Late Term Abortion Policy Memo
Policy Statement The overarching purpose of abortions and abortion laws at any point during the gestational period are to give a woman an option for how to proceed with an unwanted pregnancy in the safest way possible. The topic of abortion has long been a controversial issue in the United States and it has caused interpretation of federal laws to vary state to state. The role each state plays in abortion regulations can cause the accessibility of abortions to vary. The most controversial form of abortions are late term abortions where the fetus is terminated in the second or third trimester. The main goal of all abortion laws and family planning procedures is to ensure that the woman have a choice while retaining …show more content…
This was largely due to the lack of training of medical providers during this time as well as a lack of research. Up until the early 19th century such laws prohibiting all abortions, early or late term, were upheld. It was during the 19th century that the question of when life began became central to the topic of abortion. Abortions during this time were considered illegal if they occurred after the mother had perceived movement of the fetus (Epner, et. al., 1998). This was before there was advanced technology such as ultrasounds and accurate pregnancy testing, so observing fetal movement was often when a woman could confirm that she was in fact pregnant. This realization of fetal activity occurs between the 12th and 20th week of a pregnancy. All abortion measures done after this time were illegal and still punishable by law (Keown, 2006). During the late 19th century, medical advancements were made that discovered that life began at fertilization and essentially made the previous legislation of fetal movement obsolete. At this point, abortions became unpunishable by law but this did not stop states from making the …show more content…
This decision made it legal in all states for all women to receive abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy. The denial of such services was determined to be a violation of the 14th amendment of the Constitution, which guaranteed the right to personal liberty (Keown, 2016). Roe v Wade also established the right to privacy. Roe v Wade legalized abortions during the first trimester at the federal level, but second and third trimester abortion laws are still up to the interpretation of the individual states. In second trimester abortions states are allowed to pass judgement in ways that are related to the health of the mother. Once the fetus is viable, the states must allow abortions only when it directly threatens the life or health of the mother. The state’s ability to interpret and enforce the law after the end of the first trimester has been an extremely controversial issue and has caused a great deal of backlash. Most religious practices disapprove of abortions, saying that it is killing a human life, since they view life to begin at conception. Others believe that life does not begin until the fetus reaches viability and could survive outside of the mother. Such disagreements have caused variability of late term abortion laws across states, which will be examined in this memo to further develop a method of best practice that is safe and effective.
Options Analysis
The three states chosen as an analysis
Policy Statement The overarching purpose of abortions and abortion laws at any point during the gestational period are to give a woman an option for how to proceed with an unwanted pregnancy in the safest way possible. The topic of abortion has long been a controversial issue in the United States and it has caused interpretation of federal laws to vary state to state. The role each state plays in abortion regulations can cause the accessibility of abortions to vary. The most controversial form of abortions are late term abortions where the fetus is terminated in the second or third trimester. The main goal of all abortion laws and family planning procedures is to ensure that the woman have a choice while retaining …show more content…
This was largely due to the lack of training of medical providers during this time as well as a lack of research. Up until the early 19th century such laws prohibiting all abortions, early or late term, were upheld. It was during the 19th century that the question of when life began became central to the topic of abortion. Abortions during this time were considered illegal if they occurred after the mother had perceived movement of the fetus (Epner, et. al., 1998). This was before there was advanced technology such as ultrasounds and accurate pregnancy testing, so observing fetal movement was often when a woman could confirm that she was in fact pregnant. This realization of fetal activity occurs between the 12th and 20th week of a pregnancy. All abortion measures done after this time were illegal and still punishable by law (Keown, 2006). During the late 19th century, medical advancements were made that discovered that life began at fertilization and essentially made the previous legislation of fetal movement obsolete. At this point, abortions became unpunishable by law but this did not stop states from making the …show more content…
This decision made it legal in all states for all women to receive abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy. The denial of such services was determined to be a violation of the 14th amendment of the Constitution, which guaranteed the right to personal liberty (Keown, 2016). Roe v Wade also established the right to privacy. Roe v Wade legalized abortions during the first trimester at the federal level, but second and third trimester abortion laws are still up to the interpretation of the individual states. In second trimester abortions states are allowed to pass judgement in ways that are related to the health of the mother. Once the fetus is viable, the states must allow abortions only when it directly threatens the life or health of the mother. The state’s ability to interpret and enforce the law after the end of the first trimester has been an extremely controversial issue and has caused a great deal of backlash. Most religious practices disapprove of abortions, saying that it is killing a human life, since they view life to begin at conception. Others believe that life does not begin until the fetus reaches viability and could survive outside of the mother. Such disagreements have caused variability of late term abortion laws across states, which will be examined in this memo to further develop a method of best practice that is safe and effective.
Options Analysis
The three states chosen as an analysis