Philip Song

Professor Broadbent

Writing 39C

6 May 2018

HCP Final Draft

Roe v. Wade is a landmark decision that was issued by the United States Supreme Court

in 1973 that addressed the debate about criminalizing and restricting access to abortions. The

court case resulted in a 7-2 decision, affirming the legality of a women’s right to have an

abortion under the fourteenth amendment. This was not an end to the discussion of abortion,

rather the start of an ongoing debate that would last for years. From the court case that took

place decades ago to the installment of Donald Trump into presidency, the divide between the

opposing views is ever so present. Abortion has been a social, political, and cultural problem

that has been taking place in the past, present, and will continue to take place in the future

with both parties of this debate being able to make strong cases that each opposing perspective

has an extreme view. The inauguration of President Trump and his cabinet into office has

threatened the promise of Roe v. Wade which sparks a new ember in the issue that began so

many years ago.

The discussion on abortion began in the 1800s when anti-abortion laws were enacted to

protect women from untrained abortionists. The number of deaths caused by compilations

from illegal and unsafe abortions led to the criminalization of this practice by the end of the

nineteenth century. After a series of events that acted as a “tug-of-war” on this topic, President

Kennedy formed the Presidential Advisory Council on the Status of Women and calls for the
appeal of abortion laws in 1967. Following this appeal was the Roe v. Wade case that struck

down all state laws that had previously made abortion illegal. The historical context of the

problem reflects the favor of legalized abortions with many laws supporting the woman’s right

to privacy and their freedom of choice in this matter up until the year of 1992 when Planned

Parenthood of Southern Pennsylvania v. Casey took place. This was a court case that reaffirmed

Roe principle but allowed states to restrict access to abortions as long as these restrictions did

not impose an “undue burden” on the women. This was significant because it was an

incremental approach to reducing abortions and opposed the initial allowance of abortions as a

whole. This was a step towards anti-abortion and shows the difference in ideologies between

the two parties which reflects the issues that this topic encompasses.

(Source) http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/graphusabrate.html

The image above shows the how the past events shaped the rate of abortion and its steady rise

caused by the Roe v. Wade case. After the Parenthood of Southern Pennsylvania v. Casey case,

more limitations were being set to limit the amount of abortions and therefore, the rate of
abortions began to decline as shown in the data. The historical context shows the disagreement

that took place in the past that remains unsolved up to this day.

Even with the landmark decision made in the Roe v. Wade case, access to abortion

continues to be challenged in present times with the installment of the Trump administration

into the White House. On his campaign trail, President Trump said that he “would appoint pro-

life judges” in the federal judiciary and all evidence points to that being true. He was also the

first sitting president to address the March for Life rally which is an annual protest that

challenged the practice and legality of abortion. Trump lambasted Roe v. Wade in his

continuous attempt to repeal it and furthers his attempts by trying to replace the Affordable

Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and by defunding planned parenthood. This, in turn, would

repeal many policies that the previous president, Barack Obama, has enacted in his attempt to

protect funding for abortion clinics and the support for planned parenthood. Also, feminism’s

recent rise to mainstream opposes Trump’s agenda with their support of abortion which

highlights the separation between the two perspectives.

The past and present contexts of this issue sheds light on the depth and relevance of

this problem due to the extreme views that both sides have on this debate, which explains why

the topic has been in questions for many years. Throughout the various court cases and events

that took place, the present reflects the past with the separation in opinions that are still taking

place.
(Source) http://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/

The graph above presents the opposition in opinions on both sides of the matter. As shown,

both perspectives have a large supporting crowd with neither side representing a majority. This

proves the problem is still relevant today due to these different ideologies.

Abortion has been a very pressing political issue since the government plays a large role

in the accessibility to the practice. Unfortunately, the government is divided on this topic as

well with parties disagreeing with the other. As shown below, the two major political parties

have opposing views on the subject and the laws around it will greatly depend on which party

the president chooses to fill the cabinet with.

(Source) http://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/

This stands as an explanation as to why the organizations and laws that President Obama has

created during his term would soon be revoked by the following president, Donald Trump. This

data also explains the back-and-forth between the two sides of abortion. Past and future

Presidents of the United States install laws and regulations to their favor on the topic and it

contributes to the ongoing discussion about this topic.

This discussion also has a cultural aspect in that the views differ depending on one’s

religious affiliations. The table below reflects the disunion from various religious views. The

white evangelical protestants show to be the only affiliation that shows a majority that
supports anti-abortion views.

(Source) http://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/

The majority of people who uphold a Christian perspective reject abortion due to the belief that

this practice is taking away a life that was given by God while those that are not affiliated with a

religion, as shown above, believe that abortion should be legal and leave that choice up to

women.

Abortion is an issue that been around for over a century and still stands to be one of the

most debatable topics in society. The depth of the problem reaches political, social, and cultural

levels with no real solution to meet the satisfaction of both opposing views. Regardless of the

decision made by the Supreme Court in the Roe v. Wade court case, the allowance of abortion

is continuously an issue that is in question which is furthered by the recent installment of

Donald Trump and his cabinet into the White House. This problem has existed many years ago,

still stands to be very relevant today, and will most likely continue to be an issue in the future.
 Works Cited
Associated Press. “Once 'pro-Choice,' Trump Now Steps to Forefront of Anti-Abortion

Movement.” Chicago Sun-Times, 19 Jan. 2018, chicago.suntimes.com/news/once-pro-choice-

trump-now-steps-to-forefront-of-anti-abortion-movement/.

Borgmann, Caitlin E. "Keynote Address: Untying the Moral Knot of Abortion." Washington & Lee

Law Review, vol. 71, no. 2, Spring2014, pp. 1299-1314. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=97107140&site=ehostlive&scope=site.

“History of Abortion.” National Abortion Federation, prochoice.org/education-and-advocacy/about-

abortion/history-of-abortion/.

Leonhardt, David. “Opinion | Why Abortion Is Not Like Other Issues.” The New York Times, The

New York Times, 13 July 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/sunday-review/why-abortion-is-

not-like-other-issues.html.

Mitchell, Travis. “Public Opinion on Abortion.” Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life

Project, 7 July 2017, www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/.

“Religious Views.” Society for the Protection of Unborn Children,

www.spuc.org.uk/abortion/religion.

SIEGEL, REVA B. "Abortion and the "Woman Question": Forty Years of Debate." Indiana Law

Journal, vol. 89, no. 4, Fall2014, pp. 1365-1380. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=96565112&site=ehostlive&scope=site.

Taylor, Jamila, et al. “45 Ways Trump and Congress Threaten the Promise of Roe v. Wade.” Center

for American Progress,

www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2018/01/19/445207/45-ways-trump-congress-

threaten-promise-roe-v-wade/.
“The Cultural Problem of Abortion.” Entering the Public Square, 5 Jan. 2018,

www.enteringthepublicsquare.com/blog/the-cultural-problem-of-abortion.

“Trump Blasts Roe v. Wade in Satellite Address to Anti-Abortion Rally.” NBCNews.com,

NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-addresses-anti-

abortion-rally-blasts-roe-v-wade-n839131.