tailieunhanh - Abortion Bans Without Exceptions Endanger Women’s Health

Roe v. Wade stands as a milestone to women’s freedom and equality, and one of its most fundamental tenets is that a woman’s health must always be protected. Yet 39 years after the Supreme Court recognized the right to choose and the vital importance of women’s health, 1 attacks on women’s privacy, and on health protections in particular, continue. Time after time, anti-choice lawmakers vote down proposed health exceptions to abortion restrictions, 2 and prominent anti-choice leaders openly state their opposition to protecting women’s health. 3 And perhaps most ominously, with the addition of George W. Bush’s appointees Chief. | NARAL Pro-Choice America Abortion Bans Without Exceptions Endanger Women s Health Roe v. Wade stands as a milestone to women s freedom and equality and one of its most fundamental tenets is that a woman s health must always be protected. Yet 39 years after the Supreme Court recognized the right to choose and the vital importance of women s health 1 attacks on women s privacy and on health protections in particular continue. Time after time anti-choice lawmakers vote down proposed health exceptions to abortion restrictions 2 and prominent anti-choice leaders openly state their opposition to protecting women s And perhaps most ominously with the addition of George W. Bush s appointees Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the . Supreme Court the balance on the nation s highest court has The court s opinion in the jointly decided cases of Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Gonzales v. Carhart5 offers insight into Roe s fate. These two cases challenged the Federal Abortion Ban a nationwide ban that as written could have outlawed abortion as early as the 12th week in pregnancy but as interpreted somewhat more narrowly by the court outlaws a second-trimester abortion method one that doctors have said is necessary to protect some women s health. Startlingly this ban has no health By upholding the federal ban in Carhart the court retreated from more than three decades of precedent that ensured that a woman s health must always be protected. Future decisions based on this new precedent may further undermine Roe and endanger women s health. The Supreme Court Has Long Recognized the Importance of Protecting Women s Health Roe v. Wade 1973 7 By a vote of 7-2 the Supreme Court invalidated a Texas law that prohibited abortion in all cases except when necessary to save a woman s life. The court placed great emphasis on women s health holding that after the first trimester a state may regulate abortion to .