The Woman Question: Forty Years Of Debate

Although abortion is a political topic that seems very recent, in the United States it dates back to before the early 1820s. Connecticut is the first state to have passed any laws regulating abortion. In 1821, they pass a law prohibiting the use of any sorts of a toxic substance that causes a miscarriage after quickening (the moment a pregnant woman first feels fetal movement) (Wilson, Jaque). Many other states followed Connecticut’s lead (Wilson, Jaque). Besides trying to humanely discard of fetuses, states began banning abortion for population control reasons as well. “In the mid-to-late 1800s states began passing laws that made abortion illegal. The motivations for anti-abortion laws varied from state to state. One of the reasons included fears that the population would be dominated by the children of newly arriving immigrants, whose birth rates were higher than those of ‘native’ Anglo-Saxon

By the 1960’s, states began to reconsider the legalization of abortion in response to the high rate of hospital admissions resulting from illegal abortions and a change in public opinion (“Abortion in Law, History, and Religion”). By the early 1970’s, 17 states had altered their abortion laws towards liberalization (“Abortion in Law, History, and Religion”). In 1973, the Supreme Court declared in Roe vs. Wade that most existing state laws were unconstitutional. The case ruled out any legislative interference in the first trimester of pregnancy and put limits on what restrictions could be passed on abortions in later stages of pregnancy (Sauer).

Abortion is never an easy decision, but women have been making the choice for thousands of years. It has become a large dilemma since 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court passed a law making the procedure legal, and an even larger controversial issue. The controversy is divided into “Pro-Choice” and Pro-Life” views. Pro-Choice supporters believe that the woman should have to choice whether to abort or not. Pro-Life supporters believe that it should be illegal to abort and preformed. However, there are many ways for this procedure to be performed. Abortion still remains today a controversial issue, by who should determine if it is the right thing to terminate a pregnancy or not and by how the procedure should be preformed.

     Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before birth. An abortion results in the death of the embryo or fetus and may be either spontaneous or induced. For years, abortion has been an extremely controversial subject. The history of abortion reaches back not just decades, but centuries, and even milleniums. Today, policies regarding legal abortion in the U.S. is being debated everywhere. Many myths and misconceptions confuse this issue. A better understanding of the history of abortion in America can help provide a context for an improved policy in the future.

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

Abortion continues to make a profound impact on public policies and remains one of the most controversial debate of our time. Though abortion continues to be a debate, it was not always a problematic one. Abortion has been present throughout history dating back to the ancient Egyptians, Greek and Roman. Before abortion became a crime in the 19th century, abortion was a womans choice. “Before abortion became the object of law, it was a subject of everyday life” (Roe v Wade BOOK p. 11). From early civilizations to today, abortion was and may still serve as a form of birth control. It has been observed that through abortion those of upper class avoided “unwanted childbearing and the lower classes used it to limit family size when 1 or more child

Abortion policy has been shifting throughout American history as American views have simultaneously transitioned from more conservative to more liberal. Doctors, specifically regular physicians, have surprisingly guided the discussion surrounding abortion in the most influential way. Their power, in particular, their medical expertise, has allowed them to take hold of the issue and push against abortion from a medical stance. As a result of the change in traditionalistic views, the power the doctors held for a long time was taken by women, and abortion simultaneously became not an issue of health, but one questioning morality as well as a woman’s right to choose: pro-life and pro-choice. In America, abortion policy has transitioned from an issue of health and morality to one of women’s rights over time due to the power shifting from doctors to women as a result of modernization and the change in how Americans saw religion; this shift in turn impacting how the abortion issue’s sides are defined and how the issue is argued.

The ongoing dispute of abortion has condemned the idea of women aborting their unborn child. Whether it be lack of support, critical physical or mental health, rape, or not being ready for such responsibility - all women have a reason for having an abortion. Therefore, women should have the free will to do what proves necessary and beneficial to themselves and their pregnancy.

In America, laws regarding abortion started showing up in the nineteenth century. In 1821, the first statutory abortion regulation was put in place (in Connecticut) to protect women from abortion by way of poison. In 1856, it was legal in most states to receive an abortion during the first trimester. However, Dr. Horatio Storer, a pro-life advocate, established a national drive by the American Medical Association (AMA) to end all legal abortions (Timeline of abortion laws and events, n.d.). In 1890, the AMA advocated statues were put in place and abortion would only be permitted if one or more physicians believe it to be necessary

Abortion rights are one of the most heatedly debates in society. There are many arguments for and against abortion. Each woman has the right to an abortion and the right to have a child. Women have the resources, rights, and respect to make reproductive health decisions that are best for themselves. (“Women’s”) We live in a free country and women should continue to have the choice to do whatever with their body, concerning women’s rights, health issues, and religious reasons.

The social issues regarding abortion and immigration are not easy topics to discuss and are constantly in headliners and subjects for legal battles. Before attending college, the topics of abortion and immigration were not discussed in my public schools and therefore I did not have much knowledge on the subject. I believed that every woman had a right to make their own decisions even if that meant that they favored abortions. Personally, being a woman, I fell that I should be the only individual that can make a decision regarding my body and well-being. However, even though I make the final decision I believe that consultations from medical professionals should aid my decision but not be filled with bias opinions. My initial understanding of government and its interactions with abortion and immigration laws was that the two topics could not be intertwined. I knew that government was involved in the decisions and laws regarding immigration because that topic had to deal with individuals that were not registered citizens. It encompassed other factors of immigration that government dealt with such as tax money, facilities where immigrants were housed, and patrolling of the border for security reasons. However, when it comes

Abortion has always been a social issue in societies around the world. The book talks about how people in the 12th century allowed abortions, however, in Greece and Rome the husband could force his wife to have one. On the other hand if the wife had gone behind the husband’s back, he then had the right to punish or divorce her. It’s not until the teachings of the christian church that getting an abortion became known as a sin. In today’s world women over the world practice abortions, weather it be in a more advanced and rich country or a not as developed country. The first anti-abortion activists in the United States were in the 1800s, most were physicians or trained in the medical field. This lead to an ignorant superstition that abortion at any stage was wrong and they had wanted laws against it. The group had started a campaign after the Civil War. In the late 1800’s the anti-abortion movement had gotten many churches to join them. By 1900 unless it was to save a mother's life all abortions and birth controls

Abortion is a social and political issue in which we control our lives as women. Controlling our bodies clearly shows that this means the right to bear children as well as the right not to. The Supreme Court ruled that women have the right to abortion. In the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, the state cannot restrict abortion and it is the woman and the doctor’s decision to be made. During weeks thirteen to twenty-four, the state can only impose in areas that are “reasonably related to maternal health”. In week twenty-four to term, the state can restrict abortions if it chooses by prohibiting or placing restrictions on them. If the physical or mental health of the woman is in jeopardy, the state can not prevent it from being performed. Based on the 9th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution, a woman right to privacy includes her right to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy or not (Vacuum Aspiration ).

Abortion has been around since a lot of years in every inhabited corner of the globe. It has always been accepted as a means to prevent the suffering of both woman and potential child. It has been practiced widely in every society for many reasons including famine, war, poverty, overpopulation, or simply because a woman felt she was not ready for a child (Whitney 40). No one ever questioned a woman’s right to this procedure till the 1800’s. During this era of change people began to turn their attention in a new direction, the fetus. They began to protest abortion as cruel, inhumane, and murderous. Abortionists who were once revered and depended upon were scorned and threatened. Though abortions still happened with regularity, they were kept silent and seen as a matter of shame. “Over the next hundred years, public sentiment for fetus continued to rise until the inevitable happened in America during the early 40’s; Abortion was made illegal.” (Cohen 17). The pro-life supporters had succeeded in saving the lives of innocent babies who would have been slaughtered for the convenience of selfish, ignorant and irresponsible women. This new law had made women actually settle down and raise families or give birth to beautiful children. We all know that, it has been proven time to time throughout history that the human spirit will not allow prohibition. Something inside us feels the need to strike out at that, which restrains us and holds us from the