Prior to 1967 every state
prohibited abortion except
to save the life of the
mother. After 1967, Colorado,
California, New York, Alaska
and Hawaii were the first
states to legalize abortion.
The Roe v. Wade
decision was handed down
January 22, 1973, legalizing
abortion in all 50 states.
»
The Chief Justices divided
a pregnancy into trimesters
– first, middle and
last.
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Roe mandates that States
may not prohibit any abortions
before “viability”.
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The Court justified decision
under the Constitution’s
“right to privacy”.
* **
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The Court determined that
the fetus is not a person
but a “potential life”,
and thus does not have constitutional
rights of its own. Therefore,
“the word ‘person’,
as used in the Fourteenth
Amendment, does not include
the unborn”.
Roe vs. Wade legalized
abortion for any reason
(on demand) during the first
trimester. During this first
trimester of pregnancy,
a woman’s privacy
right is strongest and the
state may not regulate abortion
for any reason; They allowed
abortion to be legal in
the second trimester if
a medical reason necessitated
it and required it to be
done in a hospital and by
a medical doctor. Third
trimester abortions are
permitted only in the case
of the exceptions –
rape, incest or if the life
of the mother is at risk.
*“The Constitution
does not explicitly mention
any right of privacy”,
but the Court has found
“at least the roots
of that right” in
the First, Fourth, Fifth,
Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments,
and in the penumbras of
the Bill of Rights. Roe
v.Wade 410 U.S. at 129.
** It said the right to
privacy “ is broad
enough –to encompass
a woman’s decision
whether or not to terminate
her pregnancy.”
· Because this abortion
issue falls under a woman’s
“right to privacy”,
very few health regulations
apply to abortion clinics.
»
In fact, a veterinarian
must abide by more restrictions
and regulations than an
abortionist.
»
The right-to-privacy is
determined to be more important
than the right-to-life!
The annual March for Life
takes place on the anniversary
of Roe v. Wade in Washington,
DC. Marchers gather for
inspirational speeches and
then march slowly to the
Supreme Court.
Dred
Scott Decision (Taney
vs. Scott) |
The Dred Scott Decision
in 1857 (Taney vs. Scott)
determined a slave is not
a legal person – he
is property of his slave-owner.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled
“a man has a right
to do what he wants with
his property”. They
also said that Mr. Scott
was only 3/5 of a human
being. Mr. Scott only wanted
the right to vote.
Please note the same language
is used in both the Dred
Scott Decision as well as
the Roe v. Wade Decision.
Doe
v. Bolton Supreme
Court Decision |
The Doe v. Bolton Supreme
Court Decision, handed down
by the same court on the
same day as Roe vs. Wade,
allows abortion to be legal
up to the day before delivery
if a mother’s health
* necessitated it. Therefore,
under Roe and Doe, a woman
must be permitted to obtain
an abortion through all
nine months if it is for
her “well-being”.
*Mother’s health is
defined as physical, emotional,
financial, age of mother,
psychological and familial.
Planned
Parenthood of Missouri
v. Danforth |
In Planned Parenthood of
Missouri v. Danforth, (1976).
this court case ruled that
the father (married or unmarried
to the mother) has absolutely
no rights regarding the
abortion decision and this
has been upheld countless
times in court cases.
Ironically, the father,
married or unmarried, is
responsible for a living
child’s financial
support until they turn
18.
Planned
Parenthood v. Casey |
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
(1992). The law on abortion
was further clarified in
this case. In this 1992
case the Court said states
could regulate abortion
to require parental involvement
when minors were involved,
require a waiting period
between seeking and obtaining
an abortion, and require
doctors to provide detailed
medical information before
obtaining consent for the
abortion. The Doe vs.Bolton
health exception to abortion
restrictions throughout
pregnancy was not altered.
*Planned Parenthood of Southeastern
PA. V. Casey, 505 U.S. 833
(1992).
In 2000 the Supreme Court
again ruled on abortion
in Stenberg vs. Carhart.
Here the Court said that
a state could not prohibit
the late-term abortion procedure
called partial-birth abortion.
* Planned Parenthood v.
Carhart, 530 U.S. 914 (2000).
The Pennsylvania Abortion
Control Act was passed in
1989 (due to the determined
efforts of Rep. Steve Freind
from Havertown, Delaware
County) but was held up
by court injunction until
1994.
This resulted in the sharpest
drop in the daily abortion
rate. It dropped more than
22% in four years.
As a result, Pennsylvania
was among the nation’s
leaders with the third-fastest
declining abortion rate
in the nation.
*The Delaware Valley Pro-Life
Alliance – DVPLA –
has a 24 hour hotline –
610-626-4006.
The DVPLA are agencies
that share a common desire
to provide real, practical
options that include pregnancy
testing and counseling,
comprehensive pre-natal
and post-natal care, housing
assistance, family support,
post-abortion counseling,
and adoption services.
The aftermath of
abortion will be an issue
long after the abortion.
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Physically – damaged
cervix, perforated uterus,
hemorrhage, infection. 200
women have died since 1973
when abortion became legal.
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Emotionally – regret,
anxiety, depression, low
self-esteem and guilt.
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Spiritually
Three typical reactions
as determined by Vincent
Rue, Ph.D., Post-Abortion
Syndrome.
1. Immediate
2. Anniversary
3. Delayed – the most
common, but manifests destructive
behavior.
70% of relationships
fail one month following
the abortion.
Men are suffering, still
new issue with little information.
~ MARC Ministries –
Men’s Abortion Recovery
Ministries – 610-384-3210/
wfbrauning@AOL.com
Many
alternatives to abortion
are available: |
In the Philadelphia area
alone there are 100 Crisis
Pregnancy Centers and more
than 3,500 throughout the
United States.
