In the 1970’s, the women’s movement demanded legal abortion as a right available to all women, no matter how young, old, rich, poor, married or unmarried. In 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide. Since Rowe v. Wade, states have enacted over 1000 laws that limit a woman’s access to choose to have an abortion. These laws vary widely by state and include such laws as parental consent and/or notification laws, and the time frame in which an abortion can be legally obtained. The one constant since this 1973 Supreme Court decision has been that the choice to have an abortion is a woman’s right. Now, however, there are some people who believe that would-be fathers, and even grandparents, should have …show more content…
Wade legalized abortion nationwide in 1973, each state has it’s own laws regarding abortion, therefore limiting a woman’s right to choose. Most of these state laws deal with prohibiting an abortion after a certain point in the pregnancy, which varies widely by state. These laws place limits as to how and when, and even if, a woman can choose to have an abortion. Florida laws prohibits abortion after the pregnancy reaches 24 weeks, unless the mothers health is at risk. Right now 43 states place limits as to how far along in a pregnancy a woman can choose to have an abortion. In 2011 more than 45% of all pregnancies in the United States were unplanned, and more than 80% of teenage pregnancies were unplanned. In the state of Florida the percentage of unplanned pregnancies was 59% of women ages 15-44. Dealing with an unplanned and possibly unwanted pregnancy is what causes most women to think about choosing an abortion in the first place. With the laws that are in place today, the decision to have an abortion needs to be made sooner rather than later in a pregnancy. If a woman is over 18 this is the only limit placed on her choice to have an abortion, however minors have another obstacle to face when thinking of choosing to terminate a teen pregnancy. State abortion laws also deal with parental notification and/or consent laws for minors choosing to have an abortion. Florida statistics show that in 2011 there were more than 32,000 teenage pregnancies, and across the United States that number rises to more than 553,000 teenage pregnancies. Studies have shown that most teenagers, when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, seriously consider abortion as their first option. In Florida, parental notice has to be given at least 48 hours in advance to the termination of a pregnancy. Across the United States 37 states require some sort of parental involvement in a minor’s decision to choose to have an abortion; 21 states require parental consent,