Women's Reproductive Rights Research Paper

The reproductive rights of women have always been a hotly debated topic between those who support a women’s right to an abortion and those who vehemently oppose it. The United States Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Roe vs. Wade that it was legally a woman’s right to have an abortion in 1973, and clearly outlines that states “cannot pass laws that create an undue burden” for women who choose to exercise their rights and terminate their pregnancy. Since then, there have been consistent challenges from many states along with pro-life organizations all over the country to find ways to limit and to control the reproductive rights of women. In 1992, even though the ruling of Roe vs. Wade was confirmed in the case of Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, the Supreme Court also ruled that states can create regulations to limit abortions in order to protect the safety and health of the mother and the life of the unborn fetus. The outcome has resulted in several traditionally conservative states including Arkansas, Texas, North Dakota and Indiana passing laws that are cleverly disguised as rules to protect women, but ultimately makes it extremely difficult if not all together impossible for women to seek a legal abortion.

It is not just a radical feminist opinion, but rather fact, that women in the United States live in a patriarchal society. The majority of the lawmakers in the US are male, ergo they can afford to turn a blind eye to the problems of low-income and marginalized women. Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, there has been a continuous legal battle between pro-choice activists and pro-life supporters. This fight has snowballed from a discussion about the morality of abortion to an argument that the whole of women haven’t a right to reproductive/ gynecological care at all. Now we stand here, around 50 decades later, with several laws, polices, and judges that seek to curtail a women’s options for reproductive health.

It is more substantial than ever, to honor through words as well as through actions, that the right of women is to access their complete reproductive health choices with the dignity they deserve. Abortion is an effective individual decision within the health care field, and it’s a choice that should ultimately be appropriate for every woman who might not be physically, mentally, and economically capable enough of bringing a child into the world. “Though women have been endowed with the gift of bearing a life form, an abortion gives them the option whether they want to avail the present or not” (Finer and Joanna). Therefore, abortion should not be prohibited because it’s a reproductive right, and it reduces the numbers of homeless babies, and might reduce the crime rates.

Women having been fighting for equal rights for many years. Because of our genitalia, we will be paid less, we will be judged more, and we will have to fight to protect our basic human rights. Most women are born with the amazing ability to carry life; this is a blessing and a curse. Because of this ability, some people believe that a woman’s body is not completely her own, but that the government has rights to that body as well. We have been fighting to control our own bodies for many years. All women must understand that fighting for our reproductive rights is not just a simple pro-life or pro-choice battle, but a complex fight to teach proper sex education, maintain women’s health facilities, and protect our essential human rights.

Women’s reproductive rights are a global issue in today’s world. Women have to fight to have the right to regulate their own bodies and reproductive choices, although in some countries their voices are ignored. Abortion, sterilization, contraceptives, and family planning services all encompass this global issue of women’s reproductive rights.

The ability for women from all walks of life to have access to affordable and safe healthcare including abortion is something I’m passionate about. It is appalling to me as both a woman and as a citizen of the United States that women have had their reproductive choices made for them or extremely limited by legislatures, especially when these decisions seem to come from a place of ignorance. It’s been incredibly disheartening to watch the reproductive rights of women within the United States be chipped away and restricted over the past decade by state and federal legislatures.

Throughout American history, women have faced many challenges to earn equal rights in almost all aspects of life. Although changes have been made, today there are still battle to be won. One of these issues is the struggle for improving reproductive rights. Women are often judged for their maternal decisions, whether that is in choosing surrogacy, abortion, and even those who choose different forms of contraception. Over the years, Planned Parenthood and other health services have recieved a negative connotation for what services they provide, especially on the basis of providing abortion services. With our new president in office, women are concerned that their reproductive rights, such as the right to have an

Women’s reproductive rights have been endangered from early history. A woman’s job included housework and child birth. Around 1920, women started receiving their choices and rights. In the 21st century, women are looked at with fairness and receive equal opportunities, but there is one right being stripped from women: the choice of using birth control and aborting pregnancy. Society frowns upon aborting a fetus in the womb, but it fails to realize the circumstantial standing each woman is placed in and should accept the decision a woman decides for her future whether it is to use birth control or abort her pregnancy.

The Women’s March on January 21, 2017 also stirred the emotions of American citizens, for different reason. The vast response to the March throughout the country left some wondering why such action was needed, when women’s rights have come such a long way from when the US was founded. Those unware of the March’s mission are likely unaware that it was centered around many principles including: ending violence, LQBTQIA rights, worker’s rights, civil rights, disability rights, immigrant rights, environmental justice, and reproductive rights (Women’s March, 2017). The focus on reproductive right’s centered on reproductive freedom and an access to quality reproductive healthcare services, birth control, HIV/AIDS care and prevention, medically accurate sexuality education, and access to safe, legal, affordable abortion (Women’s March,2017). Access to abortion is an issue that varies state to state, similar to the issue of gun regulation.

All women deserve the right to choose what to do with their bodies. If abortion is to be made illegal, that decision will be stripping women of rights to do what they want with their own bodies. Until recently, women have had the right to do as they pleased with their own bodies, but in today’s society, these rights are being threatened. In her article “Abortion: Every Woman’s Right”,

Internationally, issues revolving around the female body and reproduction are extremely controversial. For a woman, her body is a very private matter. At the same time, however, a woman's body and her reproduction rights are the center of attention in many public debates. Several questions regarding women's reproductive rights remain unanswered. How much control do women have over their bodies? What kind of rules can be morally imposed upon women? And who controls the bodies of women? Although the public continues to debate these topics, certain conclusions can been made concerning women and their reproductive rights. An undeniable fact is that government has a large degree of control over female

Woman’s rights in the U.S have been an ongoing problem since the beginning of time, having full control of their own bodies is a right that should not be taken away from them. Proponents of this, view that women deserve the rights to their bodies and fertility agree that no one has the right to force a woman to undergo pregnancy, with all the discomfort and health risks that come along with it. In today’s society, having the right to control your own fertility and reproduction is essential; some may use to reproduce while others use it to destroy. Nonetheless, the beauty of the situation is having their own option to do as they please.

Recently the Senate voted 53-46 for a bill to prohibit federal funding of Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit organization with the goal of providing reproductive care to everyone “regardless of the individual's income, marital status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or residence” (plannedparenthood.org). Requiring a 3/5 majority to pass, the bill was rejected, falling short of the required majority by six votes.

Before women had rights to decide whether they could keep their baby, some states didn’t allow abortion, therefore requiring women to give birth to their child. In today’s current issues, abortion is still a controversial subject with millions of people supporting it or not supporting it. Every woman has the right to make changes to her own physical body, and those rights should not be taken away, according to the constitution. In the very famous case in 1973, “Roe v. Wade”, the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion throughout the first trimester of pregnancy. In the article, “Roe’s Pro-Life Legacy”, it is explained how after this movement, the right to abortion, lives have changed and led to lower abortion rates (Sheilds 2013.)

The article “Republicans Aim to End Birth Control Benefit in Last-Minute Obamacare Repeal Push (Update)” supports Cohens article and idea. Cohen repeats the same idea in the article, that opponents of birth control have a possibility of changing the easy accessibility of birth control. Christine Grimaldi includes insights from Janel George, the director of federal rights and health, “Unfortunately, it would return us to a time where a woman’s access to birth control or her access to the coverage she needs would depend upon her zip code, George said in a phone interview” (Grimaldi, par.11). “Republicans Aim to End Birth Control Benefit in Last-Minute Obamacare Repeal Push (Update)” shows the credibility of