Abortion Policy Restrictions

Jones, R. K., & Kooistra, K. (2011). Abortion Incidence and Access to Services In the United States, 2008. Perspectives On Sexual & Reproductive Health, 43(1), 41-50. doi:10.1363/4304111

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)

The issue of abortion is one of the most controversial topics of our time, but recently the amount of public interest has grown exponentially. A number of bills regarding this policy issue such as Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015 and Child Interstate Notification Act have both greatly influenced the public’s opinion of abortion. Although, the issue of abortion hasn’t always been like this; according to Timeline of Abortion Laws and Events, an article from the Chicago Tribune, “The earliest anti-abortion laws were intended to protect women from untrained abortionists.” (Timeline) Since the 1973 passing of the Supreme Court Case, Roe V Wade, women have been able to obtain the abortion procedure in all 50 states, 46 of which were

Roe vs. Wade case was a ground-breaking landmark case because it gave a woman the right to choose. Since then landmark cases and legislation restricted a woman from having an abortion. The rights of the unborn are the reason why a woman's rights to have an abortion are being eroded. In addition, violent events have occurred because a woman has a right to have an abortion. Clearly, this topic has affected the political, health, social, and religious, aspects of our society. Currently, women are choosing not to have an abortion. The sentiment is so strong that a Harris poll showed that 72% of Americans say abortion should be illegal after the first 3 months of pregnancy. To make this point, abortion rates are down in the states where the abortion

Ethical Question: Should abortion be abolished? Is abortion murder? Should rape be considered a reason for a young woman to get an abortion?

The issue of abortion is notoriously controversial. Since the Supreme Court’s 1992 ruling in Casey v. Planned Parenthood, states have enacted different restrictions on the procedure. These restrictions vary from state to state. Nineteen states currently have laws prohibiting partial-birth abortion, and forty-one states strictly prohibit abortions except in cases of life-endangerment. One particularly incendiary area of abortion law is that of public funding. However, as of this year there are only seventeen states that cover abortion procedures through public funding. In this paper we will discuss federal abortion legislation, while describing the laws and political ideologies of the following states: Texas, California, New

Guttmacher Institute recently put out an article comparing state abortion laws, and Kansas along with other states have been known to misinform women on the risk of mental illness, breast cancer, and fertility proceeding abortion but also disregard the woman’s physical, sexual and emotional safety. Not only is the lack of honesty from the government concerning but also the lack of care the women’s safety. LifeNews found that 25% of women getting abortions faced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse before hand. This statistic does not include those who were also facing other health problems, anxiety or high stress as well. By changing to an honest counseling program that promotes creating a healthy lifestyle for these women in danger we could increase overall safety for themselves and their potential child. Kansas could easily be safer if these women received correct help from their relationship, social or personal dangers. A change to honest and safety based counseling would put Kansas responsible for saving hundreds to thousands of women from certain

Birth control is a frequently debated topic in our society today. Policymakers argue whether birth control methods should be restricted or accessible to women. Public school systems continue to only teach abstinence. All the while, teen pregnancy is still a rampant issue in America. As seen later in this paper, it is proven that birth control decreases teen pregnancy. So why is society still debating over a helpful method of protection and prevention?

In the 21st century, it is certain that reckless sexual behaviors have increased, especially among teenagers and young adults. The illusion that sex education in schools has positively influenced the younger generation is bourgeois as more teenagers are indulging themselves in devious sexual behaviors (Parry, 2013). It is undoubtedly true that the younger generation practices unsafe sex, which has led to many unwanted pregnancies. The aptitude to the birth control pill in this case is that it prevents unwanted pregnancies in women, thus the reduction in the number of abortions done on a daily basis.

The theory of paradox is put into action when policymakers come up with policies centered on sex education. The theory of paradox is used to compromise on an issue at hand. There is one goal at hand, and two different, yet equally valid ways to reach said goal (Bogenschneider, 2014). There are two main approaches to lowering teen pregnancy and birth rates: abstinence-only sex education and comprehensive sex education. The federal government funds both different approaches but has more money available to states that choose to implement abstinence-only programs. Researchers look at teen pregnancy and birth rates in each state to calculate and observe the effectiveness of abstinence-only versus comprehensive sex education programs (University

Sex education has helped to reduce unplanned pregnancies. (Bonner and Williams 2006). The study showed that because they were taught both abstinence and comprehensive sex education, this lead to a decline in unplanned pregnancies and abortions (Bonner and Williams 2006). It showed in the study that women are more likely to change their attitudes about sex education if they are given accurate information. Most of the women only went to get information from the doctor once they had unplanned pregnancies. Most women’s attitudes about sex education come from friends and not doctors. The study showed that most women prefer to get sex education from a friend and only see a doctor once she has had an unplanned pregnancy (Bonner and Williams

The FHI found evidence from the US and other countries that show that sex education can reduce the amount of behaviors that teenagers take that put them at risk for unintentional pregnancies. In a control area where sex education classes were held, researchers actually found that annual pregnancies fell from 60 to 25 pregnancies per 1,000 women ages 14-17. In a control where there was no sex education, pregnancies in that same age group actually increased. Sex education would teach teenagers about the many negative effects that teen pregnancy has. If these teenagers understood the risks, like an increased chance of maternal death, a decreased chance of graduating, and the increased chance of their child being under weight or having many other health problems, would most likely decrease the chance of these teens taking a risk that could lead to pregnancy. However, if the students still chose to take the risk and have sex, sex education would teach them about the different types of contraception they could use to help prevent pregnancy.

“Inappropriate or inadequate sexual messages pertaining to abstinence, birth control, and sexually transmitted diseases; the lack of easy access to birth control; cultural attitudes; and the lack of education pertaining to birth control in sex education classes all may contribute to the relatively high pregnancy rate in the US” (Earles, Alexander, Johnson, Liverpool, & McGhee, 2002).

Unintended pregnancy among adolescents represent an important health challenge that requires additional teaching. An unintended pregnancy is considered to be a pregnancy that is unwanted or mistimed for any reason. Among the adolescent populations, more than 4 out of 5 pregnancies were reported as unintended (Finer, 2010). The high percentage of unintended pregnancies in adolescent females involve improper maintenance or lack of education. Approximately half of unintended pregnancies are due to contraceptive failure, largely owing to inconsistent or incorrect use (Winner, Peipert, Zhao, Buckel, & Madden, 2012). An adolescent mother who conceives an unintended pregnancy can cause negative effects including performing poorly in school, resulting in poverty, and having a decreased success in the future (Postlethwaite, Armstrong, Hung, & Shaber 2010). The best way to prevent these negative effects on an adolescents future is to teach them about correct contraception use. Contraception enables people to control their fertility according to their desires and circumstances (Luke, Herbert, Loxton, & Weisberg, 2011). This will help the teens build the specific skills they need to protect themselves and potentially reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies in adolescents.

The United States’ of America boasts the highest teen birth rate of any industrialized nation. The teen birthrate in the U.S. is so high that it almost doubles the United Kingdom’s birth rate and is fifteen times greater than the birth rate of Japan (Garth 115). Lakita Garth is a highly reputed speaker on many different issues and is one of the leading abstinence advocates in the United States. Garth explains how on her many visits with pregnant teenagers, she learned that none of the teens blamed their pregnancy on their lack of information of contraception. Instead, the girls Garth met with lamented that they were never taught how to live an abstinent lifestyle (115). Only fourteen percent of adolescents are not using contraceptives because of a lack of knowledge or a lack of access to birth control (Garth 115). For