Restrictions on Roe v. Wade
Since 1973, the right to safe, legal, and
accessible abortion for all women has been attacked by
the anti-choice right wing and systematically eroded.
Even though Roe v. Wade constitutionally
protects a woman's right to choose, many women face prohibitive
obstacles preventing full access to safe, legal abortion and family
planning services.
Medicaid Restrictions: Most low-income women who depend on
Medicaid for their health care needs cannot afford a first trimester
abortion, a $200-400 expense. A second trimester abortion can range
from $400-$2,000. Despite this cost, the Hyde Amendment bans
the use of federal Medicaid funds to provide abortions, except in
cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment. Though states may
choose to fund abortions for poor women using state Medicaid
dollars, only 13 states currently do. Therefore, the vast
majority of poor and low-income women in the United States are
denied access to abortion services.
Parental Consent and Notification Laws: Forty-two
states have enacted parental consent or notification laws requiring
women under the age of 18 to get the permission of, or inform, one
or more of their parents. Many young women, fearing their
parents' reactions, seek out back-alley abortions instead of telling
a parent. States with parental consent and notification laws are
required to provide a judicial bypass option that allows minors to
bypass parental consent requirements if a judge feels she is mature
enough to make the decision, but bypasses can be logistically
difficult to obtain and an anti-choice judge may refuse to grant the
minor's request.
Shortage of Abortion Providers: Currently, only 12% of
ob/gyn residency programs include training in the provision of
abortion and over half of abortion providers are over the age of 50.
Moreover, 86% of US counties and 95% of rural counties do not have
an abortion provider. This means that many women must drive hours
and even cross state-lines to obtain an abortion.
Anti-Choice Violence: Last year, one in five clinics
experienced some form of severe violence, including arsons,
bombings, blockades, invasions, death threats, stalking, and murder.
Abortion providers, fearing for their lives, frequently must work
behind bullet proof glass, metal detectors, and bullet proof vests.
As a result, fewer and fewer doctors are willing to provide
abortions. Anti-choice violence endangers the lives of doctors,
clinic workers, and the women who turn to clinics for abortion and
other reproductive health care services.
Court cases: In the years following Roe v. Wade, though
the ruling has not been overturned, subsequent court cases and
federal statutes have placed restrictions on a woman's ability to
exercise her right to choose.
- In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled in Bellotti v. Baird
that states could enact parental consent and notification laws,
requiring young women under the age of 18 to get the permission
of, or inform, one or more of their parents. As a result, it
extremely difficult for young women to access safe and legal
abortion.
- The Hyde Amendment, introduced by US Representative Henry Hyde
in 1977 as a rider to an appropriations bill, prohibits federal
Medicaid funding of abortions. While Congress has since expanded
Medicaid coverage to cover cases of rape, incest, or life
endangerment, the majority of poor and low-income women do not
have access to affordable abortion services.
- In 1992, in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania
v. Casey, the Supreme Court upheld a number of abortion
restrictions, including informed consent requirements and 24 hours
waiting periods, which require that a woman must wait 24 hour
between a state mandated counseling appointment and their
abortion. Though the court did not overturn Roe v. Wade,
by upholding the right of states to place restrictions on abortion
access, the Supreme Court paved the way for right wing
organizations and legislators to chip away at a woman's ability to
exercise her right to choose.
- In recent cases, the Supreme Court has upheld a woman's right
to choose by just one vote. As recently as June 28, 2000, in
Stenberg v. Carhart, the Supreme Court ruled against
abortion procedure bans by a razor thin, pro-choice majority of
5-4.
Anti-Choice Congress (Roe v. Wade In Jeopardy)
- Currently, the majority of both houses of Congress are against
legal abortion. Under an anti-choice administration, Congress will
likely severely restrict or even overturn Roe v. Wade.
- The president will likely appoint 3-4 Supreme Court Justices.
In recent years, the Supreme Court has upheld Roe v. Wade by
razor-thin margins (as in the recently decided Stenberg v. Carhart
case which affirmed Roe by a margin of 5 to 4.) An anti-choice
Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade.
- The president also appoints the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, who has authority over fetal tissue research and family
planning funding under Title X (which is currently under a "gag
rule" that prohibits federal funds from being used for abortions),
issues that directly affect women's reproductive health care In
addition, the President nominates the Commissioner of the FDA, the
body that recently approved mifepristone for use in the United
States. A pro-choice Commissioner is crucial to ensuring the
availability of mifepristone
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