A Brief Note On Population Policy Impacted The Quality Of Life For Women During Communist Romania

The abortion question raises a number of issues that form the core of the abortion debate. Opponents and supporters of abortions have been battling over this particular problem for decades and still cannot come to an agreement. Being one of the most common and most controversial medical procedures, abortion tends to affect people on psychological and sociological levels. But while the discussion of the morality of abortion is an ongoing debate, the social issues surrounding abortion in most cases stay unnoticed. The social aspect of the issue is centered on the abortion policy. The main question of the abortion policy is whether the law should permit abortions and, if so under what circumstances. The other is whether the law should put the life of an unborn child first and legally protect it. The peculiarity of the abortion policy is that its measures are highly dependent on different public opinions.

There are many factors that are taken into consideration when determining if abortion is morally permissible, or wrong including; sentience of the fetus, the fetuses right to life, the difference between adult human beings and fetuses, the autonomy of the pregnant woman, and the legality of abortion. Don Marquis argues that abortion is always morally wrong, excluding cases in which the woman is threatened by pregnancy, or abortion after rape, because fetuses have a valuable future. Mary Anne Warren contends that late term abortions are morally permissible because birth is the most significant event for a fetus, and a woman’s autonomy should never be suspended.

Abortion has been a complex social issue in the United States ever since restrictive abortion laws began to appear in the 1820s. By 1965, abortions had been outlawed in the U.S., although they continued illegally; about one million abortions per year were estimated to have occurred in the 1960s. (Krannich 366) Ultimately, in the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, it was ruled that women had the right to privacy and could make an individual choice on whether or not to have an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. (Yishai 213)

In every society whether it was legal or legal, abortions were used to control fertility. In the United States it was practiced legally until about 1880, by then most states had banned it except to save a woman's life. It was widely practiced through the entire period it was illegal. In the 1890’s there were an estimate of two million abortions per year and, one to two million annually during the 1920’s-30’s. Whether a

This results in men losing their jobs to women joining the workforce. This decreases the likelihood that they will want to have a child. (Document 5) According to an article on mother and child day, mothers are very important for the continuation of families. Mothers play a very important role to keep the family well and reproducing. The purpose of this mother and child day was to honor both motherhood and childhood. As stated, “they represent the supreme values of the race.” Without the guidance of a mother, her children would be lost. Also, without both mothers and children there would be severe moral, political, and economic decline. (Document 6) In 1930 there was a law code that made the sale and use of contraceptives a criminal offense. This was done because they figured that if you could not use contraceptives, many children would be conceived. Without them banning contraceptives, people would be able to choose whether they wanted to increase their families or not. (Document 9) The national organization for the protection of mothers and children, was an organization that would protect women who were pregnant, especially those who were needy. They wanted clinics to care for pregnant women and infants. The goal of fascism was to have offspring and have loyal fascists. These policies made the bachelors very angry because they would be heavily taxed. There was much negativity

Abortion, the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent life, has been practiced since ancient times. With records dating to 1550 BC, it’s no question that abortion techniques have been used throughout the ages as an effective form of birth control. Pregnancies were terminated through a number of methods, including the use of herbs, sharpened instruments, the application of abdominal pressure, and other techniques. In the 19th century, the English Parliament and the American state legislatures prohibited induced abortion to protect women from surgical procedures that were deemed unsafe. However, in 1973, abortion was legalized as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court rule in Roe v. Wade. This ruling made it possible

Contain consent or notify both biological parents before having an abortion. The law had no

The restrictions and the debate that surrounds the issue of abortion has changed dramatically throughout the course of history and it continues to change until this very moment. All around the world and in every known society, women have used abortion to control their reproduction, regardless of it’s legality. Abortion used to be exercised freely in the United Sates, up Until all the states started to ban It and place a lot of restrictions on it. They stated that a woman can not abort except in extreme cases in which the mother’s life might be in danger. After the restrictions caused a lot of health issues and raised concerns on women’s health, The Government abolished all the restrictions. In this paper I will analyze and discuss three main positions on the issue of abortion. First, there are those who associate themselves with the title “pro-life”. These individuals are anti abortion, birth control, embryo research or anything that can control or cause any harm to the fetus. Second, there are those who at the other end of the spectrum who firmly believe that if a woman decides to abort, then it is her constitutional right to do so without any interference from the government. Third, are those who believe that if a woman is raped or her life is in danger, then abortion should be completely and solely up to the woman, but other than that, abortion should be illegal. This group of individuals are also for birth control and do not oppose educating

Therefore, women were forced to get married. If they did not get married, due to the large restriction on abortion, a form of birth control at the time, women had to seek abortions underground. There actions led to unintended effects including a large amount of women becoming ill and eventually dying due to improper care or unsafe abortions. The strict laws also led to intended affects in which the government could incarcerate those individuals, mainly midwives, who were performing the abortions. They would do this by taking death statements of women who would come in ill. Overall, these events effected if women would seek treatments or be pressured into marriage due to

A large number of women have suffered from the detrimental effects of unsanitary operations, and even attempts at the most dangerous form of abortion: self-abortion. The Roe vs. Wade decision won women the right to have an abortion. This legalization was a public health victory for women with its preceding introduction of antibiotics and antiseptics for use in abortions. Roe vs. Wade is considered today, to be an avant-garde decision, exemplifying ?judicial activism?.

In 1857, The Texas Abortion Statute stated if someone was to “procure an abortion, he shall be confined in penitentiary not less than two or more than five years; and if done without her consent, the punishment shall be doubled” (Doc. #7). Undergoing an abortion became a problem not only to the health of the child, but it was also harmful to the mother’s health, sometimes resulting in an accidental death of the mother. Many people looked down upon abortion because they considered the act to be haphazard as well as a crime, and they saw anyone involved with the procedure as

Abortion is one of those topics that most people feel very strongly about, and it’s also something that not a lot of people enjoy talking about. Under the communist rule of Nicolae Ceausescu, abortion was illegal in Romania. The import of contraceptives was halted as well because Ceausescu believed that increasing the number of babies born in Romania during his rule meant more Socialist citizens. While this was true, abortion did not become obsolete during his regime. In fact, abortions were still performed at alarming rates. When the Soviet Union fell and Ceausescu was no longer in power, abortion and contraception use were legalized. Despite the increase in availability, legalization of abortion and contraceptives after the fall of Ceausescu in post-socialist Romania has not resulted in a change of the abortion culture. This is because of the lack of sex education, misconceptions about contraception, and a poor economy. In order to understand this, a basic understanding of socialism is necessary, as is general knowledge of the history of Romania and the Soviet Union.

3. If abortions are not legal, abortions will be preformed illegally. This will led to increased injuries and possibly death.

Under the rule of President Nicolae Ceausescu, the marginalization of women within socialist Romania was strengthened by the government’s denial of sexual liberation to women. In Ceausescu’s refusal to allow women governance over their bodies, restrictive reproductive policies that emphasized the femininity of women were created. By placing such an importance on femininity and a woman’s ability to reproduce, instead of a woman’s right of choosing whether to reproduce, Ceausescu’s regime solidified the patriarchal and traditionalist ideology of socialist Romania. It is from these patriarchal and traditionalist ideas of Ceausescu that gender constructs concerning the roles and expectations of Romanian men and women were adopted, accepted by governing figures, and forced upon societal members. The Romanian government’s focus on the femininity of women and denial of bodily authority and integrity to women, fortified Ceausescu’s regime’s belief of a woman’s femininity being subordinate to a man’s masculinity. It is from Ceausescu’s regime claiming authority over the bodies of Romanian women and his imposing pronatalist beliefs within the lives of both men and women within socialist Romania, that the idea of femininity being subordinate to masculinity was supported and solidified.

implied in the article the Ethics of Abortion. The separation of church and state has been