Abortion In America

Bibliography

Abortion - Gallup Historical Trends

I used this website to analyze polls about abortion in America from 1976 to 2014. I found the graphs to be very helpful and all of the data I found was very interesting and relevant to my research. I was surprised to find the fact that most Americans had false assumptions about their country's stance on the topic. Most people thought that the larger majority of Americans were pro-choice, when in fact the country is split about 50-50.

Planned Parenthood 

I found this source to be INCREDIBLY disturbing. It outlines exactly what occurs during an abortion procedure. I don't think I will ever be able to forget the things I read on this website. It is the official website for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. 

PR Newswire Article 
This article (Published in January of 2015) talks about the current standpoint of America on abortion. It suggests that the larger half of the country (84% to be exact) would ban abortion after 3 months of pregnancy. This includes nearly 7 in 10 who identify as "pro-choice".

National Abortion Federation
This is the official website for the "pro-choice" stance on abortion. I was surprised by how organized and easy to navigate the website was, considering the pro-life website. However, I believe it is nicer than the latter because the National Abortion Federation is an actual association for medical professionals, instead of just a website for a political stance in a controversy. 

Priests For Life
I included this website because I wanted to account for every man in this "battle". Even though "Pro-life priests" do not make up that many of the pro-life advocates, they are still a group that needs to be accounted for. I found their dedication to their work to be very inspiring and relevant. 

National Right To Life

This is the official website for the "pro-life" stance on abortion. It is not the easiest website to navigate, but I still felt that it was crucial to my research because it is the official product of the pro-life advocates. 

Reproductive Rights (Issues on Trial)
This book was a great source for me when I was starting out my research. It gave me a good basis of topics to go off of for my paper. It did have a lot of excess knowledge, but that comes with most books. I was able to thumb through the information and what I was left with was a good understanding of my topic.

Abortion (Examining Issues Through Political Cartoons)
 This book was also very helpful with forming my basis of knowledge for my topic, but not much more than that. It was helpful, but not that helpful.

Anti-Defimation League {Anti-Abortion Violence: America's Forgotten Terrorism}

This article, produced by the Anti-Defimation League, goes into detail about the terrorism towards abortion doctors. Despite its slight bias, I felt that it was still a very viable and educational source. 

Skinner v. Oklahoma – Case Brief Summary

This serves as my representation of the Supreme Court case between Skinner v. State of Oklahoma, ex. rel. Williamson.

Roe v. Wade – Case Brief Summary
This serves as my representation of the Supreme Court case between Jane Roe, et al v. Henry Wade, District Attorney of Dallas County.

Essay

      Since the ancient times of Assyria in 605 BC, abortions have been a very controversial topic. However, I would like to think that the modern people of the United States are not extremists like the ancient people of Assyria. Their culture dictated that a married woman who had an abortion was seen as violating her husband’s line of descendants (Abortion-Examining Issues Through Political Cartoons). To punish this “crime” she faced death by impalement on stakes, without the dignity of a proper burial (Abortion-Examining Issues Through Political Cartoons). Even though Americans do not deem “impalement on the stake” as a suitable punishment for abortion patients, many still take a rather radical standpoint, and some even resort to terrorism. 

      To understand the topic of abortion, you must first familiarize yourself with the different standpoints on the issue. Basically, there are two opposing sides: the pro-life stance and the pro-choice stance. The basic beliefs of pro-life advocates are that human life begins at conception and ends at natural death. In addition, during said period between conception and natural death, humans deserve the most basic right, the right to life. On the other hand, those who are pro-choice believe a woman’s right to “control her reproductive capacities” far outweighs that of the unborn fetus. They do grant that an unborn fetus is alive, they just don't agree that it has rights as a citizen of the state until it exits the womb. In addition to the two more clear cut sides, there also those that fall somewhere in the middle. Polls consistently show that fifty to sixty percent of Americans favor abortion “but only under certain circumstances” (Gallup). Some people who are pro-life believe that abortions can be justified in certain situations. These situations are characterized by two main scenarios, when birthing the baby becomes a threat to the life of the mother, and instances of rape. Also, some people who are pro-choice believe there should be restrictions on all procedures occurring after the first trimester as well as a minor’s access to abortion procedures in general.  

      Each side of the abortion controversy has their main arguments for why their opinion is more logical than the latter. However, there are also those who take the slightly less admirable path and resort to blaming and name calling. For example, the pro-choice advocates like to advertise the horrible occurrences happening across the country known as “anti-abortion violence crimes”. These crimes include the manslaughter of abortion doctors as well as abortion clinic bombings. "Typically, single-issue extremism emerges as an ultra-radical wing of a much broader social or political movement, a wing so agitated about its chosen cause that its adherents may come to believe that violence in the service of that cause is justified or even required" (Anti-Defimation League: Anti-Abortion Violence: America's Forgotten Terrorism). Even though these horrible acts of terrorism are solely committed by pro-life extremists, they still “taint the water” of their entire organization. Pro-choice believers like to use these examples in their political cartoons and in propaganda about their opposing party. On the other hand, the argument of the pro-life advocates is that every single abortion should be considered manslaughter. They use pictures of aborted babies with their extremities ripped off and pictures of all of the tools abortion doctors use in order to expose the true horror that takes place during an abortion. They are also huge on the phrase “every abortion stops a heartbeat”. Pro-life advocates believe that abortion is manslaughter because here is no doubt about the fact that someone is alive when they have a heartbeat. This opens up an entirely new question: When is the fetus actually considered a “person”? 

      Quickening is defined as the first sensation of fetal movement felt by the mother, usually occurring between the fourth and fifth month of pregnancy. In 1803 English statutory law stated that an abortion of a quick fetus was a capital crime, it also made lesser penalties for abortions committed before quickening. Then in 1821, under the American Law, Connecticut became the first state to enact abortion legislation. Next, in 1828, the state of New York implemented a concept of “therapeutic abortion” by proving that an abortion shall be excused if it is necessary to “preserve the life of the mother”. By 1840, only eight American states had statutes dealing with abortion, and it wasn't until 1860 that abortion before quickening became a crime. Fast forward to the end of the 1950’s, and a large majority of American jurisdictions have banned abortion. Excluding cases when it is done in efforts to save the life of the mother. The state also steps in to defend their duty to protect prenatal life. Today, in 2015, recognition stands at potential life, at this point the state may hold interests beyond the protection of the mother alone.

      The court of law also plays a huge role in the abortion debate. The United States Congressional System has had a stake in the controversy that is abortion since 1868 when the 14th Amendment stated “nor shall any state deprive any person of life”. Now, this amendment does not directly relate to abortion, but it is the oldest part of the American Law that attorneys can point to in regards to abortion. Rights such as contraception, abortion, and the right to decide to have children or not is actually never mentioned in the Constitution, or its amendments. They typically fall under “right to privacy” but this right is never explicitly outlined in the Constitution or its Amendments either. With a topic as controversial as abortion, a plethora of supreme court cases is basically inevitable. “Skinner v. Oklahoma” and “Roe v. Wade” are among the cases of highest importance in the United States. 

      Skinner v. Oklahoma does not directly relate to abortion, but it addresses the same basis of ideals as abortion cases; the right to procreate, or not. “Oklahoma defined a habitual criminal as a person who, ‘having been convicted two or more times for crimes amounting to felonies involving moral turpitude’ either in Oklahoma or another State, is thereafter convicted of such a felony in Oklahoma and is sentenced to a term of imprisonment in a Oklahoma penal institution.’ Such habitual criminals could be subject to forced sterilization” (Case-briefs: Skinner v. Oklahoma). This act of being forced into sterilization violates the very freedom pro-choice advocates are trying to protect. So that is why this case is included in the list of crucial cases. 

      Roe v. Wade was basically the first Supreme Court ruling about abortion. It contended that “pregnant women have a constitutional right to obtain an abortion, free of government interference”. This case was initiated by a single, pregnant woman in Texas. the was challenging the law that  “made it a crime to obtain or attempt an abortion except on medical advice to save the life of the mother” (Roe v. Wade – Case Brief Summary) The court ruled on many things during this case. The first was that the Texas state laws that prohibit abortion in cases other than life saving procedures on the mother’s behalf were unconstitutional because they violated the “Due Process Clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment. This clause protects the basic right to privacy. Under this umbrella of freedom falls a woman’s right to end her baby’s life “against state action” (Roe v. Wade – Case Brief Summary). The judges also decided that despite the fact that the state can not actually stop a woman from having an abortion, it has some stake in the situation because it has the interest of the potential human life in mind as well as the life of the mother.

      I knew that I wanted this topic because I am very passionate about it. The research process for me was very enjoyable because I was actually invested in what I was learning about. I have always known why I am pro-life, but this research furthered my beliefs and passion even more. I looked at the official websites for the opposing sides and supplemented this with news articles and national polls. At first I was slightly concerned that I would not be able to hide my bias on the topic since I feel so strongly about it,  but now I am confident in my research and I believe that I have represented a well rounded analysis of my topic. I was very shocked to learn about the literal process of abortion, and even more astounded by the pictures of aborted babies. All of these things aside, the topic of abortion is very hot in the United States, and I can see it being a conflict for many years to come. 

Photos

Click on the photos to be taken to the website they are from.
(Captions are placed below the picture they are associated with) 

 
This diagram shows the different opinions on abortion in the United States, and the percentages of people who stand behind them.

This chart shows the American opinion on the legality of abortions from 1975 to 2013.

This political cartoon was produced by a pro-choice advocate. It calls out pro-life advocates by suggesting that they are just as bad as abortion doctors because some extremists have murdered abortion doctors, much like how abortion doctors kill babies. 

This political cartoon was produced by a pro-life advocate. It suggests that Planned Parenthood is noting but a business and that abortion doctors are nothing but vacuum cleaners with a medical license. 

This diagram shows the process of Dilation and Evacuation after 23 weeks of pregnancy. 

I am aware this photo is quite graphic, but I felt it was necessary in to portray every aspect of my topic thoroughly.