Supreme Court weighs challenge to California's abortion disclosure law: Does it violate free speech?
http://beta.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-court-abortion-california-201710-story.html
Although abortion became a major divisive issue in modern politics by Roe v. Wade in 1973, the beginning of the issue dates back to the last 50's. At first, some non-religious groups fought for overturning the laws that banned abortion.
While other political issues are distant from religion of the voters, the abortion issue is deeply associated with some divisions within Christianity. However, before the 70's, there were relatively insignificant participation of religious groups in this issue compared to several years later in the history of the debate. The beginning of the participation of Catholic groups might not seem as their authentic decision, but rather it was a strategy of Patrick Buchanan, one of the aides of Richard Nixon, to "lure Northern Catholic voters, who had traditionally voted Democratic" to re-elect Nixon for his second term. His strategy worked; pro-life campaign of Nixon successfully attracted Northern Catholic votes and defeated his opponent, McGovern.
Regardless of Nixon's campaign, what made the issue of abortion nationwide is the landmark case of Roe v. Wade, which set up the precedent for future abortion cases and grassroots movements in both sides of the debate. The Supreme Court decision upheld the right of privacy under Due Process Clause, that women have their own right to abort; however, the effect of the result was limited to federal scope as usual. States held their own discretion on regulation only after the first trimester due to the decision.
The decision made in Roe v. Wade was challenged in 1992 with another landmark case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The Supreme Court then altered the criteria of states' discretion with the mention of "undue burden" of women; states could regulate abortion after the point of viability, regardless of the time spent in pregnancy.
Specifically, California is seeking for less strict regulation and improved social services to reduce the abortion rate, establishing "public programs that provide immediate free or low cost access to comprehensive family planning services ... for eligible women".
1. What are your thoughts on general religious involvement in the issue of abortion?
2. What do you think is the most efficient way to reduce the nationwide abortion rate, including legal regulation?
3. Do you think using religious sentiments in politics a justified strategy in political campaign?
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ReplyDelete1. I think that everyone should be entitled to their own religious beliefs; however, your own views should't interfere with or infringe upon any other persons rights. In the case of abortion: although some religions forbid it, it’s a woman’s right and others' religious views shouldn’t compromise that. I think this reasoning also has some applicability to the Cakeshop case.
ReplyDelete1. In my opinion, personal religious beliefs should be left out in the topic of Civil rights. For a topic like abortion many people who come from different religious backgrounds tend to emotionally voice their opinion. Without doubt, every single individual is entitled to their religious beliefs, yet letting that interfere with anthers rights is a potential problem. For someone who wants to get an abortion should have the right to do so, without being oppressed by others and their religious beliefs. Religion dominates peoples emotions and make them cling to their views, rather then being open minded and considerate of the bigger picture (women having the freedom to get an abortion). Such emotional resonance forces people to hold onto their faith and put others down who might be getting an abortion because their life is on the line. The interference of religion in abortion issues is pointless because the decision should be based on stats and scientific data rather then a specific religions belief on abortions being a sin.
ReplyDelete1. In the United states we often advocate for separation of church and state. This huge idea that we must remove religion from the government does not seem to hold true to this idea. Many congress law makers use their religious beliefs for their basis to why they support or don't support the fight for pro choice or not. However, this does not take into account why many Congress men and women use religion. Every state representative represents the people and their constituents, given this many states are primarily one religion or another and it creates a general state idea of if they support it generally or not which is shown in the politicians they elect.
ReplyDelete1. I believe that in order for America to get to the bottom of this issue, religion needs to stay out of it. Sure, for many people abortion goes against their religious beliefs. However, this is why there is a separation of church and state. It is very hard for Americans to keep their religious and political views separate. The bottom line is that just because it is against the rules of some religions, that does not make it illegal, and ultimately it should be the decision of the woman who is bearing the infant.
ReplyDelete3) During a political campaign, people will do almost anything to get people to vote for him or her. There are no rules against using religion to sway people to vote for you and it does not seem to be morally wrong. In a way most presidents have used religion to sway voters as most have been protestant and most of the population is protestant.
ReplyDelete2) In my opinion, the most effective way to reduce the national abortion rate is through the practice of safe sex. Most abortions occur when protection is not used during sex. Therefore, I believe that protection such as condoms should be supplied to high school students and college students for free. This would also decrease the amount of STIs in young adults, which would be highly beneficial in its own regard.
ReplyDelete1. I think that when discussing abortion, there needs to be complete separation of church and state. The church and their beliefs should have no impact on the laws made in the United States, because the people of the U.S. are not made up of one religion and do not all hold the same belief systems.
ReplyDelete1. While religious beliefs may conflict with the idea of abortion, it does not mean abortion should be illegal. The freedom of religion in the United States gives citizens the right to practice their religious beliefs freely and not be forced to do things that go against their religion. However, someone else's abortion does not conflict with one's personal religion. A christian believing that legal abortions violate their religious rights is comparable to someone being angry at someone outside of their religion for not wearing the appropriate religious wear like a yammacah or a hijab. If anything, outlawing abortion violates the separation of church and state, infringing on this religious right.
ReplyDelete2. The best way to reduce the abortion rate is to supply and inform the public on safe sex and contraceptives. People are becoming impregnated accidently because they either are being irresponsible, are not educated or do not have access to contraceptives. A remedy to this issue would also decrease the occurence in STDs across the country.
ReplyDelete2. I think the most efficient way to reduce the national abortion rate is to increase sex education and make contraceptives more accessible. Education is probably the biggest issue currently. According to the NPR article about Roe v. Wade, in a survey of young people, "only 44 percent polled knew the case was about abortion; 16 percent thought it had to do with school desegregation". Therefore, not only are enough students not being taught about sex education in school, but most students aren't even familiar with the court cases that established rights about abortion, further proving that people are not informed enough in general.
ReplyDelete1. Yes, people should be able to have their own opinions about abortion concerning their religious beliefs but I don't feel they have the right to project them onto other people. I think that abortion is a personal matter that doesn't involve anyone other than the father and mother, therefore people with strong religious beliefs should only project there beliefs on those in their family and religious circle. I also believe that due to the establishment clause which says that there can't be an official religion of the government, there should be no religious involvement in making the decision of the law.
ReplyDelete3. I believe that religion and politics should be considered largely separate. To hold true to this belief, a government should remain completely isolated from religion. Essentially, the separation of state and religion should be increased, and religion should have less political influence.
ReplyDelete2. It has been proven in studies that abstinence focused sex education is ineffective in preventing sexual experimentation among teens. This points to the need for a more comprehensive and in depth sex education so the population has the breadth of knowledge they need to make responsible decisions. If this level of education was mandated throughout the country we would see a decline in abortion rate as the use of other contraceptives is better understood.
ReplyDelete-Jackson Gravagno
1. I believe there is a very fine line between state and religion, especially when it comes to abortion because of how controversial it is. Although I understand that religion can hinder and alter beliefs that individuals are grown up with, there is no Constitutional law that states that people must believe in a religion, or anything for that matter. Because of this, i believe the decision should be left with the woman who is carrying the fetus because it is her body that is going under distress and she should choose whether or not she is prepared to bear a pregnancy.
ReplyDelete1.) I can understand some religious people’s issues with abortion based on religion, however, I truly believe that unless someone is in a situation where they understand what it is like to have to make such a painful decision, they shouldn’t really be able to tell other people what to do with their bodies no matter what their religion. I think people can have those thoughts personally but I don’t think that religion show factor into the equation for deciding what to do on abortion.
ReplyDelete2.) I believe the most efficient way to reduce the nationwide abortion rate is to reduce limitations on access to contraceptives which are not only helpful in preventing unwanted pregnancies but are also beneficial to people’s health. Additionally, I believe not teaching abstinence only in schools (not that all schools do this) would help people understand how to safely have sex and would limit unwanted pregnancies (especially in young people) for those ill equipped to have children who may turn to an abortion.
2. I believe that the best way to reduce abortion rates is to educate the public more about safe sex and available contraceptives. A more in depth sex education could help prevent accidental pregnancies and overall lower the abortion rate.
ReplyDelete3. I believe using religion as a campaign mechanism can be very effective, but also is against the spirit of our democracy. People, especially republicans are very serious about their religion, and candidates can use that to in their favor. Anti abortionists will use their religion as the only reason against abortion, and will say that it is unchristian to support abortion. I firmly believe that religion and politics should have nothing to do with each other, because the US was founded on secular principles, and not biblical ones. Religious conviction is a very effective strategy, but not necessarily one that is good for democracy.
ReplyDelete1. I believe that religion should not be a part of the discussion for the simple reason that legalizing abortion doesn't force anyone to get an abortion. If it's against your religion then its against your religion - you don't have to get an abolition, but you can't say that others can't get abortions just because its against your religion.
ReplyDelete2. I think the best way to reduce the abortion rate is to provide proper sexual education and to be more sex-positive. Sex is seen as a negative and taboo topic, so many people avoid talking about it. However, more discussions about sex would increase people's awareness about sex. By being more comfortable with talking about sex, it is easier to teach the public about safer sex and contraceptives. Such discussions would open people to more preventative measures, and if people follow those measures, there would be a smaller need for abortions.
ReplyDelete2. I think the most effective method in reducing the abortion rate is to incorporate it into our educational system. More specifically, I think it should be less focused on in middle schools and more focused on in high school. I think this is an important change because in middle school, many do not understand or realize how real and important these issues can be. In high school, students are much more aware of things relating to sex so it would overall have a lasting impact.
ReplyDelete