In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled that a woman has the right to choose if she wants to continue a pregnancy with the infamous case Roe v Wade. Jane Roe did not want to proceed with her pregnancy, which would result in her third child. However, Henry Wade, the sitting District Attorney of Texas at the time, believed abortion was unconsitutional.
After a grueling battle, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jane Roe, granting women the right to have control over their own bodies. This ruling specified that the government had no place in dictating a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body during the first trimester of her pregnancy. Beginning in the second trimester, governments are allowed to enact legislation regarding abortions as long as they are tailored towards the mother’s health. In the third trimester, governments have the right to prohibit abortions unless deemed medically necessary for the mother’s health. Since then, many legislators have fought to overturn the ruling in Roe v Wade. Currently, there are two bills circulating, one in South Carolina and the other in Tennessee, that oppose Roe v Wade. In light of the Supreme Court decision in 1973, these two bills are unconstitutional. Therefore, I will only discuss the facts related to these new bills and the Roe v Wade case.
South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act
On February 18, 2021 South Carolina Governor Henry McCaster signed a bill that prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected on an ultrasound. If a fetal heartbeat is heard, the only exceptions that allow a physician to perform an abortion are if the physician believes it is a medical emergency, the pregnancy is the result of rape or inscest, or if there is a fetal anomaly. The bill states that any physician who performs an abortion outside of those parameters after a fetal heartbeat is heard will face punishments of fines and even imprisonment. A fetal heartbeat can be heard at approximately 6 weeks, a time in which many women may not be aware that they are pregnant as it can take as long as 3 to 4 weeks for a woman’s hCG levels to be high enough to be detected on a pregnancy test. There is one blatant point within this bill that explicitly opposes the ruling in Roe v Wade. The Supreme Court ruling states that government has no right to prohibit a woman from having an abortion within the first trimester of pregnancy as long as a liscenced physician perfroms the procedure. Being that a fetal heartbeat can be heard at as early as 6 weeks and the first trimester of pregnancy ends at week 12, this bill is unconstitutional.
Tennessee Senate Bill 494
Tennessee lawmakers introduced an anti-choice bill in early February that would allow a biological father of an embryo to petition the court to prevent a woman from obtaining an abortion. The bill states that the petitioner needs to prove that they are the biological father of the embryo, however DNA evidence is not required. Simply, the petitioner must voluntarily acknowledge their paternity over the unborn embryo, which can be done without the pregnant parent’s consent. In addition, the bill does not make exceptions for cases of rape and inscest. Furthermore, if a pregnant woman were to go against the petition they can be held in civil or criminal contempt. This bill by no means acts in the best interest of the mother’s health, as indicated by Roe v Wade, and is thus unconstitutional.
Although many states have passed laws restricting access to abortion since 1973, these most recent laws from South Carolina and Tennessee are the most conservative anti-choice laws to be seen. The bills from South Carolina and Tennessee are disconcerting in their desire to reduce a woman’s right to make an independent decision about her own body; this clearly goes against the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v Wade. Freedom is defined as, “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint” by Oxford Languages Dictionary. That said, the Declaration of Independence claims freedom and equality to be unalienable rights. Perhaps that should be considered throughout these upcoming legal proceedings.
References
Asmelash, Leah. “Tennessee Lawmakers Are Proposing a Bill That Would Let Biological Fathers Petition to Stop Abortions.” CNN, Cable News Network, 17 Feb. 2021, www.cnn.com/2021/02/17/politics/tennessee-anti-abortion-bill-trnd/index…..
The Associated Press. “South Carolina Governor Signs Abortion Ban, Prompting Immediate Lawsuit.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 18 Feb. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/south-carolina-governor-signs-abortion-ban-….
Cleveland Clinic. “Fetal Development: Month-By-Month Stages of Pregnancy.” Cleveland Clinic, 2021 Cleveland Clinic, 16 Apr. 2020, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/7247-fetal-development-stages-of-growth.
“Dictionary: Freedom.” Google Search, Oxford Languages, www.google.com/search?q=define%2Bfreedom&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS811US811&oq=def….
Guttmacher Institute . “An Overview of Abortion Laws.” Guttmacher Institute, 2021 Guttmacher Institute , 1 Mar. 2021, www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/overview-abortion-laws.