The Implied Constitutionality of Abortions
- lawpioneerscontact
- Apr 7, 2023
- 4 min read
According to Guttmacher Institute, each year, 25 million unsafe abortions occur worldwide, becoming the leading cause of maternal death throughout society. On June 24,
2022, the right to an abortion was dismissed by the Supreme Court, initiating the overturning of Roe v. Wade. As a result of the dissolvement of the previously established precedent in relation to a woman’s right to privacy, the amount of unsafe abortions has risen exponentially, hindering the overall health of women. Roe v. Wade, an exceptionally predominant Supreme Court case, was established in relation to the Fourteenth Amendment through the Due Process Clause, stating that United States citizens are given the right to “privacy,” in relation to child rearing and prohibits the government from depriving one of their civil liberties. Despite the evident implications stated in the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court decided that as abortions were not implicitly stated in the Due Process Clause, it is unconstitutional and therefore cannot be applied on a federal level. As a result of the Supreme Court’s current decision, abortion rights are reserved to the states, creating civil unrest and tensions throughout society. Although many Republicans may believe that abortions are unconstitutional due to the common belief that the removal of a fetus is murder, abortions are constitutional because the fetus is composed of mere biological molecules and is not viable until 24 weeks, and the Due Process clause signifies the integrity of abortions through an individual’s civil right to privacy.
Many individuals, as a result of political and religious beliefs, claim that abortions are the murder of a fetus, impending the health of the child. In accordance with the beliefs of those who oppose abortions, the unborn is a human being and is dependent on nurture. According to the MCCL, “Unborn humans are different from most born humans in a number of ways, but those differences aren't relevant to whether or not someone has rights. Unborn children may look different from older human beings, but appearance has nothing to do with value…that doesn't make them any less important. Unborn children are dependent on someone else, but so are newborn children and many people with disabilities” (MCCL). In relation to this belief, the disregarding of unborn infants undermines the ideology of equality for all, as by proceeding with an abortion, it terminates the potential of life. In consequence, abortion is widely looked down upon in Conservative regions, as the unborn have a given right to not be killed intentionally, being analogous with the action of murder.
Conversely, te hypocrisy of this widespread belief against abortions is revealed, as the criminalizing of abortions incites extreme right violence and eradicates reproductive healthcare from millions of low income families. According to Economic Studies at Brookings, “Low-income women are more than five times as likely than affluent women to experience an unintended pregnancy, which has significant implications for social mobility given that unplanned childbearing is associated with higher rates of poverty, less family stability, and worse outcomes for children” (Brookings). As a result of financial instabilities, many families must resort to obtaining an abortion in order to ensure both partners prosper financially, without the worry of providing for a child. Through the discontinuation of abortions, many newly born infants are resorted to undergoing vast amounts of trauma and stress throughout their lives, as a result of an increase in familial poverty. Additionally, a federal grand jury charged 11 radicals who oppose abortions of obstructing a reproductive health clinic residing in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to the initiation of the violence, social media was utilized by the criminals, encouraging others to contribute in violence against healthcare professionals. Following this, a Facebook livestream showcased the participants blockading the entrance of the clinic, which prohibited an employee and patient from entering the area. In consequence, the defendants violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, as a result of their interference with reproductive health services and the delay of necessary medical procedures.
Ontologically speaking, a fetus is first composed of a zygote, which signifies the initiation of fertilization, as it is a single cell that is formulated following the uniting of a sperm and egg. The zygote contains the genetic information necessary to create an offspring, yet is a fertilized egg that is composed of many cells, taking into account that “a fertilized embryo is not a human--it needs a uterus, and at least six months of gestation and development, growth and neuron formation, and cell duplication to become a human” (EBSCO). In order for a fetus to be considered a living being, they must undergo varying stages of neurological and cardiovascular development, which on the average takes around 24 weeks in order to finalize. As a result, a fetus is viable at 24 weeks, which is generally the cut off for abortions, exhibiting the fact that abortions do not truly “murder” a child. As the fetus is not yet composed of the anatomical parts one would have upon birth, the fetus is unable to acknowledge it is undergoing an abortion which therefore does not hinder the fetus. Additionally, the Fourteenth Amendment grants immunities to citizens and the right to privacy with equal protection regardless of status, which grants one to be free from public intrusion. As a result of the Due Process Clause, a woman’s right to an abortion is implicitly stated, as an abortion is a private medical procedure that is necessary to maintain the health of women.
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