Abortion

“Abortion”

Abortion has been a controversial subject over these past few decades. Every time you pick up a paper or magazine it seems there is always some sort of protest regarding abortion, whether it is for fetal rights or women's rights. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the definition of abortion is "the expulsion of a fetus from the uterus before it has reached the stage of viability (in human beings, usually about the 20th week of gestation). An abortion may occur spontaneously, in which case it is also called a miscarriage, or it may be brought on purposefully, in which case it is often called an induced abortion.

“The American Abortion law is a very complex scene. According to the Supreme Court, the main focus of this Supreme Court litigation is the conflict between various states that want to make laws either protecting women or the unborn, and abortion rights advocates who want as little government restraint upon the abortion option as possible.” The state will argue that there is no constitutional right to abortion, or if there is a right that it is not violated by the law the state wants to enforce. The abortion rights advocates argue that Roe vs. Wade protected a fundamental human right and that it must not be eroded by politics. In today’s society, abortion is one of the most important issues bouncing around the legal system in this country. Killing an unwanted human’s life is a sensitive concept and takes in much thought. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to make the rule that would ban on abortion unconstitutional, but would be legalized nationwide. The trial was Roe vs. Wade. Although abortion was made legal nationwide, many states still looked down upon abortion. These states included Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Prior to the 19th century, the United States still held on to their Common Law that it had adopted from England. In 1821, Connecticut was the first state to adopt the abortion law. Abortion was then labeled a felony in Connecticut; New York then was next in 1828. This then continued throughout the thirties, forties and fifties. In the midst of the19th Century, a movement began to tighten abortion regulations. Spearheaded by the medical community, by the late 1860's, this movement had succeeded in establishing uniform abortion prohibition in England and throughout most of the United States.

During the 1960's and early 70's,