Prior to 1965, regulating abortion was left up to the states under their police powers. States maintained that the tenth amendment of the Constitution supported the states’ right to powers not delegated to the federal government; meaning that a state could regulate as it saw fit as long as the policy was not specifically prohibited in the Constitution. This allowed states to have different policies when it came to abortion. For example, New York allowed termination within the first twenty-four weeks of pregnancy while Texas banned abortion except if the mother’s life was threatened. This changed in 1965 when the powers of congress were expanded and sexual matters began to be considered within an individual’s right to privacy protected under the Bill of Rights. The landmark case Roe vs. Wade upheld this new interpretation with a ruling in 1973 that gave all women the right to an abortion within the first trimester of pregnancy. Opponents argued that the fourteenth amendment which provided equal protection to all citizens should apply to the fetus therefore overrule the ruling made in Roe vs. Wade that protect the right to privacy. The issue of abortion lives within a significant grey area when it comes to its constitutionality. It has been debated over throughout the later part of the twentieth century and the polarizing debate will continue into the future (Wilson). Constitutionality is not …show more content…
The issue of abortion does not lend itself to compromise. In one opinion abortion is morally wrong and should be prevented by the government just has murder is, in the other, the ability to control ones body is a fundamental right and abortion is included within that. On both sides supporters and opponents are have extreme emotional views. Many have a no tolerance stance meaning that all abortions to be legal across the entire country or they want all of them to be illegal. Maybe talk about