who have decided to support the legalization of abortion and refer themselves as Republicans for Choice. On the other hand, the democrats have the belief that the right of privacy and liberty should be respected, they argue that the right to abortion is a woman’s right that should not be violated. Just like their opponents, there are Democrats who have supported the pro-life approach, the Democrats for Life. In support of the approach by the democrats is the United States Green party. The politics behind abortion have been seen in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. This is characterized by the varying opinions among the parties, in 2002, up to 88% of republican platforms were in support of abolition of abortion while among the democrats 84% (Dehlendorf, and Harris 2). This occurrence facilitated the support for the republicans because most of the church based organizations stood by the same principle of pro-life. In conclusion, Abortion remains a contentious issue in the United States. The federal laws legalize the act and the state laws have varied stands. The Supreme Court as well as the lower courts has relied on the constitution to provide guidance on the issue. The sharp political differences between the Democrats and the Republicans have shaped the wind of the debate. Abortion has depicted varying trends among the population and is seen to be motivated by factors relating to resources and family care. Works Cited Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, Abortion Law and Policy: Comparisons between the U.S. and Canada.2006. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. http://www.arcc-cdac.ca/postionpapers/54-US-Canada-Abortion-Law-Policy.pdf Dehlendorf, and Harris, Christine. Disparities in Abortion Rates: A Public Health Approach".American Journal of Public Health. 2013. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html Finer, Lawrence et al. Reasons US Women have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2005, 37(3):110–118 Web. 28 Nov. 2013. http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3711005.pdf Gruskin, Sofia. "Safeguarding Abortion: A Matter of Reproductive Rights." American Journal of Public Health, 2013: 4.ProQuest. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. http://search.proquest.com/business/docview/1312688209/14202E771F020C6E3BA/18?accountid=45049 United States, Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. 2003. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-108s3enr/pdf/BILLS-108s3enr.pdf Read More