...The important ways of looking at the issue of abortion are most easily categorized into five major points, legal precedence, birth control issues, human rights, religion and when life begins. Based on both empirical and moral claims, a wide spectrum of views supporting either more or less legal restriction on abortions has emerged in America. While advocacy groups define the issue through its constitutionality and its moral views represented by their constituents, politicians define the issue by party lines, generally with liberals as “pro-choice” and conservatives as “pro-life.” The media defines the issue morally, presenting to the nation the views of various “pro-life” and “pro-choice” organizations with little empirical evidence from both sides. The various positions that can be taken on this issue can be divided by empirical and moral assumptions to more clearly analyze the particulars of this heated topic. However, the issue focuses in on the basic question; should there be more or less laws governing abortion? Before delving deeper into the history or current debates over an issue like abortion, it is important to look simply at the fact of its existence in the United States. According to studies released in 2005 by the Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health (PRCH) and The Guttmacher Institute, there were 1.29 million abortions performed in this country. Research by the same group shows that in 1994, approximately half of all pregnancies in the United States were...
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...looking at the issue of abortion are most easily categorized into five major points, legal precedence, birth control issues, human rights, religion and when life begins. In all of these categories there are issues with abortion that people that based on both empirical and moral claims, a wide spectrum of views supporting either more or less legal restriction on abortions has emerged in America. Advocacy groups define the issue through its constitutionality and its moral views represented by their constituents, but politicians define the issue by party lines, generally with liberals as “pro-choice” and conservatives as “pro-life.” The media defines the issue morally, presenting to the nation the views of various “pro-life” and “pro-choice” organizations with little empirical evidence from both sides. Ever since the landmark Roe v. Wade, abortion law has continued to protect the woman’s right to choose. Supreme Court cases have placed the woman’s right to choose under the right to privacy and therefore they have considered it protected by the US constitution. Also, when Norma McCorvey (also known as Jane Roe) tried to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision in her 2005 Supreme Court Case, McCorvey v. Hill (2005), the Supreme Court denied the case thus supporting the statute that Roe v. Wade had created. The precedent set in Roe v. Wade has served as a turning point for “pro-choice” and woman’s rights groups, and all other abortion cases have used the Roe v. Wade decision as a guideline...
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...Roe vs.Wade The Roe vs. Wade case was a challenge to a Texas law that made it illegal for a woman to have an abortion unless her own life was at risk or in the case of rape or incest.This case was brought about by “Jane Roe”also known as Norma L. McCorvey,an unmarried woman who, in June 1969, discovered she was pregnant with her third child.When she returned to Dallas,Texas her friends encouraged her to alledge that she had been raped in order to legally obtain a medical abortion.However,this allegation held no merit as there was no record of a police report reporting the rape.Norma then sought the help of attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington.They took on the case.In 1970, Coffee and Weddington filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on behalf of McCorvey (under the alias Jane Roe). The defendant in the case was Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade, who represented the State of Texas.On June 17, 1970, a three-judge panel of the District Court unanimously declared the Texas law unconstitutional,stating that it violated the constitutional right to freedom found in the ninth amendment. However the judges decided to not place a mandatory punishment of states that enforce the law.This prompted McCorvey’s attorneys to take this case to the supreme court. The supreme court judges were hesitant to hear this case because they felt the appeals raised difficult questions on judicial jurisdiction.But,the case reached the Supreme...
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...Abortion One of the most fought, controversial social issues in America is Abortion which is the medical procedure that is performed to terminate a pregnancy. Abortion is a huge moral issue in America that poses the question if it morally right or wrong. The research conducting in this paper will take a look at should abortion be legal or illegal, the Roe v. Wade case that has legalized abortion, the negative effects on woman who have an abortion, and the protest from those in the Christian religious community. Abortion is a medical procedure that is performed to end a pregnancy. Also known as induced abortion, because there are two types of abortion the other being spontaneous abortion, which is a miscarriage; “that occurs when a fetus or embryo dies in the mother's uterus and is expelled by the body” (Alters, Sandra M, 2008). Since pregnancy is lengthen by 9 months and is broken into 3 trimester each having 3 months, according to Sandra M. Alters in her 2008 published book entitled “Abortion—An Eternal Social And Moral Issue”, in 2003 88% of all induced abortions were performed during the first twelve weeks, or first trimester, of the pregnancy. There are two types of ways to have an induced abortion, one being the medial procedure, two the new found medication intake that allows one to take two pills few hours apart in one day. The result of the pill method is one day the pills are taken, the next day you deliver the dead fetus. According to an article written about Jennie...
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...Argumentative Essay: Should Abortion Be Illegal? The legalization of abortion has been an issue that has been argued both publically and privately for several decades. In all social circles this subject is very sensitive because of the moral and emotional factors involved. For the religious community, it’s a matter of morality and biblical law. For the lay person or non-religious community it’s a matter of choice. In the political arena it’s a matter of economics. The one factor that stands out the most about this issue is that it is of a personal nature. The question at hand is should we legalize abortion, and should women on government assistance be able to receive an abortion as the expense of tax payers? In order to respond to this question responsibly let’s take a look back history to get a better understanding of abortion. Abortion actually dates back to Biblical times when women consumed an herbal concoction that would induce a spontaneous expulsion of a fetus. Though this practice often resulted in not ending the pregnancy or in the death of the mother and the fetus it was documented (Fox, 2012). Throughout history there have been documented incidents of abortion. In fact, in early American history, abortion was illegal and the death of the fetus was considered to be murder. Since the great legal battle of Roe verses Wade (Profile, 1973), advocates of women’s rights have continued to fight for a woman’s right to choose. This brings Fox, P. (2012). About...
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...Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), is a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. Decided simultaneously with a companion case, Doe v. Bolton, the Court ruled that a right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that right must be balanced against the state's two legitimate interests in regulating abortions: protecting prenatal life and protecting women's health. Arguing that these state interests became stronger over the course of a pregnancy, the Court resolved this balancing test by tying state regulation of abortion to the trimester of pregnancy. The Court later rejected Roe's trimester framework, while affirming Roe's central holding that a person has a right to abortion until viability. The Roe decision defined "viable" as being "potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid", adding that viability "is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks." In disallowing many state and federal restrictions on abortion in the United States, Roe v. Wade prompted a national debate that continues today, about issues including whether and to what extent abortion should be legal, who should decide the legality of abortion, what methods the Supreme Court should use in constitutional adjudication, and what the role should be of religious and moral views in the political sphere. Roe v. Wade reshaped...
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...TermPaperWriter.org Abortion The subject of legal abortion has lead to a nationwide, often emotion-filled, debate that has endured for many years and will for many years to come. People are decidedly in either in the ‘pro-choice’ or ‘pro-life’ camp. There are no compromises to 1 be negotiated: one concerned with the life of a child; the other, the freedom of choice and woman’s health. This paper will first present the ‘right-to-life’ then follow with the ‘prochoice’ argument. The right to choose is the foundation upon which this country was built. Those who are pro-abortion trumpet this slogan while proclaiming a woman’s ‘God given right’ to make her own choices without government interference. This simple ideology is embraced by some but the arguments are flawed when the realities of abortion are examined. Studies have shown that most women are coerced into committing this murderous act of a living human and that there is no such thing as safe abortions as many are led to believe. There is little freedom of choice for women who are experiencing an unwanted pregnancy. The women themselves usually wish to bring their baby to full term. Other powerful influences in her life such as husbands/boyfriends, parents and friends are generally the forces that exact pressures on her to terminate the pregnancy. “Eight out of 10 women surveyed after abortion said they would have given birth if they’d had support and encouragement from family and friends” (Reardon, 2002). It’s the abortion...
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...Why is the ninth amendment important? It is a moral statement. The ninth amendment states that there are other rights that may exist aside from the ones explicitly mentioned, and even though they are not listed, it does not mean they can be violated. The founders of the Declaration of Independence rather than have a constitutional restraint created the ninth amendment: An example landmark court cases is Griswold vs. Connecticut, 1965. In the Griswold case, the Supreme Court decision found a new right in the Constitution that had never been mentioned before, a right to privacy. This pioneering decision by the United States opened the doors for many other similar contemporary court cases on the same issues such as Roe v. Wade. First of all, the Ninth Amendment of the Bill of Rights was voted for by 9 out of 12 states on December 15, 1791. Then the Amendment was issued into the United States Constitution on September 5, 1789. The Anti-Federalist Party...
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...United States; it clashes with religious beliefs and personal morals. The legalization of abortion is immensely vital to the Unites States, as it guarantees women the right to take ownership of their own bodies without outside factors meddling. Roe v Wade is a landmark decision by the Unites States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion in 1973, legalizing the termination of a human pregnancy throughout the country. Jane Roe, a pregnant single woman, filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Texas abortion laws. The lawsuit was filed against Henry Wade, a district attorney of Dallas...
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...ENGL 1001 – 22 Catherine Joseph September 25, 2012 Annotated Bibliography Abortion: Parental Consent Abortion is defined as the removal of a fetus or embryo from the uterus or a termination of pregnancy. The abortion debate is full of controversy as two opposing groups (pro-life/pro-choice) argue about the legal and ethical issues surrounding the debate. Sarah Glazer, author of the article “Roe v. Wade at 25,” discusses the 1973 Supreme Court cases that legalized abortion, which thus sparked unprecedented social change and the unsettling debate of abortion. One major aspect regarding this issue is parental consent; it is still undetermined [on both a state and federal level] whether parents should be involved in a minor’s decision to terminate a pregnancy. The following sources provide both pro-life and pro-choice perspectives over whether parental consent should be required or not. Many of the sources supported the idea of parental consent through a pro-life perspective. In Charles S. Clark’s article titled, “Teenagers and Abortion,” he expresses the idea of how parents have the right to be involved in any medical decisions regarding their child and suggests that teens may be too immature to make a grave, life-changing decision on their own. Hyman Rodman, author of “Should Parental Involvement be Required for Minors Abortions,” expresses the idea of how parental consent can benefit teens as they are able to make a better decision about their pregnancy with the input of...
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...Policies in Relation to Abortion Before and After the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Case New Mexico State University Jennifer Walker Abstract The Roe versus Wade Supreme Court Case has had a huge impact on abortion laws in the United States. Before 1973, abortions were illegal and criminal, with few exceptions. Overnight, the decision in the case legalized first trimester abortions while leaving the specifications of the other trimesters up to the states. This case has led to many debates over the value of life and when life begins whether at conception, independence from mother, or first breath. All of these can be defined by religion, law, or individual beliefs. Unfortunately, none of the policies before or after Roe versus Wade have addressed the issue of unintended pregnancies, which is the underlying cause of abortion. Until this is addressed, policies will continue to be created, implemented, and challenged. Policies in Relation to Abortion Before and After the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Case Introduction In 1973, a case was selected to be heard by the Supreme Court that would substantially impact women’s rights then and continue to impact them today. The case was over Texas policy article 1911 that stated, “If any person shall designedly administer to a pregnant woman or knowingly procure to be administered with her consent… and thereby procure an abortion, he shall be confined in the penitentiary not less than two nor more than five years…” (Law Library, 2014)...
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...("Abortion," Encarta 98). In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, dramatically changed the legal landscape of American abortion law. The result of the ruling required abortion to be legal for any woman; regardless of her age and for any reason during the first seven months of pregnancy, and for almost any reason after that. ("Status of Abortion in America"). In the Roe v. Wade case, Roe (Norma McCorvey), had claimed she was gang raped and attempted to have an abortion in Texas. ("Roe and Doe"). After hearing the case, the Supreme Court ruled that an American’s right to privacy included the right of a woman whether or not to have children, and the right of a woman and her doctor to make that decision without state interference, at least in the first trimester of pregnancy. ("Celebrating 25 Years of Reproductive Choice"). The moral issue of abortion—whether or not it is murder—has been debated since it was legalized in 1973. Roe v. Wade has been one of the most controversial Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century. ("Roe No More"). More than two decades since the Supreme Court first upheld a woman’s right to abortion, the debate over the morality and legality of induced abortion continues in the United States. ("Abortion," Encarta 98). Abortion is one of the most divisive and emotional issues facing United States policy makers today. ("Economics of Abortion"). The people who are in favor of the Roe v. Wade decision and the right to have an abortion are called "pro-choice...
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...The important ways of looking at the issue of abortion are most easily categorized into five major points, legal precedence, birth control issues, human rights, religion and when life begins. Based on both empirical and moral claims, a wide spectrum of views supporting either more or less legal restriction on abortions has emerged in America. While advocacy groups define the issue through its constitutionality and its moral views represented by their constituents, politicians define the issue by party lines, generally with liberals as “pro-choice” and conservatives as “pro-life.” The media defines the issue morally, presenting to the nation the views of various “pro-life” and “pro-choice” organizations with little empirical evidence from both sides. The various positions that can be taken on this issue can be divided by empirical and moral assumptions to more clearly analyze the particulars of this heated topic. However, the issue focuses in on the basic question; should there be more or less laws governing abortion? Before delving deeper into the history or current debates over an issue like abortion, it is important to look simply at the fact of its existence in the United States. According to studies released in 2005 by the Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health (PRCH) and The Guttmacher Institute, there were 1.29 million abortions performed in this country. Research by the same group shows that in 1994, approximately half of all pregnancies in the United States were...
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...fetus is a person. Abortion has been legal in every U.S. state since 1973. When the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade (1973) that women have the right to make medical decisions about their own bodies. Roe v. Wade is a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. Decided simultaneously with a companion case, Doe v. Bolton, the Court ruled that a right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that right must be balanced against the state's two legitimate interests in regulating abortions: protecting prenatal life and protecting women's health. Arguing that these state interests became stronger over the course of a pregnancy, the Court resolved this balancing test by tying state regulation of abortion to the trimester of pregnancy. The Court later rejected Roe's trimester framework, while affirming Roe's central holding that a person has a right to abortion until viability. The Roe decision defined "viable" as being potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid", adding that viability "is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks. In disallowing many state and federal restrictions on abortion in the United States, Roe v. Wade prompted a national debate that continues today, about issues including whether and to what extent abortion should be legal, who should...
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...Statistics show in 2008, approximately 1.21 million abortions took place in the United States. Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended; about four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. Twenty-two percent of all United States pregnancies end in abortion. In 2007, 87% of all abortions were performed on unmarried women. 50% of United States women obtaining abortions are younger than 25. 47% of women who have abortions had at least one previous abortion. Some woman say the reason for getting the abortion is because having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities. Some say that they could not afford a child. Others say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner.There have been records of deaths due to abortions, in 2007, 6 women died as a result of complications from known legal induced abortion. In 2009, the average cost of a nonhospital abortion with local anesthesia at 10 weeks of gestation was $451. 8% of women having abortions have never used a method of birth control. 40 % of minors having an abortion report that neither of their parents knew about the abortion. Some may argue that an abortion is taking a life. However, the law states that a fetus is not considered a person until it takes its first breath. One could argue that preventing a possible life, which is true, but should the government have a right to control what a woman does with her own body? It would appear very...
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