In
1973 in the case of Roe vs. Wade the United States Supreme Court ruled that
abortion was legal in all states up to three months of pregnancy, and after
that point it was turned over to the states to decide whether or not abortion
would be allowed. This ruling was originally passed to protect an individual
right to privacy and choice in their pregnancy. Before this decision, each
state ruled itself on abortion, and many states had outlawed it completely.
This inconsistency led to the decision of the Supreme Court to take control
of the issue and give the country some sort of stability on this issue. Although,
ever since the moment this ruling was passed it has been under attack from
pro-life activists, even to the point of attempting to overturn the decision.
Recently many states have begun passing laws that have not restricted abortions,
but made the process more involved. For example in 1992 in Pennsylvania a
law was passed requiring consent from a guardian in a minor, or a husband
if married. This legislation was immediately drew fire from Planned Parenthood
and other pro-choice groups. As you can see, any victory for one side only
polarizes the other, and throws more fuel to the fire of this debate. Because
our country is so deeply divided over this issue any “victory”
for a side will, without doubt, eventually be overturned. This causes a vicious
cycle of argument and debate with an end result of accomplishing nothing.
If we completely outlawed abortion, or made it completely legal, how long
do you think either one would stand? With such a ruthless binary we have to
find some point of agreement or we will never accomplish anything.
History
