{"id":1950,"date":"2018-10-10T16:31:50","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T20:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/throughcatholiclenses\/?p=1950"},"modified":"2018-10-10T16:31:50","modified_gmt":"2018-10-10T20:31:50","slug":"the-nuance-of-abortion-laws-without-roe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/throughcatholiclenses\/2018\/10\/the-nuance-of-abortion-laws-without-roe\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nuance of Abortion Laws Without Roe v. Wade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Legal<\/a>
Legal Gavel (rawpixel on unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Today, the Washington Post carried a story about what happens if Roe is overturned. We need to remember that overturning Roe doesn\u2019t make abortion illegal but allows states to set abortion laws. The Post notes<\/a> that this leaves a complicated situation:<\/p>\n

If the high court acted to overturn Roe, some states would continue allowing women access to abortions, while others may bar them from receiving the procedure \u2014 or restrict access to it at various points in a pregnancy and for any number of different reasons.<\/p>\n

That means even greater variance in abortion laws across the country depending on whether a state is run by Democrats or Republicans<\/strong>. [\u2026]\n<\/p>

It\u2019s worth remembering that\u00a0Roe<\/em>\u00a0didn\u2019t guarantee access to legal abortion \u2014 the decision\u00a0states\u00a0that the procedure\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0be restricted before the point that a fetus is viable [Clarification: Doe v. Bolton \u2013 decided the same day by the same judges \u2013 made abortion a right past viability].\u00a0So overturning\u00a0Roe<\/em>\u00a0wouldn\u2019t change much of anything for states mainly run by Democrats who are supportive of abortion rights \u2014 they\u00a0could\u00a0keep abortion legal within their borders.\u00a0<\/strong>[\u2026]\n<\/p>

But in the 26 states where Republicans hold the governorship and control the legislature, stricter abortion bans would probably follow if the court weakens or eliminates the\u00a0Roe\u00a0<\/em>standard.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

WaPo continues<\/a>, noting a dividing line where it abortion is completely illegal in some states and completely legal in others.<\/p>\n

Moderate Abortion\u00a0Positions<\/h2>\n

While some states will have abortion bans or abortion rights, I suspect most states would have something in between. Most of the developed world has laws where some but not all abortion is illegal. Generally, it is illegal after a certain number of weeks. In fact, there are only 6 countries<\/a> other than the USA (of 197) where abortion is legal for any reason late in pregnancy (after 20 weeks).<\/p>\n

Also, if we look at polls, Gallup\u2019s polling shows about 50% of Americans believe<\/a> that abortion should be legal under certain circumstances but not all. In a follow-up survey<\/a> they showed that while 60% support legal abortion in the first trimester (about 13 weeks); while in the second trimester (about 14-26 weeks), only 1\/3 think abortion should be legal; and in third trimester (after 27 weeks) less than 3 in 20 think it should be legal. When examining reasons for abortion<\/a>, over 75% think that abortion should be legal in cases of rape or if the woman\u2019s life is in danger but 1\/3 think it should be legal due to financial hardship and only 20% believe abortion should be legal for any reason.<\/p>\n

In general, laws will tend to reflect societal attitudes. If the choice went to state legislatures now, I suspect that some kind of law allowing some but not all abortions\u00a0would probably pass in most legislatures rather than the current legality for all 9 months, or a ban on all or almost all abortion. You could likely get moderates on both sides supporting a ban on abortion\u00a0after 15 weeks or except in certain cases, but not an outright ban. I definitely want\u00a0no legal\u00a0abortion and suspect most readers concur. However, we need to change people\u2019s attitudes if we want fully pro-life laws.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Roe v. Wade is bad law because it is an emanation from a penumbra. Its legality is based on the constitutional right to privacy but in reality, it takes away a more fundamental right to life. We should change it but that will give us a variety of laws by state. Ultimately, we need to keep our eyes on the goal of making abortion unthinkable, not just illegal.<\/p>\n

For the record, I said something similar<\/a> when Kavanaugh was first nominated.<\/p>\n

Also, you can now help sponsor me via Patreon<\/a>: $2 a month gets you my weekly news summary and all the funds go to help my religious community<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, the Washington Post carried a story about what happens if Roe is overturned. We need to remember that overturning Roe doesn\u2019t make abortion illegal but allows states to set abortion laws. The Post notes that this leaves a complicated situation: If the high court acted to overturn Roe, some states would continue allowing women […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3464,"featured_media":1956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,8,86],"tags":[92,266,53,89,358,347,302],"class_list":["post-1950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-moral-theology","category-news-analysis","category-pro-life","tag-abortion","tag-laws","tag-moral-theology","tag-pro-life","tag-roe-v-wade","tag-scotus","tag-us-federal-government"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Nuance of Abortion Laws Without Roe v. 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