Should We Ban Abortion?

TheKairosTimes
Jun 20
4 min read

Pro-Life activist advocate and protest outside the building of The U.S Supreme Court

Introduction I: What is Abortion and How Did it Become So Popular?

The first thing we must know when answering this controversial question is, what is abortion? There are two types of abortions, an induced abortion, and a spontaneous abortion which is commonly known as a miscarriage. The abortion that is becoming the number one debate online is an induced abortion, which can be referred to as the termination of a pregnancy. Common abortion tactics can include, D&E abortions (Dismemberment abortions), lethal injections, and abortion pills that chemically starve the fetus inside the woman's womb. The origin of abortion goes all the way back to when Europeans were colonizing America (1492-1800). In history, many laws talk about the legality and restrictions of abortion, but back then there were no laws or regulations for women getting an abortion! By the time it was the mid-19th century all women with common abortifacients were practicing abortion. The first true abortion law was passed in 1821, in Connecticut. This law would prohibit any pregnant women living in the state of Connecticut from using poison or noxious substances to induce an abortion. With this law, many pro-choice activists and pro-life activists were born, arguing about whether the mother should have the choice to terminate the pregnancy due to it being her body, or all life being protected by the 14th Amendment (Equal Protection Clause). But with all this history of people fighting over abortion rights, why is it rapidly becoming a heated topic among our generation? This significant increase in abortion rights controversy was increased when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton in June 2022.

Section II: Roe v. Wade

The famous court case, Roe v. Wade took place in 1973. This case circulated around a 21-year-old, single woman in Dallas, Texas named Norma McCorvey. During the case, she was referred to as “Jane Roe”. Before this case, Norma was dealing with her third pregnancy, just after giving up custody of her firstborn child and putting her second child in for adoption. She also struggled with immense financial stability, and the excessive use of alcohol and drugs, and was hoping to abort her third child. But Norma was met with the legal restrictions of abortions in Texas because in the 1900s abortion was only legal in a small number of states. McCorvey was desperate, desperate to even lie about being “gang raped”, convinced that maybe getting an abortion would be easier if her pregnancy seemed unplanned and forced.

The story gets interesting when two lawyers, Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffey, take this opportunity to change not only Texas abortion laws but abortion laws throughout the United States. The two were able to persuade Norma to file a lawsuit against Texas abortion laws for her to be able to get an abortion. Later, Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade was able to represent the state in court.

Key Points of this Case:

-As the case was in progress, Sarah Weddington revealed that she used Norma’s story only as a "vehicle for presenting larger issues.”, and she had only been allowed to sign a one-page affidavit in the process of agreeing to the lawsuit.

-Norma was never offered an abortion by her lawyers because the role of her being the plaintiff in court would be lost.

-Norma gave birth to her third child, and gave it up for adoption.

-Norma never had an abortion.

-The case would later be sent to the Supreme Court for ruling.

Section III: Doe v. Bolton

With the ruling of Roe v. Wade, Doe. v Bolton was also ruled alongside in the Supreme Court. Doe v. Bolton took place in Georgia. Sandra Cano, referred to as “Mary Doe” was a 22-year-old mother in poverty, who struggled to take care of three children. Initially, Sandra had filed a lawsuit with the help of lawyer Margie Pitts Hames to regain custody of her children and get a divorce. Yet, Lawyer Hames had different plans and decided to file a lawsuit that granted an abortion to Sandra.

Key Points of this Case:

-Sandra never wanted an abortion.

-Sandra never appeared in court after her initial hearing.

-Hames allegedly forged Sandra’s signature on abortion documents.

-After discovering Hames's purpose in this case, Sandra flew to Oklahoma to save her children.

-The case reached the Supreme Court after challenging the Abortion laws of Georgia.

Conclusion: Aftermath.

n the end, the Supreme Court legalized abortion after a 7-2 ruling. A three-trimester measurement of pregnancy with no medical understanding or fetal development was created to add “Restrictions” to abortions. The idea of this legal framework was to remove the baby from the mother to protect the mother's health. But the word “health” used was vague and extremely broad. Broad enough that a woman could have an abortion whether she was dealing with physically or mentally draining experiences due to the pregnancy.

As Ironic as it sounds both Norma McCorvey and Sandra Cano’s story was never meant to lead to the killing of over 60 million children because of abortions. The two women have become pro-life activists after their case and worked to reveal the truth about abortions. It is ultimately your choice whether you think abortion should be banned or not. But when the untold truth about what caused it all is laid out to you, your next action changes it all. Both cases have been overturned since June of 2022 as the Supreme Court has acknowledged that the killing of an innocent child was not what the United States considered to align with the Constitution or was protected by any other law. Do you agree?