Abortion One of the most controversial topics in American politics, abortion has had a complicated history of rights concerning the welfare of both the mother and child and the conflicting views it presents with them. In 1973 the supreme court issued the Roe v. Wade decision establishing abortion as a constitutional right and uplifting restrictions in the states. In 2023 the Roe v Wade decision has since been overturned and with it, protests of women’s rights, human rights, and religious rights have been brought to the forefront. What led to these decisions to overturn the constitutional right to abortion and how did the topic of abortion get to this level of controversy? What are the arguments for and against abortion and why are they so …show more content…
The first prosecutions concerning abortion were made against the professionalism and safety of those performing the abortion rather than the concern of the woman who underwent the abortion, and these cases were quite rare. In 1740s Connecticut, a doctor and a Connecticut man were both under trial for being connected to the death of Sarah Grosvenor, who died of a botched abortion. However, this case had little to do with abortion and more about the men’s roles in Sarah’s death. Throughout the 18th and early parts of the 19th century was not thought of as the extreme we know it as today. Herbs self-administered to cure unwanted pregnancies, or provoked uterine bleeding as it was most referred to, such as savin, tansy, and pennyroyal were common in kitchen gardens. Due to the rigid social structure of the time, all matters of home and reproductive health were strictly in the realm of women providing them with little restriction from the detests of men. It wasn’t till 1821 that the first laws against abortion took place. The Connecticut general assembly passed the first …show more content…
Factors such as religious and political beliefs make abortion a topic regarded as controversial and highly disputed. With the recent decision of the Supreme Court and the states restricting and banning access to abortion, there is a growing concern about the injustices of women and their rights. Looking back at all the history and the involvement of the government banning abortions and later the fight to gain women the right to it, is history going to repeat