Roe v. Wade in jeopardy
Roe/ Kes
Monday, February 13, 2006
American women could be greatly affected by changes in Roe v. Wade in 2006 Duluth attorney Sonia Sturdevant said in a speech last Wednesday at UMD.
New Supreme Court justice Alito is revisiting the law passed in 1973 that legalized abortion. He is saying it is not a settled law.
There is a privacy “right to abortion in the 14th amendment,� said Sturdevant. “The government can not take life, liberty, or poverty� from American citizens.
Although the mother has rights, her rights are competing with the rights of the fetus she is carrying.
Roe v. Wade makes it legal for a woman to abort her fetus at anytime during her pregnancy. The courts have left it up to the States to decide on whether it is legal during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
An element making it hard for the courts to diminish abortion is stare decisis. In Latin that means “To stand by that which is decided.�
It is important to respect the courts before us said Sturdevant. The American citizens will think the courts decisions have no meaning if they are changing their minds. Approximately 1,365,000 million women get abortions in America ever year. It is estimated that there have been 40 million abortions since Roe v. Wade was passed in 1973.
If Roe v. Wade is diminished the country will go back to having the States decide on legalization of abortions and emergency contraceptive pills.
Before the law was legalized, many women would have to travel to a different state like California to get an abortion. Not all women have access to traveling across the county.
Sturdevant continued to talk about the future of emergency contraceptive pills. There are many small towns in the U.S. that only have one pharmacy. That pharmacy may or may not carry the Morning After pill.
It is important that a woman receiving an emergency contraceptive takes it within the first 72 hours to be affective. If a rape victim or woman who needs an emergency pill for any reason has to travel to a different town, this will lessen her time and chances of it working.