Ethical and Legal Issues on Abortion in Usa Essay Example
Ethical and legal issues on abortion in the United States
Debolina Bose
BUSI 6303.04
April 19, 2004
Ethical and legal issues on abortion in the United States
The purpose of this paper, related to Abortion', is to throw light on various legal and ethical issues surrounding this highly debated topic in the United States. The paper includes only my personal views on Abortion' and few related famous cases which are like a landmark in the history of abortion. Abortion is not a modern aberration, but a practice common to human communities throughout history. Historically, early abortion was tolerated by the Church, and for centuries it was not punished under English common law. Nations which have passed abortion laws have done so for a variety of reasons, such as concern for women's health, the demands of the medical profession, demographic fears, religious beliefs, etc. Before getting into the issues on abortion, I would like to give a brief history of abortion controversy in the United States. In the United States, abortion laws began to appear in the 1820s, forbidding abortion after the fourth month of pregnancy. Through the efforts, primarily of physicians, the American Medical Association, and legislators, most abortions in the US had been outlawed by 1900. By 1965, all fifty states banned abortion, with some exceptions which varied by state: to save the life of the mother, in cases of rape or incest, or if the fetus was deformed. In 1973, in the landmark case of Roe v. Wade (Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), the United States Supreme Court ruled that the fourteenth amendment to the United States constitution provided a fundamental right for women to obtain abortions. The Supreme Court held that the "right to privacy," established by the Court's precedents in the contraception cases of the 1960's and early 70's, assured the freedom of a person to abort unless the state had a "compelling interest" in preventing the abortion. The Court then held
Debolina Bose
BUSI 6303.04
April 19, 2004
Ethical and legal issues on abortion in the United States
The purpose of this paper, related to Abortion', is to throw light on various legal and ethical issues surrounding this highly debated topic in the United States. The paper includes only my personal views on Abortion' and few related famous cases which are like a landmark in the history of abortion. Abortion is not a modern aberration, but a practice common to human communities throughout history. Historically, early abortion was tolerated by the Church, and for centuries it was not punished under English common law. Nations which have passed abortion laws have done so for a variety of reasons, such as concern for women's health, the demands of the medical profession, demographic fears, religious beliefs, etc. Before getting into the issues on abortion, I would like to give a brief history of abortion controversy in the United States. In the United States, abortion laws began to appear in the 1820s, forbidding abortion after the fourth month of pregnancy. Through the efforts, primarily of physicians, the American Medical Association, and legislators, most abortions in the US had been outlawed by 1900. By 1965, all fifty states banned abortion, with some exceptions which varied by state: to save the life of the mother, in cases of rape or incest, or if the fetus was deformed. In 1973, in the landmark case of Roe v. Wade (Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), the United States Supreme Court ruled that the fourteenth amendment to the United States constitution provided a fundamental right for women to obtain abortions. The Supreme Court held that the "right to privacy," established by the Court's precedents in the contraception cases of the 1960's and early 70's, assured the freedom of a person to abort unless the state had a "compelling interest" in preventing the abortion. The Court then held