Abortion, Protests and Their Effect on the American Society
The process of abortion, the cessation of a woman’s pregnancy, has been around since what we now know as the antiquity period, and with that, there presumably were people against abortion that followed alongside. Parallel to both sides of the abortion argument, one of the more concrete practices that people may partake in in regards to abortion is protesting. Social movements like protests are usually a way for individuals involved in a community to come together and express their beliefs, emotions, opinions publicly. They usually involve a group of people who share the same goal or set of beliefs, hoping to cause some sort of change or impact on others. In this case, there are fundamental protests on whether an individual should support the case of abortion or if they are against it. The act of abortion, outside of the Christian point of view, can be seen as helpful to many women who may not be financially, mentally, or physically ready to become a parent. Having the option of abortion may grant both men and woman if they feel that they are not readily suited to have a child or comfortable enough to actively partake in childcare, and can be a better choice.
Moving forward, these protests that groups of people tend to participate in, concerning abortion, can help bring more public awareness that may or may not be mainstream and viral yet. With public awareness, comes public attitude and the initial change of thought or heart (for better or for worse) someone may have had before knowing what is fact and fiction on what is being protested. If they get to a certain point, they can even change legislation. We see this change in legislation during the case of Roe v. Wade that took place back in 1973.
The case of Roe v. Wade sparks from the fourth amendment of the Constitution; an individual’s right to privacy. Here, it is in special regards to protecting the rights of women in regards to a woman’s reproductive health and privacy of choice if an expecting woman (or inclusively, another individual that doesn’t identify as a woman) chooses to have an abortion. The argument, in this case, emphasized the original statement in how the initial ban of abortion in the U.S. was labeled unconstitutional. The case argued that with abortion, the only acceptable time it would be for an individual to have an abortion was during the first trimester, and then after that and into the second trimester, it would be justified as illegal or not morally right to have an abortion as a way to attempt a certain balance between a woman’s rights and woman’s privacy with an added regulation of abortion. To follow on that, with the famous statement from Exodus 20:13, “you shall not murder”, there is a clear demonstration and thought from a Christian point of view that humans themselves were essentially made from the mind and conformity of God. God’s implication of the intentional taking of an individual’s life is definite in the sense that it is considered a sin, connecting back to how morally wrong it was and has been seen to an individual to have an abortion. The case itself substantially caused a specific division between people across the nation and the globe. We now identify this division between these divided groups as people who either identify as a pro-lifer or as a pro-choicer, depending on whether they argue for abortion or against it. The case sparked only the beginning of these protests that started happening over the debate and women’s rights.
Going back to my original statement relating to how protests have been around quite frequently, back in 2017 there was a large nationwide protest that can/may connect to this case of Roe v. Wade and the argument of women’s privacy. The protest was called Women’s March (2017) and was dedicated to women, women’s rights, and a woman’s (and other individual’s) rights to privacy, especially concerning abortion. The protest took place in Washington DC near the capital and was primarily started over the inauguration of ex-President, Donald Trump, and his blatantly stated negative beliefs over women’s rights as well as other offensive statements he’s said about women.
Overall, abortion can be viewed as a pretty controversial topic. With these continuing protests on woman’s rights, privacy, and especially in the case of this piece, abortion, protesting can continue to help bring attention to the public and the media alike, with just how important and volatile it abortion be, especially for women today.
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References:
Women’s March. 5 Jan. 2018, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/womens-march.
Roe v. Wade. (n.d.). Retrieved May 14, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Roe-v-Wade
Figure 1:
It’s OK To Be Conflicted About Abortion — You’re Not Alone. It’s OK To Be Conflicted About Abortion — You’re Not Alone | Cognoscenti. https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2018/04/18/pro-life-pro-choice-rich-barlow.
Figure 2:
From Public Broadcasting Service. (2013, March 5). Why Roe v. Wade is not like a typewriter. PBS.https://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/opinion/why-roe-v-wade-is-not-like-a-typewriter/16084/.