Abortion law and policy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Abortion law and policy - Term Paper Example The issue of abortion has been one of the most controversial topics of all times in the American history.Abortion is a global issue that has attracted diversified opinion across people based on culture and political affiliationsVarious states have developed different legislations on abortion; this has created lack of uniformity in handling of abortion cases. Most of the legislations have focused on reducing induced abortion, its advocates have had two lines of thoughts which have kept on changing with time. There are those who have stood by the ‘pro-life’ concept while others ‘pro-choice’. In addition, states have also begun to consider the issue of spontaneous abortion. Despite the anti-abortion laws, there several cases of abortion that continues to be experienced across the country. American laws on abortion have a long history, dating back in 19th Century. Individual states in America started making legislation about abortion, as incidences of abortion w ere becoming noticeable (Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada 2). . The states of Connecticut was one of the pioneers in legislating on abortion related issue where they made a law that was to prosecute apothecaries who were selling poison to women, a situation that led to abortion. Other states followed suit including the New York City. It is notable that the laws adopted by the United States at independence were based on the British Common Law, it was clear from the law that life began at conception and all should protect its dignity. At the beginning of the 20th Century, abortion was considered a felony across all the states. It was a criminal offense punishable in a court of law. A landmark ruling in a case by the Supreme Court allowing the use of contraceptives changed the view of abortion. They had declared that life began at conception that takes place after implantation and not after fertilization, as was the original view. This led to the era of use of contraceptives as a bi rth control method. The debate continued with various groups in support of legalization of abortion in some circumstances while, there are those who thought it should be completely legalized. One famous notorious group called Jane initiated an abortion program that facilitated those who wanted to have abortion around 1960s. The states began slowly changing the legislations, becoming soft on the issue of abortion. The first state to legalize abortion was the state of Colorado; however, it was not permitted under all circumstances, but in the cases on incest, rape, or situations where the pregnancy would subject the woman to a chronic condition. Following the regulations pressure from the activists made other states to begin embracing abortion. Other states that followed include North Carolina, Oregon, New York City, Alaska, Washington and California. The legislations went further to include the request of the mother to have abortion legalized, this first began in Alaska around 1970. The Supreme Court was again called to intervene in a case United States versus Vuitch, they established that when the law talks about health it includes psychological as well as physical well being (Gruskin 1). This created an avenue for abortion to be adopted. Several states upheld abortion as illegal while there are those who set conditions for the legalization of abortion. The states of Alabama and Massachusetts allowed abortion under all conditions of the safety of mother and her health while Mississippi only allowed under the circumstances of incest and rape. In the recent past abortion has been at the centre of legislations in some of the American states. An attempt to ban abortion in Mississippi flouted after there was disagreements between the Senate and the House, the bill had initially been given a go ahead by the House Public Health committee, this demonstrates the path that the states are taking in reversing the abortion issues. In another case, a pro-life statute was si gned into law by the South Dakota governor and was