There is a law in Nebraska being placed that says that women cannot have an abortion after 20 weeks due to the fact that this when the fetus can feel pain. So if a woman feels that she cannot support a child than she cannot abort because of this law. Forcing a woman to bare and give birth to a child that she does not wish to have is undeniably unconstitutional. So what can be done to make this law not go into effect?
The reason the law is being made is because at this point of gestation the fetus can feel pain. The first issue that needs to be reviewed is the question “Can a fetus survive out of the womb at 20 weeks?” In some extreme cases there have been babies born as early as just over 22 weeks. Though a baby can survive that early in gestation, how will the baby’s medical problem affect the mother’s life? These things have to be taken into consideration when laws like this are created.
An issue with creating a law that restricts someone from having an abortion after 20 weeks is if the parent is a teenage mother. Sometime teens are afraid to let their parents know that they are pregnant or the teen herself may not even realize it. This would be a reason why the teen would wait so late to get an abortion. According to statistics 35 percent of pregnant teenagers have an abortion. Letting this law pass will make it that much harder for these young ladies and the child that they are forced to raise. Not only does this ruin the life of this teenager, it also puts the life of the baby at risk as well. There are some cases with parents that are so overwhelmed with taking care of an infant that the kill the baby. According to a study on infant homicide, More than 80 percent of infant homicides are considered to be fatal child abuse and one of the most important risk factors was that the mother was under the age of 19. People may be pro-life, but forcing a teen to be a mother may end an infant’s life more violently than an abortion.
According to the Supreme Court decision on Roe vs. Wade, the Due Process Clause stating a right to privacy ruled that all state and federal laws outlawing abortion were unconstitutional. Since then states have been trying to been their way around this decision. Though people may not like it is true that if a doctor tells a woman she cannot have an abortion that doctor is violating that woman’s right as an American to the privacy, welfare, happiness of her life. So in that affect, making any abortion law, pro-life or not, is not a law made for justice. It is made for a Judeo-Christian society that believes there should be no abortions. There are laws made that say that a woman cannot get an abortion, and the laws are passes. This is a problem that this nation must address.
