Roe Vs Wade Research Paper

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Pages: 7

Ever since the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade, there has been an ongoing political battle in the United States over a woman’s right to have an abortion. While the Roe v. Wade ruling granted a woman the ability to choose an abortion through her first trimester of pregnancy (and through the third trimester in life-threatening cases), this right has been under siege over the past decade, with several legislative attempts at restricting abortions to life-threatening situations only for the entire duration of the pregnancy. The introduction of such laws, such as the 2006 South Dakota enactment that banned all abortions except those which endangered a woman’s life (English et. al) have entirely disregarded the complexities of a woman’s pregnancy. They represent a shallow understanding of the physical and emotional complications that can arise from a pregnancy, and highlight a human rights issue that needs to be brought back to the forefront of the political …show more content…
The law enacted in early 2006 by South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds, entirely banning abortions that did not involve a life-threatening situation for the mother, was a law born from ignorance. It was designed without careful thought or consideration for the myriad of struggles and hardships an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy can present for a woman, all of which can cause severe psychological harm for both the mother and the unborn child. Although the ban on abortion was overturned by a referendum in South Dakota in November of 2006, there was a period of time when women were unable to choose an abortion at any point, even when there was legitimate concern for the well-being of the unborn