English
Columbia Southern University
2014
Research paper proposal
Abortion is the removal of fetus or embryo from the uterus before it attains viability. In simple words it is the termination of pregnancy. However, it can occur spontaneously and the condition is known as miscarriage. Abortion, and the issues related to it, is the subject of deep public debate and discussion in the contemporary world. It is done in every country. In some countries its operation is supported by the national laws where as it is totally illegal in various other countries. Despite the strong anti-abortion laws before a few decades in the United States, it was legalised and made available for the public.
Literature review
Lewis found that the history of abortion dates back to thousands of years. During that was fatal for both the mother and the fetus, at most of the times. The women were trained to do the job. There was no legal prohibition to abortion at that time. Its practice was legal at first in the United States. But, after the adoption of the constitution its operation was subjected under the laws. The main reason for making it illegal was its increase.
However, according to Boonstra, Richards, Gold and finer - making abortion illegal does not eradicate the procedure because a main cause for the abortion was- unintended pregnancy. Making it illegal had a severe impact on the women under various circumstances.
According to Boston Women's Health Book, Britain first passed the anti-abortion laws in 1803. Until 1880, most abortions were illegal in the United States. But the tradition of women's right to early abortion was embedded in U.S. society by then; abortionists and practitioners continued to practice openly with public support. During that time, the juries refused to convict them.
Linda Gordon states that anti-abortion legislation was part of an anti-feminist repercussion to the growing movements for suffrage, voluntary motherhood, and other women's rights in the 19th century. Its practice was also threatening to the life of the women as it was done by crude methods with few antiseptics. This resulted in high mortality rates.
According to Boston Women's Health Book, the secret world of abortion was mostly frightening and expensive. In the 1960s, most of the abortionists demanded a hundred US dollars ($1,000) or more in cash. Even some male abortionists and Practitioners insisted on having sexual relations before the abortion. About a million illegal abortions a year were performed in the U.S in the 1950s, and over a thousand women died each year as a result. The situation was even much worst for the poor people, and racially represented people. Women of color and poor women were at the highest risks with illegal abortions. About 75% of the women who died from abortions (most of them illegal) were women of color, in 1969.
Berer (2004) studied that in 1960, women began to fight for their rights. They got their inspiration from the anti-war and civil rights movements taking place at that time. The subject of abortion was addressed to the public by the strong women movements. Civil liberties groups and liberal clergy supported their cause. However, the reform came at a slow pace. The abortion was allowed in certain circumstances for example, pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, and being under 15 years of age. Few women were actually benefitted as the costs were still high. In 1970, abortion on demand was allowed in New York and was supposed in a medical facility. This law was passed in some other states also. But, this law seem to be connected with the financial aspects of the women. Only financially sound women could go through it as it was allowed in a few states only and illegal abortion was still present. However, the struggle continued for the rights of the women and a number of cases were put on the table of the Supreme Court to revoke all the restrictions on abortion.
Boston Women's Health Book states , on January 22, 1973, Roe v. Wade case marked the history in American abortion. In this decision, the practice a doctor and the pregnant woman was legally authorised to hold the right of taking a decision about abortion. However, second-trimester abortions are restricted according to the women’s safety concerns. The decision equipped the doctors and the government with a lot of powers. The decision respected the women as it strengthens the women rights.
However, it has still some issues related to it. It still left millions of women, like that of women of color, rural women, and women with low financial standards, from accessing safe and affordable abortions. For instance, of all public county and city hospitals only 20% actually the federal Medicaid funds for abortions. It indicates that about 40% of U.S. women were not benefited from liberalized abortion laws.
Cohen (2008) states that the feminist health centers provided low-cost abortions with quality of care. They also maintained political involvement in the reproductive rights movement during the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, only twenty to thirty centers survived by the early 1990s due to increasing competition and other economic reasons.
There has been much opposition to the anti-abortion laws in the country from religious point of view like the Mormons and the Jewish orthodoxy. However, Christian groups supported New Right and ``right- to-life'' organizations, and were among the first to facilitate the movement of anti-abortion.
The women were provided with their right and abortions were made illegal. All the abortion history has been through some serious phase where thousands of women died due to immature constitutional perspectives of the country. However, abortion never stopped even if when it was declared illegal. It takes place today also. But, the main aspect of abortion is to address its practice, laws, and the women’s rights and health.
References
Arthur, J. (2000, August 24). What Pro-Choice really means. . Retrieved July 08, 2014, from
http://www.vancouversun.com/search/search.html?q=what+prochoice+really+mens
Berer M (November 2004). "National laws and unsafe abortion: the parameters of change". Reprod Health Matters 12 (24 Suppl): 1–8. doi:10.1016/S0968-8080(04)24024-1
Boston Women's Health Book (1998). Published by Touchstone, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.
Cohen, SA (2008). "Abortion and Women of Color: The Bigger Picture". Guttmacher Policy Review 11 (3)
Lewis, Jone Johnson. "Abortion History: A History of Abortion in the United States". Women's History section of About.com.
Linda Gordon's Woman's Body, Woman's Right, rev. ed. (New York: Penguin Books, 1990).
National Abortion Federation: History of Abortion. (2010, January 1). National Abortion
Federation: History of Abortion. Retrieved July 08, 2014, from http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html
Shah, I.; Ahman, E. (December 2009). "Unsafe abortion: global and regional incidence, trends, consequences, and challenges"(PDF). Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada 31 (12): 1149–58. PMID 20085681
