In spite of this precedent, pro-life groups have mounted powerful, ongoing and determined opposition to this constitutional position. Indeed, the political relevance of abortion can mostly be attributed to this determination, which reflects a belief on the part of the conservative population of the United States that abortion is wrong, that it should be regarded as murder and that the failure of the nation to intervene on the behalf of its unborn children is a fundamental sin. This is a view which has resonated with many Republican office-holders and Christian community leaders in recent years, who have battled aggressively to shift the public perspective to a place of rejection of these values.
However, most of the evidence available to us suggests that abortion is a critical right which must be afforded to women. In nations where religious legalism is more widely tolerated, evidence of abortion prohibitions contributed to higher fatality rates amongst pregnant women suggests something rather troubling. In the deeply Catholic nation of Nicaragua, for instance, a 2007 report by the BBC indicated that "where a new law has put a blanket ban on abortion - even in cases of rape or where the mother's life might be in danger -- campaigners say it has led to 82 deaths this year among women with pregnancy-related complications - and a
For those who oppose it, abortion is among the highest crimes committed against humanity. The fact that the nation legally consents to this, anti-abortion advocates argue, is an indication of the decay in our shared moral fiber. However, the pro-choice argument, to its defense, has the support of Constitutional theory, which resists the temptation invoked by so many pandering politicians to violate the separation of Church and State. And particularly for an issue which has so deep and permanent an impact on the individual who must ultimately make that very difficult decision, there is something fundamentally repugnant about granting the state the right to intervene. Today's balance is a hard-won and frequently afflicted one, with the religious right of the nation representing a very strong and outspoken political contingent. In spite of this, the winds of progress and philosophical constitutionality demonstrate that the public's will is driven to protect this most sacred of individual rights to maintain control over one's own body and life.
Works Cited:
California Medical Association (CMA). (1973). Where We Stand -- CMA Position Papers: • Abortion. Western Journal of Medicine, 116(6), 42-59.
Dreaper, J. (2007). Divisions Deep Over Abortion Ban. BBC News. Online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7041048.stmCalifronia Mecianl
