Minors’ Access to Abortion in the USA Homework Help

Discuss about Juvenile Abortion Rights In United States………..

In the 110^th USA Congress a bill was introduced that purported to declare that the United States should declare it a public policy that every woman had the right [fundamental right that is] to decide whether they wanted to bear a child or not. Additionally the bill provided that a woman could choose whether they wanted to terminate the pregnancy before the fetus was viable or not. Moreover, the bill also proposed that the pregnancy could be terminated even after the point of viability if it was declared necessary in order to save or protect the life of a woman. The bill was meant to give women the freedom to decide autonomously on factors that related to their reproductive health. This was premised on the fact that reproductive issues were intimate in nature and the government or any other external body [including persons] could not make such a decision on behalf of a healthy woman. The bill was passed to law and hence the Freedom of Choice Act (H.R. 1964/S.1173).The Act prohibits [as it was intended] the state, the local government and the federal government form interfering or even denying a woman her right to exercise her freedom of choice. Additionally it prohibits discrimination of the woman exercising her rights in accordance to the set regulations or even in accessing the benefits that accrue thereof which include access to the services, the facilities or even information that further her freedom of choice. Additionally the Act spells out that if a woman feels aggrieved [i.e. her right to choice has been violated] she can be accorded the appropriate relief [this includes relief from a governmental entity] through institution of a civil suit in a competent court of law.
The provisions of the Freedom of Choice Act have been construed [legally] to include the right to abortion [or legislation of abortion]. This interpretation has been the subject of debate for decades with various groups accusing the Act of allowing women to use abortion as a form of contraceptive [the pro-life group that is against abortion argue that women who do not want to procure an abortion in the future should be responsible enough to prevent an unwanted pregnancy by other means such as use of the already available contraceptives]. During the enactment of the Act the intention of the legislature and the drafters of the bill were to ensure that women had the final say about what happened to their bodies. In addition [according to my own understanding of the Act] the Act was to apply to women who were able to make a decision on their own about their reproductive rights. However, recently the issue of minors making decision about their reproductive rights has cropped up. The main argument is that, if a girl has reached reproduction maturity [that is she is able to conceive] she should be allowed to make decisions on her reproductive rights. This notion has sparked controversy, and in a bid to settle the debate, the courts [through court decisions] have set up regulations as concerning minor’s position on reproductive health rights. The purpose of this paper therefore is to bring to light the legal requirements in as far as access to abortion for minors is concerned in the US.
Abortion in the USA in Respect to Minors
The central issue in abortion was discussed in the case of Roe v. Wade where the borne of contention was when the life of a human being begins. The court however did not make a ruling on when the life of a human being begins as it also did not understand the timing. It stated that the difficulties in defining the beginning of life has been experienced in the medical field, the theology field as well as the field of philosophy; therefore the court is not in a position to speculate on the answer on the issue. Instead the courts choose to give leeway on the time a woman can gain access to abortion services. It explained that a woman can procure an abortion until the fetus is viable.  After this period abortion is illegal unless it is considered risky by medical practitioners to the life of the woman. Therefore, the debate on minors’ access to abortion still follows this court ruling [that is on the viability of the fetus].
Most states in the USA require that a minor’s access to abortion have parental involvement. The parental involvement is usually accorded in two ways, which is through notification or consent or both. In about 35 states, parental involvement is mandatory for a minor to gain access to abortion services. In about 22 states either of the requirements is acceptable for a minor to gain access to abortion services. 11 states require the consent of either parent and 2 states require consent of both parents so that a minor can access abortion services (Guttmacher Institute, 2012).
The involvement of parents in a minors’ access to abortion services has been significant especially in requiring the judicial sector to interpret the position it has on the issue. The court has been categorical in its interpretation of the issue and has stated that while parental involvement acts as a barrier to minors access to abortion services, it should be appreciated that some threshold has to exist in determining when such consent is unconstitutional. For instance the courts have specified that access to abortion is in two categories, one involves spousal involvement in order for a woman to access abortion [this has been interpreted as unconstitutional by the courts] and the second involves parental consent or involvement [which has been interpreted as constitutional] and hence the categorical nature of the court’s decision.  Parental involvement in minors’ access to abortion was enhanced particularly after the case of Planned Parenthood of Southern Pennsylvania v. Casey where the court interpreted and hence affirmed it decisions on spousal involvement and parental involvement, by ruling that spousal involvement placed undue burden on the ability of a woman to gain access to abortion services while parental involvement did not place such a burden.
Parental involvement on minors’ access to abortion has got three fundamental legal features. First of all parental consent is binding [that is, it is binding to the minors and not the adult]. Secondly, it is a requirement that before a minor gets an abortion, their parents have to be notified, and in some cases the consent of the parents is important even if notification has been rendered. Thirdly, obligation is placed on the courts to decide the position of a situation in respect to a minor’s access to abortion [in some instances the court is allowed to bypass the parent’s decision and make its own decision based on its assessment of the situation].
In 1976, the first case involving parental consent was decided (Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth). The case particulars required consent [spousal] from married couples, as well as another instance of parental consent to allow minors to gain access to abortion services. The court in its ruling stated that parental involvement in minors’ access to abortion to abortion services was unconstitutional because it possessed a universal enforcement characteristic. In later cases however i.e. in the case of Planned Parenthood of Kansas City v. Ashcroft, the Supreme Court held that parental involvement was constitutional. However, it also ruled that the constitutionality of parental consent exists as long as it allowed for a court bypass of the consent given by the parents especially if such consent is not required. The same position has been mirrored in similar cases like Belloti v. Baird where the court held that judicial bypass is allowed in instances where parental consent is not required. In H.L v. Matheson the court ruled that parental notification was constitutional. The position taken by the court has been illustrated properly in the case of Planned Parenthood of S.E. Pennsylvania v. Casey where the position of the court was set as: Parental involvement on a minor’s access to abortion was regarded constitutional as long as the regulations and the parental consent do not contribute to placing undue burden on the ability of a woman to gain access to abortion services.
Conclusion
It has been argued that parental consent has contributed to the increasing number of backstreet abortions as the consent is too stringent on young adolescents and this has increased the number of deaths of young girls who result to unorthodox means of terminating their pregnancies. In addition young women feel shy to communicate with their parent on sex matters especially if the pregnancy resulted through rape or incest means. The period of time that that a parent takes to make a decision [which in most cases is an ethical decision] means that the risks involved increase. Additionally minors have the option of travelling to states where abortion is allowed in order to have their pregnancies terminated.
But he position of the law is clear, if a pregnancy is as a result of unwanted encounters especially rape or incest [in general forced sexual relations]getting a court to consent to that [on moral grounds] is not difficult especially if it can be proved by medical reports and concrete evidence. The prime advantage is the court’s involvement in situations where abortion is considered safe to the life of the minor as stipulated by law.
The position of minors’ access to abortion is clear however, parental involvement is a legal requirement although the courts too have a say in such matters [through judicial bypass].

References

Bellotti v. Baird, 428 U.S. 132 (1976)

Guttmacher Institute. (2012). State Policies in Brief: An Overview of Abortion Laws. Retrieved 3^rd May 2012, from http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_OAL.pdf

H. L. v. Matheson, 450 U.S. 398 (1981)

Planned Parenthood Assn. v. Ashcroft, – 462 U.S. 476 (1983)

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992)

Planned Parenthood v. Danforth, 428 U.S. 52 (1976)

Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)

 

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