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Lecturer Scott Lemieux on Vox, "6 myths about Roe v. Wade, debunked"

Submitted by Stephen Dunne on July 17, 2018 - 3:52pm

Political Science Lecturer Scott Lemieux writing for the Vox web site states six myths about Roe v. Wade and why they are incorrect

The first reason that they claimed is that Roe was only based on the emanations and penumbras in the Constitution. However, Justice Harry Blackmun's opinion for Roe was grounded in the 14th Amendment's concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action. Additionally, others believed that Roe made states impossible to regulate abortion. while it was true that Roe itself forbade most state regulation of abortion prior to second “trimester", but Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992 changed that states can regulate pre-viability abortions as long as they do not constitute an “undue burden” on a woman’s right to choose. Also, some claimed that France regulates abortion more tightly than the U.S. but France subsidize on the cost of abortion while the U.S. has Hyde Amendment which bans Medicaid funds from being used for abortions. Moreover, some believed that public opinion will protect abortion but people who were most affected by it had little political power. Lastly, Lemieux stated that overturning Roe won’t return the issue to the states since the Congress passed, and the Supreme Court upheld, a nationwide ban “partial-birth abortions." also since the Republican Party is becoming more and more hostile to abortion rights, abortion would remain a national issue.   

For the full piece please click here.

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