User:Rsrour/sandbox

Abortion in the United States

Edits to overall document and don’t forget to add in citations that come with what i moved


 * 1) Changing the intro paragraph
 * 2) Abortion is legal throughout the United States and its territories, although restrictions and accessibility vary from state to state. Abortion is a controversial and divisive issue in the society, culture and politics of the U.S., and various anti-abortion laws have been in force in each state since at least 1900.  Before the Supreme Court of the United States decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decriminalized abortion nationwide in 1973, abortion was already legal in several states, but the decision imposed a uniform framework for state legislation on the subject. However, since the implantation of this legislation, individual states have taken various steps that have put a dent in the idea of nationwide availability that have had numerous detrimental outcomes on a females access to an abortion.
 * 3) Move some of intro paragraph
 * 4) Under later judicial decisions
 * 5) Following the implementation of uniform framework for state legislation after Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), modified it allowing it to remain nominally in place, but the issue of availability varying from state to state was still a problem. Planned Parenthood v. Casey held that a law cannot place legal restrictions imposing an undue burden for "the purpose or effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus." Therefore, in the 1992 case... (add in rest of paragraph)


 * 1) Under number of abortions
 * 2) Also in 2016, 66% of abortions were performed at 8 weeks or less gestation, and 91% of abortions were performed at 13 weeks or less gestation.


 * 1) Under Public Opinion
 * 2) The main actors in the abortion debate are often framed as either "pro-choice" or "pro-life", though shades of opinion exist, and most Americans are found to agree with some positions held by both sides. Americans have been equally divided on the issue; a May 2018 Gallup poll indicated that 48% of Americans described themselves as "pro-choice" and 48% described themselves as "pro-life" but more people considered abortion morally wrong (48%) than morally acceptable (43%). A July 2018 poll indicated that 64% of Americans did not want the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade, while 28% did. The same poll found that support for abortion being generally legal was 60% during the first trimester, dropping to 28% in the second trimester, and 13% in the third trimester. The poll results also indicated that Americans harbor a diverse and shifting set of opinions on the legal status of abortion. The survey found that only 29% of respondents believed abortion should be legal in all circumstances, and 50% of respondents believed that abortion should be legal under certain circumstances. Recent polling results also found that only 34% of Americans were satisfied with abortion laws.
 * 3) Under terminology add a hyperlink for viability
 * 4) Viability
 * 5) Under history citation needed for
 * 6) Science had discovered that conception inaugurated a more or less continuous process of development, which would produce a new human being if uninterrupted
 * 7) Under Pre-roe precedents
 * 8) add hyperlink for comstock laws
 * 9) Comstock laws
 * 10) Citation needed for
 * 11) The court upheld the law, deeming that "health" meant "psychological and physical well-being", essentially allowing abortion in Washington, D. C. By the end of 1972, 13 states had a law similar to that of Colorado, while Mississippi allowed abortion in cases of rape or incest only and Alabama and Massachusetts allowed abortions only in cases where the woman's physical health was endangered.
 * 12) Under Roe v. Wade
 * 13) citation needed for
 * 14) In deciding Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that a Texas statute forbidding abortion except when necessary to save the life of the mother was unconstitutional.
 * 15) citation needed for
 * 16) The Court declined to make an attempt at resolving this issue, noting: "We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer."
 * 17) Under Current legal status
 * 18) citation needed for
 * 19) A "born-alive infant" is specified as a "person, human being, child, individual". "Born alive" is defined as the complete expulsion of an infant at any stage of development that has a heartbeat, pulsation of the umbilical cord, breath, or voluntary muscle movement, no matter if the umbilical cord has been cut or if the expulsion of the infant was natural, induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion.

Under state-by-state legal status

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
As of February 2020, prior to Coronavirus landing in and devastating the United States, there were many states that had been sharing their disapproval of abortions, therefore making it difficult for females to obtain one. In some states like Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, many obstacles have been put into place that make it almost impossible to have the service done. For example, proving to be one of the most extreme cases, Alabama has completely banned abortions with no exceptions. Similarly, Mississsippi and Louisiana have successfully passed bills that ban abortions after six weeks. In the case of Mississippi, it is one of a few states that only have one abortion clinic left statewide. Looking at all three states, as well as numerous others nationwide, abortions are not covered by Medicaid as mandated by their courts. However, these three states are not the only regions that have imposed strict laws on abortions. To date, there are about nine U.S. states that have implemented harsh restrictions surrounding abortions.

As the Coronavirus made its journey into the U.S., non-essential businesses such as gyms, coffee shops, and specialty stores were required to close after the Stay-at-home order was passed. Although, locations that provide medical service, pharmacies, and groceries were deemed as Essential services and have remained open. Given the procedure required for abortions, they fall under medical services. However, some states have taken this pandemic as an opportunity to close down abotion clinics by deeming them as a non-essential business unless a woman’s life is put in danger. Some states who have taken this course of action are Ohio, Texas, Mississippi, and Kentucky.

In labeling the clinics as non-essential businesses, there has been backlash from the public. More specifically in Ohio, after clinics received notice that they must shut down, Reproductive rights groups saw this as a direct threat to their accessibility to abortions. In deeming abortion clinics as non-essential, some believe that this decision could possibly have a dangerous impact on numerous women. In response to individual decisions of the states to shut down abortion clinics during the shelter-in-place period, reproductive rights groups as well as Planned Parenthood have showed their disapproval of the possibly harmful ruling. It is the belief of these groups and organizations that access to abortions is essential even during the time of a Pandemic given the time-sensitive aspect of the procedure. Some even believe that the pandemic will have lasting implications on the accessibility of abortions in the future.