Abortion
Abortion:
U.S. Political Parties Position toward Abortion and Their Role in Presidential Election
Abortion in the United States is very controversial issue. There are many political and ethical debates on this issue. So political parties can not be indifferent to this matter and each one of them has a trend toward it. Republican advocate limitation on abortion and Democrat advocate access to abortion for women. But what is important about this issue is the impact of parties is through people’s votes and whereas Americans are moderate and do not have extreme position, the role of parties in presidential election is moderate.
Abortion: U.S. Political Parties Position toward Abortion and Their Role in Presidential Election
"Abortion is expulsion of the products of conception before the embryo or fetus is viable. Any interruption of human pregnancy prior to the 28th week is known as abortion."(Abortion Columbia Encyclopedia) "Abortion, as generally used refers to an induced termination of a pregnancy as opposed to a spontaneous abortion or miscarriage" (Frank J.Dye, 2000, p.205). Miscarriage is the spontaneous ejection of a fetus before the twentieth week. Induced abortion is the removal or eviction of a fetus by medical, surgical, or other means during pregnancy for elected or therapeutic reasons. Abortion goes back to ancient times. Historically, there are some evidence which prove that pregnancies were terminated via a number of methods, including the consumption of abortifacient herbs, the use of sharpened implements, the application of ventral pressure, and other techniques. (Wikipedia)
Abortion induced by herbs or manipulation was used as a form of birth control in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome and probably earlier. In the middle Ages in Western Europe it was generally accepted in the early months of pregnancy. However, in the 19th century opinion about abortion changed. In 1869 the Roman Catholic Church prohibited abortion under any circumstances. In England and in the United States in the 19th century stringent antiabortion laws were passed. (Abortion Columbia Encyclopedia)
Brief history of abortion in the United States
Historically, in Anglo-American law, abortion was illegal, at least from the point of ‘quickening" (c.15-18 weeks, when the initial motion of the fetus can be felt by mother) and often penalized. As states and territories gradually began to select for statutory criminal law over common law, abortion was involved. Connecticut was the first passing a law making post-quickening abortion a crime in 1821.New York was the second state which made post- quickening abortion a crime and a misdemeanor of pre-quickening abortion in 1828.this process continued through out the 1830s, 40’s and 50’s. Historians say that Americans got familiar with the right to choose abortion at the time of the republic founding.
they argued, nineteenth-century legislators restricted that right for four reasons that either no longer apply or are no longer constitutionally permissible: to protect women from unsafe abortions, to help physicians to constitute themselves as a profession, to enforce gender roles, and to prevent Catholic immigrants from increasing their proportion of the population.( Ponnuru, Ramesh, National ReviewVol. 47, Issue 20)
In the middle of 19th century a movement unified abortion regulation. By the late 1860’s this movement established a uniform abortion prohibition in England and United States. These laws survived in all fifty states until the 1960’s. "In 1959, the American Law Institute (ALI) called for the creation of a legal panel code for state abortion laws in case of rape, incest, and mental and physical threats to the life of mother".( Dowling Campbell, 2005, p.57) During the 1960’s and 70’s many states discharged their abortion laws to some extent. In the 1967, Colorado was the first state to accept a MPC (Model Penal Code) type statutory scheme which banned all type of abortion except those to save mother’s life and this model also followed by California, Oregon and North Carolina. In 1970, New York (followed by Alaska, Hawaii and Washington) presented the first law to permit abortion "on demand". It was elective abortion which performed by a licensed physician totally legal for the fist 24 weeks and homicide afterwards. (Womenshistory)
"Fourteen states and the District of Columbia reformed their abortion laws in the late 1960s, including Arkansas in 1969, California 1967, Delaware 1969, Massachusetts pre1961, Oregon 1969, and Virginia 1970".( Dowling Campbell, 2005, p.58)
In 1971, the US Supreme Court made its first ruling on abortion in the United States v.
Vuitch, 402 U.S. 62 (1971). The Supreme Court held that the District of Columbia abortion statute that made it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion unless it was necessary to save the woman’s life or health was not unconstitutional. In its ruling, the Court vested the determination of whether the continuation of a pregnancy would threaten the life of the mother rested with her physician. This ruling did not legalize abortion unlike Roe v. Wade. On January 22, 1973 the US Supreme Court ruled on the "right to privacy" in Roe v. Wade, thereby guaranteeing the right to abortion through a trimester scheme. Roe v. wade made it difficult for states to regulate abortion during the first six months of pregnancy. With Roe v. Wade, abortion could only be proscribed in the third trimester, unless there was a grave danger to the life and health of the mother. Since 1973 there have been 40 million abortions in the US.( Dowling Campbell, 2005, p.58)
After 1973, Supreme Court of the U.S. Controlled abortion laws in the United States. Laws which are passed by states should be review by Court, which decides whether they agree with the federal Constitution or not. Over the last decades abortion has been left one of the most disputed issues in American politics.
Brief history of the abortion controversy in the U.S.
In the U.S., abortion law came forth in the1820s, prohibited abortion after fourth month of gestation. By physician’s struggles, the American Medical Association and legislators most abortion s had been outcast by 1900.but illegal abortions were practiced however they became less during the control of the Comstock law which banished birth information and devices. Some early feminist writers like Susan B. Anthony wrote against abortion, because on that time it was an unsafe medical method for women. They believed abortion will end through achieving women’s equality and freedom. Later feminists spoke on behalf of safe birth control. By 1965, all fifty states banned abortion, with some exceptions which differed by state: to save life of the mother, in case of rape or incest or if the embryo was malformed. Some groups like the National Abortion Rights Action League and the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion tried to lift the ban from anti-abortion laws. The Supreme Court in the case of Roe v. wade proclaimed most of abortion laws unconstitutional. Actually it resulted in any legislative interference in the first trimester of pregnancy and limited abortion in later stages. Many people were satisfied by this but others especially in the Roman Catholic Church protested the proclamation. As a result, two movements came to being, "Pro-life" and "Pro-choice". Pro-choice groups consider that health care should be available for every woman and she has control of her own body. "Pro-choice group countered that until the fetus could survive outside the womb, it should not be considered a person and that a woman should be in charge of her own body-not a man, a court, a church or the legislature". ( William O. Kellogg, 2003, p.402)"Most polls suggest that Americans, by a slim majority, call themselves "pro-choice" rather than "pro-life" and they support minor restriction". On the other hand Pro-life groups believe that embryo is an alive being so abortion is murder.
Pro-life advocates believe that the life of a baby begins long before birth. A new human being is growing in the womb from the moment of fertilization, and they support their belief that the fetus is a human life with medical facts. At six weeks there are brain waves: at ten or eleven weeks the fetus is sensitive to touch: one-nineteen-week baby born prematurely survived. This proves, they believe, that the fetus is a living being. By comparing abortion to genocide and slavery, pro-life advocates depict abortion as a threat to basic American values. If abortions continue, they believe, it will lead to an anchorless, godless society with no family values. Legal abortion will reduce the numbers, significance, and influence of their racial group.( Raymond Tatalovich, Byron W. Daynes, 2005, p.22, 23)
"The pro-life movement wished to overturn Supreme Court decision and fought for state and federal laws restricting the right to an abortion".(William O. Kellogg, 2003, p.402) Opposition to abortion became more violent when organized blocking of access to clinics founded in 1984 and led by Randal Terry. "On Christmas day, 1984, three abortion clinics were bombed and those convicted called the bombings "a birthday gift for Jesus"." After these kinds of events many who protest abortions begin to separate themselves from those who believe that the only way is violence.
"Partial birth abortion" is most controversial kind of abortion which means termination of late pregnancy. It was first coined by pro-life Congressman Charles T. Canady in 1995. What exactly happen through this kind of abortion?
Twenty four- hours before the abortion, the woman’s cervix dilated through the use of laminaria, which are sterilized sticks of seaweed. The next day, the patient is given a local anesthetic and a sedative. Both the mother and the fetus are sleep during the procedure. The fetus is partly pulled out in a breach position, that is, with feet first and the head remaining in the womb (thus the phrase " partial birth").then the skull of the fetus has to be crushed or perforated with forceps to get it out.( James E. White, 2005, p.149, 150)
The first Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was presented to the Congress in June 1995. In April 1996, President Bill Clinton vetoed the bill at White House, when five women explained how they terminated their pregnancy via partial birth abortion under the proposed law.
He said that the debate was "not about the prochoice/prolife debate" but about the tragiccircumstances of "a few hundred Americans every year who desperately want their children." The President made it clear that he would sign a bill that was consistent with Roev. Wade. In the President's words, "I will accept language that says serious, adverse health consequences to the mother. Those three words." (George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H., 1998)
Similar laws were passed but again they were vetoed by President Bill Clinton in 1997. "In the House, the final legislation was supported in 2003 by 218 Republicans and 63 Democrats. On November 5, 2003, House and the Senate both passed the bill and it was signed by President George W. Bush to become law". (Wikipedia)
"Pro-choice advocates maintain that such abortions are to save the life or health of the mother or terminate pregnancies where the fetus cannot survive birth or cannot survive much after birth. Pro-life advocates maintain that the fetuses may be saved and that many of these abortions are done in cases that aren’t hopeless."(Us politics)
With respect to pro-life and pro-choice advocates and political parties’ attitudes toward different issue such as abortion we can consider Republican Party as a pro-life advocate and Democratic Party as a pro-choice advocate.
Republican Party and abortion
Republican Party is often referred to as the Grand Old Party or the GOP. "The Republican Party was born in the early 1850's by anti-slavery activists and individuals who believed that government should grant western lands to settlers free of charge". (gop)
A majority of the Republican Party's candidates are pro-life and take a stand against abortion on religious or moral fields. "From 1980 to 1988, the Republican Party officially opposed the principle that abortion should be completely unrestricted, and questioned the wisdom of the Supreme Court’s liberating initiative in this area (the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision)".(Dean McSweeney, John Zvesper, 1991, p.212) the increase of churches and antiabortion groups proves that the Republican Party is favored by those who want a constitutional amendment to prohibit abortion and this is because of more Catholics’ shift to Republican Party now. Of course some times republican trend toward abortion is pro-choice rather than pro-life.
Democratic Party and abortion
Democratic Party is one of the most important parties in the United States. It is the oldest party. It is originated from Democratic-Republican Party. The party has favored farmers, laborers, and religious and ethnic minorities; it is against unregulated business and finance, and favored increasing income taxes. A majority of liberals favor the preservation of rights. It is taken to custody by pro-choice interest. (Wikipedia)
"It is today the party of abortion on demand and embryo-killing research, and it is party of those for whom abortion has become a kind of religion". (Ramesh Ponnuru, 2006, p.2) Today, the Democratic Party is the supporter of reproductive rights. Democrats enlarged their covenant to pro-choice position, standing against federal limitations on access to abortion. (Christina Wolbrecht, 2000, p.53)
Presidency and abortion
Presidency is one of the most important structures which it is influenced by abortion matter. Presidents’ position regarding their party’s trend was different and significance. Nixon, before Roe v. Wade, in 1971 declared that fetus have a right to live and abortion as birth control method is unwelcomed. On the other hand his Democratic presidential opponent, George McGovern, claimed that abortion is a personal matter between a woman and her doctor. After Roe, abortion became more prominent issue, and also had an important role in presidential politics in 1976. Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford exempted the issue, but continual questions on the campaigns made them to pay attention to it. Both gave fence-straddling responses. Ford was against abortion on demand and supporting state government control of the procedure but considered abortion in exception cases. Carter personally was against abortion and federal funding for it but also opposed any constitutional amendment to change Roe. In 1976, parties start to polarize. The Democratic Party noticed disruptive religious and ethical nature of the issue but rejected any attempt to overturn Roe. On the other hand the Republican Party believed that unborn should be protected by constitutional amendment. Pro-life and pro-choice advocates were not satisfied with parties’ responses. Carter, during his presidency separated both sides of abortion dispute. Senator Edward Kennedy who was a pro-choice advocate challenged Carter in 1980. On the other hand, Ronald Reagan was antiabortion and a pro-life advocate. The party platform divided more unexpectedly in 1980, with the Democrats supporting Roe. and opposing any constitutional amendment to change it and the Republicans wanted to protect unborn via constitutional amendment. By 1984 parties totally were polarized. The GOP for the first time identified that the fetus have a basic right to life however the Democrats identified reproductive right. Reagan changed the abortion debate. He tried to change Roe. and employ pro-life judges and enforced limitative rules on access to abortion. In Reagan’s first presidency abortion was not such an important item nut in his second term; he tried to limit abortion clinics. After Reagan, George H.W. Bush who at first was a pro-choice advocate during 1988 election followed Reagan. Michael Dukakis, Bush’s rival defended the abortion rights. The party platform in 1988 was against abortion issue and after victory Bush continued Reagan policies. He looked for more restriction on abortion. In 1992 Bush faced with Bill Clinton who was a Democrat and a pro-choice advocate.
The election of pro-choice Democrat Bill Clinton to the presidency provided further
safeguards for Roe. In his first year, Clinton replaced Justice White, who had dissented and consistently voted to overturn the decision, with pro-choice justice Ginsburg. The subsequent appointment of Justice Breyer by President Clinton would appear to guarantee that Roe. will remain the law of the land for many years.(Ted G. Jelen, 1995, p.60)
Bill Clinton forced Congress to make abortion part of essential health insurance benefits packages, permitted abortion in the military and renovate pro-choice organization. During his presidency many attempted to ban partial birth but because the final bill did not allowed the procedure if the woman’s life was at risk, it was vetoed by President in April 1996. After eight years of the Clinton-Gore administration, in 2001 pro-life forces won the election with Presidency of Georg W. Bush. In 2002, Congress kept on backing limitation on abortion availability for women. For the fifth time the House of Representatives passed the partial birth abortion ban and finally in 2003 it was signed by President Bush. (Colin Francome, 2004, p.94)
(Raymond Tatalovich, Byron W. Daynes, 2005, p.24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31)
Presidential election and abortion
Some times abortion with respect to social, political and economical situation is not the most important subject in presidential elections. Moreover, most Americans have moderate views on abortion so this issue can affect the outcome in the key states. Americans are more pro-choice rather than pro-life thus Democrat candidates have more chance but on the other hand pro-life voters have more influence on polls. These conditions created balance between abortionist and antiabortionist effect on the presidential election except some times that the issue is very significant so may people take different position.
the public is clearly of two minds about abortion ( fifty-seven-percent agree that abortion is murder).on the other hand, it feels woman should be able to make their own decision about whether to have abortion.(fifty-one agree with the statement)since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, public opinion on the issue had hardly changed at all. There has been some movement in the pro-choice position, but the predominant pattern is stable. Americans do not like either extremes .they do not want to see abortion used as a method for birth control, but they do not want too see it eliminated as an opinion either. (Arthur B. Sanders, 1992, p.44, 45)
Most of the time candidates speak freely about their programs to decrease taxes or improve economy but they can not do the same about abortion. Declining partisanship and the rise of "issue voting" made the role of parties weak.
The complexity of issue dominating the political agenda and recent changes in American society has made it impossible for the parties to know what to say and to whom. Issue and individual candidates have gained importance independently of parties and have often done so in a way which seriously damages party’s fortunes. (David McKay, 2005, p.117)
It dose not mean that parties have no role. Parties try to attract voters and their role is somehow indirect in presidential election. Any meaningful reforms to nourish the role of parties in presidential election mean negative public attitudes toward partisanship. (Gary L. Rose, 1991, p.278)
United States has more Republican president rather than Democrat; of course difference in number is very few. But it shows that antiabortionist interest groups were more successful to support their pro-life belief. The number of Republican and Democrats presidents proves the American’s moderate views and shows that the importance of the party’s role refers to party’s activities for attracting voters before election. Also political party’s role emerges in nomination process and actually it is difficult to win nomination outside the political parties. "The abortion issue might be helpful to Republicans because of Catholic voters’ pro-life stance and Democrats can take advantages from voters for feminist issues and those who are abortion rights activists". (Robert Singh, 2003, p.346)
Conclusion
After Roe v. Wade, almost every president faced with abortion matter. Also political parties as a part of American political structure were involved in the issue. As mentioned before, two most important parties have different views on abortion. Democrat Party which is a pro-choice advocate supports freedom of choice and abortion availability for women and Republic Party which is a pro-life advocate supports right of life for unborn. These two parties with their views affect presidential election as well as other elections, but through attracting voters and preaching their belief. Another important factor which affects presidential election is public opinion. Actually we can see the role of parties here because people vote according their party identification. It is really interesting that half of people believe that abortion should be available for exceptional cases and the next half believe that it should not be available under any condition and there are few differences between two groups’ attitudes. There are very small group of people that want abortion in any case. This position proves American moderate views on abortion. So we can not see the impact of this matter on presidential election clearly. Therefore the role of parties became moderate via people moderate views. For example if in an election Democrats win, it dose not mean that pro-abortion are more may be it’s because of other issues which overshadow this matter. However this issue can be crucial in special socio-cultural conditions.
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