Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.
In June 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in an anonymous decision written by Justice Samuel Alito. Before that, Roe v. Wade had been the cornerstone of federal protection of womens reproduction rights for four decades. By overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court, women in states across the US were left with little protection against reproductive health restrictions that some states had started to enact. Immediately after the Supreme Court decision was announced, some states moved to severely restrict womens access to abortion services. Like all other issues in the US recently, womens reproductive rights have been politicized with Republican states coming in favor of more restrictions while states run by governors from the Democratic party support a womans right to choose. In essence, womens reproductive rights in the US have become a political and civil rights issue.
In the immediate aftermath of the Overturning of Roe v. Wade, 26 of the 50 states in America announced their intention to ban abortion at various stages of gestation. Of the 26 states that announced a ban, at least 13 of them had trigger clauses that immediately came into force once Roe was nullified (Gostin). The potential impact of the ruling on women will be monumental. According to estimates, it will have a direct impact on 40 million women in the US who are in the reproductive age bracket. In some of the laws passed by the states, there are no exceptions for incest, rape, or non-fatal health risks to women. Other states that have not introduced a complete ban have imposed comprehensive and sweeping restrictions that restrict access to abortion. Additionally, the most severely impacted group is the low-income and rural women who have to travel great distances to access abortion services. To health workers, an abortion ban prevents them from open and frank advice counseling of patients. In some states, physicians face a multi-year prison sentence if they help with an abortion while other states have laws that punish anyone for abetting an abortion.
The reaction from politicians in the US has been mixed and mainly reflects the position of their party on the issue. Generally, the Republican party is pro-life while the Democrats support womens right to choose. The debate on abortion featured prominently during the just concluded mid-term elections. During that election, the Democrats were projected to lose both houses of Congress but they performed better than expected. Accordingly, the Democrats stand on the abortion staff was regarded as one of the key reasons why the democrats were able to maintain their control of the Senate and lose control of the House of Representatives by a very thin margin. The performance of the democrats in the 2022 mid-term elections is a definitive revocation of the Republican stance on the issue. However, none of the sides want to be seen as unprincipled by abandoning their stance on the issue. Additionally, a significant number of people are pro-life making them an ideal constituency to tap.
In Congress, there have been heated debates on whether or not to codify some of the Roe v. Wade to offer federal protection to women seeking abortion services. However, as expected, the stance of most republicans ensures that none of the proposed legal initiatives to protect womens right to choose passes both houses. In the past, some levels of cooperation and cordial interparty relations. However, the election of Donald Trump in 2016 altered this relationship between republicans and democrats. Trump de facto designated democrats as his public enemy number one. During his presidency, he directed his attacks and vitriols against the democratic party and its elected member and leadership destroying any goodwill that may have existed between the two parties. Under this brand of toxic politics, it has been nearly impossible to work together and find compromises on the issue of fundamental importance to the American people. Unfortunately, codifying Roe v. Wade has been made impossible to political polarization that has not been conducive to compromises.
Roe v. Wade was by nature a constitutionally protected right that gave women the choice of what to do when they got pregnant. For decades, it ensured that women had unrestricted access to reproductive health. In particular, federal protection against states restrictive abortion laws was especially important for low-income groups, especially Black women and people leaving in rural areas making it a civil rights issue. The civil rights Act was enacted into law in 1964 and introduced sweeping changes in American society and institutional and company performance (Bardes et al.). One of its provisions disallowed all forms of discrimination against anyone irrespective of their ethnicity, race, sexuality, or any other conceivable grounds. At the time it passed, it represented a monumental shift in the American public which was used to segregation and outright discrimination against Black people.
Abortion is a civil rights issue because when it is banned, women and especially low-income Black women are forced to endure problems that have a cascading effect on their economic, social, and health well-being. In addition, the subsequent bans on abortion by the states violate body integrity, autonomy, and have a net negative effect on equality between men and women. Abortion restrictions disproportionally impact young, Black women from a low-income background or living in the rural areas. Further, it exposes those living in abusive relationships to further abuse. Thus, without the protections offered by Roe v. Wade, women in vulnerable situations will be forced to keep unwanted pregnancies which is exposes them to economic and health risks. Thus, access to abortion is a crucial civil right, economic, and racial justice issue. When women are able to decide when or if to keep a pregnancy, they are also able to make other decisions on work and education.
The US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade set women in some states across the US decades behind in their provision of equal rights between men and women. In particular, 26 of the 50 states declared that they would ban abortion while 13 of the 26 states that announce a ban had a trigger clause that effectively made it illegal to procure or perform an abortion. Immediately after Roe v. Wade was overturned, there was a flurry of political statements from lawmakers who supported and those who opposed the court decisions. Democrats were particularly adamant that women should have a right to choose whether or not to continue with a pregnancy. On the other hand, the republicans were elated that the court finally Roe v. Wade was overturned. However, the republican stance led to a dismissal performance in the 2022 Mid-term election. The unrestricted access to womens reproductive rights is also a civil rights issue.
Work Cited
Bardes, Barbara A., et al. American Government and Politics Today: The Essentials. Cengage, 2022.
Gostin, Lawrence O. The US Turns Its Back on Womens Reproductive Rights. BMJ, 2022, Web.
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.