Abortion in America Today

A woman's right to have a legal abortion was first proclaimed by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Roe v. Wade (1973). In that historic case, the Court said that a woman's freedom to choose whether or not to bear children was so personal as to fall within the meaning of the "liberty" clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Whether legal or not, abortions had been going on for centuries, usually in back-alley shops where the conditions were less than sanitary, and where a doctor performing an abortion could face criminal charges. It is the contention of today's pro-choice activists that if abortions were made illegal, women would not stop having them, but there would be a return to the back-alley butcher shops which legalization was meant to eradicate.

Of course, the Court's decision in the Roe case is still much debated and has left (many questions unanswered, for example, does a woman have a right to a state funded abortion? How about in cases of rape or incest? Should a minor be required to notify her parents or obtain their consent prior to her being allowed to get an abortion? Many states are Currently facing these issues. The successes of anti-abortion activists has caused the voters in several states to overturn their state's abortion funding programs ("State," 1987). This paper will explore recent legislation, analyze some of the current cases and trends of the courts a

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ypass procedure that is consistent with the dictates" of Supreme Court precedent (Akron Center for Reproductive Health v. Ohio, 1988). The Ohio bypass was unconstitutional because it required that the attending physician effectuate the notification. It also imposed an unduly burdensome burden of proof and failed to preserve the minor's right to confidentiality and expediency. The split among the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Circuits may or may not be the vehicle that the Reagan/Bush administrations and Justice Department Will use to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision. But there is little question that the Justice Department would like to find a suitable test case. Although newly appointed Attorney General Richard Thorburgh recently denied that the Justice Department was actively searching for a test case, he also said that "I've made it clear that I don't agree with the holding in Roe v. Wade" and that "if a vehicle presents itself, I . . . am going to give serious consideration to utilizing it" (Reidinger, 1988, pp. 90-92). Since the Reagan Administration came to power eight years ago, the pro-life activists have been gaining ground--at the expense of women's rights and the state and federal welfare
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1606
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)