Understanding Abortion Laws

Answer 1

Abortion laws vary widely across the world, with some countries such as Nicaragua and Chile banning abortion outright, while others such as Canada have no criminal punishment for abortion. Most countries' laws fall somewhere in between. In the United States, per the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, unrestricted abortion is allowed until the fetus has reached the point of viability, or the ability to survive outside of the womb. Viability is generally considered to occur around 28 weeks, although advancing medical technology is making it a possibility earlier in the pregnancy. Once the point of viability has been passed, abortions are legal only in cases in which the procedure is key to a woman's physical or mental health. In 2003, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was passed and signed into legislation by President Bush, and was later upheld by the Supreme Court decision in the 2007 case of Gonzales v. Carhart. This act banned the procedure of intact dilation and extraction, more commonly known as partial-birth abortion. While the mother of the fetus cannot be prosecuted under the law, the doctor who provided the abortion may be prosecuted and face up to two and a half years in prison if convicted. While laws in the United States allow for access to abortion, a legal provision known as the Hyde Amendment has been a rider on appropriation bills since it's original passage in 1976. This provision disallows federal funding for abortion services, leaving many American women responsible for the often significant costs of an abortion procedure.

While the United States Supreme Court established a federal protection for abortion rights in the country, not all state abortion laws are the same. The federal law does not allow a state to ban abortion procedures, but it does allow the individual states to place their own restrictions on access to abortion. These laws can often restrict late-term abortions, require parental notification and consent for teenagers, and require that women be informed of the potential risks of the procedure. While ruled unconstitutional, a number of states have tried to pass abortion bans, including South Dakota and Mississippi, though to no avail. However, North Dakota's Personhood of Children Act (HB 1572) has passed the house and may be used to challenge Roe v. Wade. Additionally, a number of states have trigger laws enacted, which will ban abortion should Roe v. Wade be overturned.