GRSJ224/Abortions in America

Introduction

Abortion is defined as, "the the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus". The topic of abortions have sparked controversy most intensely in the United States of America where the laws surrounding abortions vary state by state. Although abortions are legalized throughout the United States, states distinguish their perspective on abortions by passing legislation making it easier or harder to be able to be granted an abortion. The current judicial interpretation of abortions in the United States Constitution is the result of the Roe v. Wade decision. The verdict of this Supreme Court case legalized abortions in 1973, allowing U.S citizens access to safe and regulated abortions. Now in the twenty-first century, abortions are passionately debated as it is seen as a vital deciding factor of one's democratic government party of choice. The left leaning Democratic Party is in favour of abortions as it aligns with their party values of being pro-choice while the Republic Party (GOP) takes a pro-life stance. Statistically, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, abortions are common among women, as one in four women will have an abortion by the age of 45.

Pro-choice protesters defending abortions in the United States

Political Landscape

Democratic Party

The Democratic Party in the United States takes a pro-choice approach to abortions. Democrats believe that a women, in any circumstance in life should have access to safe and legal abortions: " We believe unequivocally, like the majority of Americans, that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion—regardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured. We believe that reproductive health is core to women’s, men’s, and young people’s health and wellbeing." ("Party Platform", 2016). The legalization of abortions supports the health of young women and children. With regulations and laws that uphold certain standards during abortion procedures, complications that were related to ineffective or unsafe methods, Sepsis, particularly with the bacterium "Clostridium prefringens," which causes gas gangrene, were drastically lowered due to safer practices.

Republican Party (GOP)

The GOP takes a pro-life view on abortions believing that abortions, no matter at what stage of the pregnancy should be considered murder. In 2003, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was voted and overwhelmingly supported by the GOP. This act banned the termination of a pregnancy in its later stages. The reason the GOP are pro-life is due to their conservative Christian values and how they an unborn child to be considered alive and human. The GOP believe an unborn child is considered human and alive as soon as was just a clump of cells within the womb. In 2019, this anti-abortion stance is heightened due to the currently standing president, President Donald Trump who takes a very anti-abortion stance. President Trump and his administration has enacted the "Gag Rule" which increases the likelihood of abortion clinics to lose federal funding: "If a doctor simply mentions that abortion exists to a low-income patient — just informing them that abortion is a safe, legal option for women would be considered tantamount to promoting abortion" (Chen, 2019). This legislation causes abortion clinics such as Planned Parenthood to shutdown which in turn cause women unable to get abortions.

Diagram of the USA and its laws demonstrating the hostility towards abortions.

Representation in Media

Two stances on abortion is evident in the film, "Juno" and the novel, "The Handmaid's Tale".

Juno

In the film Juno, it follows the experiences of Juno, a teenage girl who gets pregnant at the age of 16 by a close friend. She first considers an abortion until she is derailed by anti-abortion protesters outside the local abortion clinic. Instead of an abortion, ultimately, Juno decides to put her unborn baby up for adoption. This film represents a pro-choice perspective. Although Juno did not get an abortion, she was still able to choose what she wanted to do with her unborn child. It is important to note that no individual forced her decision to ultimately put her unborn child up for adoption and that the abortion clinics were accessible but it was Juno's decision, and only her decision to decline the abortion.

The Handmaid's Tale

This novel takes an exaggerated view on a pro-life centred society. The story takes place in a dystopian world in a totalitarian regime in what used to be the United States. It is a world in which women are just seen as breeding animals who are only allowed to shop and follow the commands of men. In this pro-life society, the women's complete lack of freedom and choice is overtly exhibited. It is this lack of choice and freedom that the author, Margaret Atwood, portrays which allows the audience to see what society can seem to be when the government has complete power over's one's body.