About Us
At "A Minor's Right to Choose," we aim to educate and advocate for young women, concerning their reproductive rights. Though some abortion-related issues do not exclusively apply to minors, they are still very relevant in our discussion about reproductive rights. Teenage women should be empowered to make their own, uninfringed decision, about having an abortion.
About Abortion
Facts
ABORTION ACCESS IN THE U.S.
ABORTION WORLDWIDE While it is difficult to get reliable data on illegal and unsafe abortions, several well-known organizations and researchers, including the World Health Organization, the Alan Guttmacher Institute, and Family Health International, make the following estimates:
History
EARLY HISTORY Over several centuries, and in different cultures, there is a rich history of women helping each other to abort. Until the late 1800s, women healers in Western Europe and the U.S. provided abortions and trained other women to do so, without legal prohibitions. The State didn't prohibit abortion until the 19th century, nor did the Church lead in this new repression. In 1803, Britain first passed antiabortion laws, which then became stricter throughout the century. The U.S. followed, as individual states began to outlaw abortion. By 1880, most abortions were illegal in the U.S., except those "necessary to save the life of the woman.'' But the tradition of women's right to early abortion was rooted in U.S. society by then; abortionists continued to practice openly with public support, and juries refused to convict them. Women who are determined not to carry an unwanted pregnancy have always found some way to try to abort. All too often, they have resorted to dangerous, sometimes deadly methods, such as inserting knitting needles or coat hangers into the vagina and uterus, douching with dangerous solutions like lye, or swallowing strong drugs or chemicals. The coat hanger has become a symbol of the desperation of millions of women who have risked death to end a pregnancy. When these attempts harmed them, it was hard for women to obtain medical treatment; when these methods failed, women still had to find an abortionist. In the 1960s, abortionists often turned women away if they could not pay $1,000, or more, in cash. Some male abortionists insisted on having sexual relations before the abortion. THE PUSH FOR LEGAL ABORTION In the 1960s, inspired by the Civil Rights and antiwar movements, women began to fight more actively for their rights. The fast-growing women's movement took the taboo subject of abortion to the public. Rage, pain, and fear burst out in demonstrations, as women burdened by years of secrecy got up in front of strangers to talk about their illegal abortions. Women marched, rallied, and lobbied for abortion. Civil liberties groups and liberal clergy joined in these efforts to support women. Reform came gradually. A few states liberalized abortion laws, allowing women abortions in certain circumstances (e.g., pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, being under 15 years of age), but leaving the decision up to doctors and hospitals. Costs were still high and few women actually benefited. On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the famous Roe v. Wade decision, stated that the "right of privacy...founded in the Fourteenth Amendment's concept of personal liberty...is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.'' The Court held that through the end of the first trimester of pregnancy, only a pregnant woman and her doctor have the legal right to make the decision about an abortion. States can restrict second-trimester abortions only in the interest of the woman's safety. Protection of a "viable fetus'' (able to survive outside the womb) is allowed only during the third trimester. If a pregnant woman's life or health is endangered, she cannot be forced to continue the pregnancy. WEAKENING THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION FOR ABORTION In 1980, the Supreme Court upheld the Hyde Amendment, which began to erode the constitutional protection for abortion rights. Since then, there have been other severe blows. In Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989), the Court opened the door to new state restrictions on abortion. In Hodgson v. Minnesota (1990), the Court upheld one of the strictest parental notification laws in the country. These trends were further codified in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a 1992 decision upholding a highly restrictive Pennsylvania law that included mandatory waiting periods and mandatory biased counseling. Two frightening themes emerged in the Casey decision. First, the Court sanctioned the view that government may regulate the health care of pregnant women to protect fetal life from the moment of conception, so long as it does not "unduly burden'' access to an abortion. Second, the Court showed little concern for the severe impact of state restrictions on women with few financial resources. In the aftermath of Casey, many states have passed similar restrictions, which have the effect of limiting access to abortion, especially for women with low incomes, teenage women, and women of color. These infringements on abortion access have curtailed the abortion rights of millions of women. In the face of the unrelenting efforts of the antiabortion movement, those of us who believe that women should have the right to an abortion, believe it is our responsibility to fight provisions, such as the Hyde Amendment. Arguments for abortion rights
REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM VS. POPULATION CONTROL While most women's health groups see the fight for abortion rights in the context of defending the rights of all women to make their own decisions about reproduction, not all advocates of abortion rights share this understanding. Some view legal abortion and contraception as tools of population control. Advocates of population control blame overpopulation for a range of problems, from global poverty, ethnic conflict, and environmental degradation. Historically, this type of thinking has led to a range of coercive fertility control policies that target Third World women. These include sterilization, without a woman's knowledge or consent; the use of economic incentives to "encourage'' sterilization, a practice that undermines the very notion of reproductive choice. Women who want to make their own reproductive decisions, will have to become involved in the ongoing struggle to preserve and expand abortion rights. Restrictions
FEDERAL AND STATE RESTRICTIONS State legislatures have passed or proposed many dangerous requirements. Some of the unprecedented attacks on women’s access to abortion include:
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Featured Issues
Parental Notification/Consent Laws
Currently, 37 states require parental involvement in a minor's decision to have an abortion. We believe that choices concerning reproduction should rest with the individual, without undue influence from others. Further, we believe that these requirements violate the Fourth Amendment. We are seeking a repeal of current laws requiring parental consent and/or notification when their child makes the difficult decision to have an abortion.
The Hyde Amendment
The Hyde Amendment, first adopted in 1976, and renewed each year in the federal budget, is a legislative provision barring the use of certain federal and private insurance funds, including Medicaid, to pay for abortions. Exceptions only include saving the life of the mother, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape. When federal coverage provides for all pregnancy-related health care, except abortion, it interferes with private health decisions. In the Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade, the Court specifically stated that the government had no role in individuals' private decisions (under the Fourth Amendment), which includes abortion. The Hyde Amendment makes abortion nearly inaccessible for millions of low-income women, therefore denying them the right to make these constitutionally protected decisions.