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Partial-Birth Abortion Case Study

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Part A:
By definition, the Tenth Amendment gives much more power to the states. This Amendment states that any powers delegated directly to the national government in the Constitution belong solely to the national government. Meanwhile, any powers not specifically given to the national government are given to the state governments, regardless of if the powers were specifically given to the states or not. These powers are called unenumerated, or not listed, powers. This Amendment gives more power to the state governments, and therefore ensures that the national government can overtake all of the power. In federalism, power is shared between the national and state levels of government, which the Tenth Amendment lends greatly to by separating …show more content…

This case, in the end, guaranteed women the right to an abortion, and therefore set the precedent for which level of government would ultimately end up deciding policy on abortion. Thirty years later, the Nebraska court of appeals struck down a law banning partial-birth abortion, but appellate courts in other states upheld their bans on partial-birth abortion. In 2000, the case went to the Supreme Court, who questioned if the Nebraska ban violated the rights guaranteed in the 14th Amendment. They ultimately ruled that the ban placed an undue burden on a woman’s right to an abortion, and therefore did violate the rights in the 14th Amendment. Even more recent was the Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt case in 2016. The Texas legislature passed a law called the House Bill 2, which placed restrictive provisions on abortion and where abortion could take place. The Supreme Court questioned if the court’s assessment of the burden placed on abortion rights take into account how much abortion restrictions actually serve the government’s stated health interest. The Court decided that House Bill 2 did not give enough medical benefits to counter the burdens placed on women who are trying to follow up on their constitutional right to an

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