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History of abortion laws and pertinent court cases
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Partial-birth abortion In Catholic social teaching, human life is considered to be sacred from the exact moment of conception to the occurrence of natural death. It is not dependent upon tangible means but instead originates from the God who created us. In other words, as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church – the fifth commandment (n.d.), “human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being." Thus, the life and dignity granted to every person by our Creator must be valued and protected throughout every stage of life. In essence, it is a person’s dignity that is seen as the very foundation of a moral image within our society. The primary and greatest basic principle of human rights is the right to live, leading those following the Catholic tradition to keenly work toward respect and justice in regards to humans …show more content…
Wade 1973, the Supreme Court constitutionalized the laws criminalizing or restricting women's rights and access to abortion. Proponents in support of abortion through this trial failed to acknowledge the criminal sanction in terms of causing death to an unborn child during the birth process of leaving the mother’s uterus. Pro-life supporters counteracted these acknowledgments, however, highlighting the idea that it would not be long before the same influences used to validate killing an unborn child would be used in the same respect to rationalize killing those alive. With partial-birth abortion still legally in effect within the United States, questions are being raised in terms of how far Congress will actually allow this to go and by what circumstances it will essentially be considered illegal (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
...ions over her own body; whether it is parenthood, adoption, contraception, or yes, abortion. After all, it is entirely plausible for people to be personally pro-life but politically pro-choice – this suggests that they respect each individuals’ rights over his or her own body and recognize that each woman should be allowed to have options. Regardless of whether or not she chooses to have the child, it is the fact that she has a choice that is crucial, and it is imperative that each woman have the freedom of individual autonomy. In order for this to occur, abortion must continue to be legal. Ultimately, being pro-choice is not necessarily advocating the use of abortion – it is about ensuring that abortion is legal so that women may have the option to exercise their right to individual autonomy and make the decisions that best reflects their stance in life.
Abortion has been the topic of controversy for many decades. Many people believe that when a woman terminates a pregnancy, she is committing murder and others argue that a woman has the right to choose life or abortion. There are different procedures to choose when having an abortion, depending on the gestational age and the woman 's health a pill form abortion may be used up to 9 weeks gestation (mifepristone and misoprostol), but for women who are over 12-weeks gestation (late-term abortion), surgical abortion is used (Berer 25). In 1973, the supreme court ruled that abortion was to be legalized, Roe vs. Wade. Women were given the legal right to choose to terminate their pregnancies and make the correct arrangements for their decisions. Different states have different restrictions to accessing abortion procedures, making the woman 's choice to terminate pregnancy less accessible. Restricting a woman 's access to appropriate abortion clinics limits her right to choose.
No other element of the Women’s Rights Movement has generated as much controversy as the debate over reproductive rights. As the movement gained momentum so did the demand for birth control, sex education, family planning and the repeal of all abortion laws. On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision which declared abortion "fundamental right.” The ruling recognized the right of the individual “to be free from unwanted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the right of a woman to decide whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.” (US Supreme Court, 1973) This federal-level ruling took effect, legalizing abortion for all women nationwide.
Over the duration of the last century, abortion in the Western hemisphere has become a largely controversial topic that affects every human being. In the United States, at current rates, one in three women will have had an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45. The questions surrounding the laws are of moral, social, and medical dilemmas that rely upon the most fundamental principles of ethics and philosophy. At the center of the argument is the not so clear cut lines dictating what life is, or is not, and where a fetus finds itself amongst its meaning. In an effort to answer the question, lawmakers are establishing public policies dictating what a woman may or may not do with consideration to her reproductive rights. The drawback, however, is that there is no agreement upon when life begins and at which point one crosses the line from unalienable rights to murder.
Wade by NEH Hull and Peter Charles Hoffer they state “thus before abortion because the object of law it was a subject of everyday life” (Hull & Hoffer 12). Meaning that any female that found out she was pregnant was able to get an abortion but then suffered the consequences of something going wrong. In the United States around eighteen hundred abortions became illegal, due to the lack of medical education, procedures and surgeries because they were very dangerous. As time came later medical advancements were made but women still had to rely on the back alley abortions which resulted in harming thousands of women. Abortion or premature termination of pregnancy can be accidental or on purpose. Both types of abortions can be legal or illegal. If the ongoing pregnancy becomes a medical threat, abortion is not illegal. Legal developments along with health care services are intertwined with each other. The American Medical Association stated that abortions were wrong and unsafe which made the National Abortion Federation make abortion into a “physicians- only” practice because they could be performed legally in order to save a women’s life. (National Abortion Federation NAF) It wasn’t until 1973 that abortions were made legal in the United States due to the “Supreme Court’s decision in Roe vs. Wade ruling that Americans’ right to privacy included the right of a woman to decide whether to have children, and the right of a woman and her doctor to make that decision without state interference” (NAF). In 1965, almost 300 deaths occurred due to illegal abortions, and of all pregnancy-related complications in New York and California, 20% were due to abortions. “If the US Supreme Court found constitutional grounds to extend the birth control cases’ logic that women’s bodies belonged to the women themselves, the concept of choice would become a core value in constitutional law.” (Hull & Hoffer
Imagine going to jail right after getting an abortion. Imagine the government being able to tell women what they can and cannot do with their own body. Did you know it is illegal to get an abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy in 41 states? 1.21 million abortions happen each year. Of course, some may say that abortion is a sin, crime, or even murder, but does that mean the government should set restrictions on what women can do with their own body? Women are in control of their own bodies so the U.S. government should not put restrictions on abortion or make abortion illegal.
How would you feel if someone decided that you should never get a chance at life? That
Even though we have become more socially progressive as a society, the struggle for eliminating the shaming of women who’ve received an abortion or use Planned Parenthood services continues and there right to abortion is an argument that persists because of pro life advocates and the socially conservative agenda found in the Republican party. Many republican politicians and conservative religious groups have made it difficult for women to emotionally accept themselves for choosing to have abortions but they make it physically and financially difficult for them to access those resources. Access to clinics who preform abortions has become more limited and difficult to acquire in recent years. Procedures for clinics providing multiple types of
When we are born into this world, we as children do not understand what is right from wrong. We are not capable of setting our own personal beliefs because we are not educated. Therefore, we follow in our parent’s footsteps on their own beliefs. To us as young children, we believe our parents know what’s best. Parents who are pro-life believe abortion is wrong no matter what a woman’s situation may be such as, their lifestyle, violence, and health complications.
Over years and years of constant, back-and-forth debate, there are many people who strongly support as well as many who strongly oppose abortion. Those who state that abortion should be legalized, a lot of the time, claim that it is the mother’s body so it then is her ultimate choice whether or not she should go through with aborting her unborn baby. In contrast, those who oppose the procedures and very idea of abortion claim it is inhumane, plain murder and that the mother can go through many consequences in undergoing the abortion procedures as well as other arguments. In an article I found off of the website Mic.com titled “Yes, I’m Pro-Abortion”, writer Lauren Rankin explains her position on the abortion controversy.
In the year March 1970, a woman dubbed Jane Roe took federal action against Texas abortion laws. These laws prevented Roe from terminating her pregnancy because abortions were only allowed in the scenario that the fetus was harming the life of the mother (Rosenbaum 63). Because Roe wasn’t in any way harmed by her pregnancy, she could not get an abortion. “Roe believed that TX statutes were unconstitutionally vague and that they abridged her right of personal privacy, protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments” (Rosenbaum 64). She wanted an abortion done professionally in a clean and safe environment (Rosenbaum 63). Women before the legalization of abortion would resort to unsafe methods to terminate their baby (Tribe 113).
Abortion is a legal process, therefore it should be seen as acceptable if a women decides to go through this process. Yet, abortion is definitely not a cut and dry subject. There are many issues to address before making such permanent decision, but a woman has the right to decide what happens to their body. Although you may get easily judged for it, abortion is an option to take in some situations.
Abortion has been one of the most talked about topics in society just about anywhere from television, magazines, whether or not it should be the right or wrong thing to do. Abortion is a very sensitive issue to discuss, because of its nature. Many people have said that abortion is a very bad thing to do and it should not even be choice whether or not to abort a living fetus. People think that abortion is committing murder as it is killing the human fetus. However, others feel that a woman should have a voice and have the right to choose to keep the child or not and that it is not murder until the baby is born. Majority of individuals who believe that abortion is bad say that the fetus is human who is partly being formed and to have an abortion is considered to be murder. For the people who think an abortion is ok, say that it’s not considered murder unless the child is born. I believe that abortion should be seen in which the stage the fetus is in. if the fetus is in an early stage of pregnancy it is not considered murder, but if the fetus has already began to develop into a larger fetus then it is indeed considered to be murder. There are times when abortion can be accepted, if the mother is having complications due to pregnancy. For example if the mother is enduring complications in her pregnancy that can harm her, because of the child in that case it is ok to perform an abortion to help save the mother’s life. It is also very important to understand this type of situation. The mother has the right to have an abortion and it is her decision because a mother knows best about her health conditions.
Abortion has been a method since at least ancient history. Abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 22 weeks of pregnancy. There are multiple ways a woman can have an abortion, however the one most commonly used is the suction abortion. The suction dismembers the baby while sucking their body parts through a tube. I feel strongly that abortion should be illegal because it can result in medical complications, psychological trauma, the fetus can feel pain, and abortion is murder.
Abortion Taking out the trash, or taking a human life? That is what most the argument is with abortion, some believe that abortion is okay because the fetus is not yet a person, and that the fetus will be nothing but trouble. On the other side people believe that even all the way down to the zygote (when sperm meets the egg and earliest stage of pregnancy) there is a human growing in you. A growing boy or girl, with their own little fingers, and toes, their own cute as can be toothless smile, and their functioning organs. To them one day that zygote will turn into someone great, a person just like you and I that needs love just as you and I, a person that deserves to not get taken from our world before it even has a chance to take its first breath.