Abortion Laws In America

Words: 1972
Pages: 8

Abortion Laws in America When I think of the United States of America, the first thing that pops into my head is “The land of the free.” American citizens are given the privilege of freedom of speech and choice, which is not something you can so for some other countries in the world. However, the freedom of choice regarding women’s healthcare is slowly diminishing. There have been multiple attempts at reducing the availability of abortions or even going as far as making them illegal to obtain. The individuals going to great lengths to accomplish this believe that abortions should only be legal and obtained if the mother’s life is at risk or if the pregnancy was due to sexual assault. Back in 1973, the Roe V. Wade trial was immensely important …show more content…
These laws may seem primitive and ancient, however before the 1970’s abortions were legal in majority of the states in America. It was only after the Roe V. Wade case in 1973 when abortions were considered illegal in thirty out of the fifty states. That is sixty percent of the entire nation in which 211.9 million people resided at the time. In the remaining states that still permitted abortions, one could only get an abortion depending on circumstance, for example any pregnancy resulting from rape or incest. It was only in 2007, a whole thirty-four years later, that the Supreme Court passed any federal law regarding abortions. The Supreme Court declared a ban on abortion procedures after the second trimester of pregnancies in all 50 …show more content…
It also known, for some special pregnancies it is actually safest to conduct abortions after the second trimester. Disregarding the history and knowledge that doctors have on abortion and women’s health, the Supreme Court made a decision that takes away the right and freedom of choosing what a person wants for their. Women who may need abortions after the second trimester have very few to no options at all. This puts a risk at their mental and physical health along with the stress and duress they have to endure. These laws not only create a restriction as to when a woman may receive an abortion, but they have also given insurance companies and medical institutions the privilege to refuse coverage on any medical procedures that are required for an abortion. Out of the fifty states, forty-five states allow individual health care providers to refuse to participate in an abortion and thirty-two states refuse to use state funds for abortions unless the woman’s life is at risk or the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. The decision regarding abortion should only involve the individual and their doctor, not the government and insurance