Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Roe Vs Wade: 40 Years Of Legal Abortion


I have expressed my thoughts on abortion several times already so there's no reason for me to state them again. Since it's the 40 year anniversary of the Supreme Court Roe V. Wade decision, I just want to comment on the legality of it. There are two components to the abortion debate: the legality of it, and the morality of it.

The legal debate is pretty clear. The 14th Amendment* guarantees the rights of "any person of life, liberty, or property" who are "born or naturalized in the United States". That means that citizenship rights are only given to those already born. The unborn do not qualify.

The majority of Americans want to preserve the right to access abortion services. A 2013 Pew Forum poll shows that 63 % are in favor of keeping the Roe V. Wade decision the law of the land. That's up slightly from 60 % in 1992. And while the statistics show an increase in support for the Roe V. Wade decision, and a decline in the number of people considering abortion to be a critical issue to them, the debate over the decision is far from over.

The Republican party has continued to move further to the right on the issues at the same time the country as a whole moves further to the left. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of laws passed restricting access to abortion, and it is the goal of many of the right to see Roe V. Wade overturned, or have it delegated to the states where states can make it illegal.

While I am not an abortion activist, or one who spends a lot of time arguing about it, when it comes up I make my pro-choice opinions heard. I am pro-choice not pro-abortion. I wish there were no abortions, I really do. I wish no women ever got to that position where they even had to make that choice. That can only come if they are educated and have easy access to contraception. The rates of abortion have been decreasing almost every year because of this in the US.

And what about the the actual possibility of overturning Roe V. Wade? Do conservatives really want a million more children born in the US whose mothers do not want or cannot support, and who will be more likely to need government assistance? If the conservative is in support for making abortion illegal, it is only fair that they also support increased government programs that aide mothers and their children when they are not able to afford them. I'm talking about food stamps, subsidized nursery school, subsidized parental training and the like. It's only being consistent, and it's only being fair.


* The Fourteenth Amendment Section 1:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

2 comments:

  1. "Do conservatives really want a million more children born in the US whose mothers do not want or cannot support, and who will be more likely to need government assistance?"

    No, nobody wants that. But conservatives may still prefer that to the slaughter of innocent human beings by the tens of thousands.

    "If the conservative is in support of making abortion illegal, it is only fair that they also support increased government programs that aide mothers and their children when they are not able to afford them. I'm talking about food stamps, subsidized nursery school, subsidized parental training and the like. It's only being consistent, and it's only being fair."

    I agree.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "No, nobody wants that. But conservatives may still prefer that to the slaughter of innocent human beings by the tens of thousands."

      Then let's work together towards the proven solutions that we know reduce abortions, which are of course proper sex education, condoms, birth control and the empowerment of women.

      Delete

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