Abortion and McCain

[John McCain-SAC]

Since the term “abortion” was created there have been countless debates and arguments about legality and fairness. There are three sides to this story. Those who are pro-choice and believe a woman should be allowed to have an abortion if she wants too. Also, there are those who are pro-life and believe that abortion is only acceptable to save the woman’s life, incest, or rape and in some cases believe that abortion is not acceptable for any reason. Finally, there are those are don’t know what they believe and just sway back and forth on the fence. Differences aside, abortion stands as an important issue in each presidential election and remains to do so in this one as well.

With a vague glance at the 19th century, one finds that abortion was simply illegal and was punishable by both state and federal law. Furthermore, during this century the public frowned upon abortion and deemed it an immoral act. A closer look will be taken at the progression of abortion in the states from early 20th century till present time. The time span of 1900 to 1950 was unfortunately filled with many deaths from abortions attempted in unsanitary and dangerous places. The 50s and 60s of the 20th century played a major role in making abortion a national issue. A reform was forming consisting of physicians and clergy who sought to make abortion legal so that they could make a legitimate and professional practice of it. In the year 1959, a reform law sanctioning abortion for “therapeutic” reasons such as the women’s health, a defect with the fetus, or incest and rape was endorsed by the American Law Institute (ALI) (Jost and Koch, Background and Chronology). Countless women of middle-class America were receiving “therapeutic” abortions because of the loose interpretation from physicians and doctors (Glazer, Background). While these years were important, they are only baby steps compared to the steps taken in the taken in the single year of 1973.

Considered one of the most important years in the history of abortion, 1973 paved the way for legal abortions across the nation. The foundation for such a drastic change was the controversial trial of Roe v. Wade. While the Supreme Court made many decisions in this single trial the pivotal verdict was to legalize abortion deeming that it was a woman’s right according to the constitution (Clark, Background). In addition, the power to regulate abortion policies was removed from the state and handed over to the government to be dealt with on a national base (Glazer, Background). After that ruling, abortions more than doubled over the next ten years (Jost and Koch, Background).

Following the Roe v. Wade decision, there have been many cases trying to determine the rules and regulations of abortion. A number of the 1980s trials touched on the issue of parental involvement and the waiting period before having the abortion. The issue went back and forth and most states changed their decisions with each new trial that was brought up (Jost and Koch, Chronology). With the election of Bush Senior into office, the 1990s was filled with trials trying to overturn the Roe v. Wade. While the voting was close in many cases, the verdict was never overturned and abortion remained legal across the nation (Glazer, Background). As for the 2000s, the topic of debate is partial-birth abortion. Many states are swaying back and forth on whether or not to ban it. (Jost and Koch, Current Situation). This particular topic is one of the major issues that the candidates of the 2008 Presidential race are facing.

John McCain is the republican presidential nominee and is a strong advisory of abortion. He strongly disagrees with Roe v. Wade and as president he would work hard to overturn the decision. As well he would appoint judges who don’t realize that legislating from the bench is not the right way of running business. McCain doesn’t want to stop at just reversing the Roe v. Wade case, but wants to take it another step and begin dealing with the issue on a more personal base. According to McCain, “At its core, abortion is a human tragedy. To effect meaningful change, we must engage the debate at a human level.” (JohnMcCain.com).

McCain is a strong opponent of abortion and has a voting record that proves this. In 2003 when a bill came to McCain about whether or not to ban partial-birth abortion McCain voted in favor of banning it. A strong abortion rights group, Planned Parenthood, reported that McCain didn’t favor any of the group’s proposals in 2006 (USA Today). Many young ladies, or minors, are crossing state lines for the purpose of an abortion. McCain believes this is dangerous and unsafe for both the child and the mother so he voted yes for a bill that would notify a parent of a minor who crossed state lines for an abortion (ontheissues.org).

There are many other bills that he voted yes too that support his claims as being an advocate of abortion. Abortions are banned from military bases and McCain voted in favor of keeping that ban. As for harming a fetus during the act of another crime, he voted yes that there should be a criminal penalty even if the perpetrator is unaware of the fetus. Finally, McCain on several different instances as voted against all partial-birth abortions bills and believes that this shouldn’t even be a discussion (ontheissues.org).

Works Cited
Clark, Charles. "Teenagers and abortion." CQ Researcher. 5 Jul. 1991. 30 Oct. 2008 http://hermes.sac.accd.edu:2118/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1991070500.
Glazer, Sarah. "Roe v. Wade at 25." CQ Researcher. 28 Nov. 1997. 30 Oct. 2008 http://hermes.sac.accd.edu:2118/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1997112800.
“John McCain on Abortion.” OnTheIssues.org. 2008. 21 Oct. 2008
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/John_McCain_Abortion.htm#Voting_Record.
“John McCain on Abortion.” USA Today. 2008. 21 Oct. 2008
http://asp.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/issues.aspx?i=9&c=11.
Jost, Kenneth and Kathy Koch. "Abortion Showdowns." CQ Researcher. 22 Sep. 2006. 20 Oct. 2008 http://hermes.sac.accd.edu:2118/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2006092200.
“Overturning Roe v. Wade.” JohnMcCain.com. 2008. 21 Oct. 2008
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/95b18512-d5b6-456e-90a2-12028d71df58.htm.
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Written by Mark Bowman

[Monique]

This was a very informative and educational essay. All the factual evidence and background on the issue taught me a lot about the history and importance of it. I agree with some of what McCain and Mr. Bowman opinionated towards abortion. I am a pro-lifer and feel that it abortion is immoral. I believe there are some instances where abortion can be allowed. For instance, rape, incest, mental illness, and/or the health risks of a mother. I once read somewhere that if a mother’s mental illness will harm the birth of her or the child then abortion is allowed at any time throughout the pregnancy. Even though I feel that is wrong, it may be a choice that would benefit both. However, using abortion as a form of birth control is outrageous. Nowadays girls are having abortions as if it is the norm. Women and men need to be smart about their choices and think about the future consequences. An unwanted pregnancy is a lack of responsibility and the innocent child should not be the one punished.

[Jessica Siller]

I believe that a women should do what they think is best for them. But i also believe that things happen for a reason. Nothing is put in your path in vain. They say God does not give you anything that you cant hanndle. So before making the drastic desition think about how your life will be in the feature.

[Willie]

Abortion is touchy topic and I think it is a womens right to choose. On other hand there is a underlining conflict of morality about taking the life of someone (something) that can not speak for itself can bring a cloud over your head. I understand John's position and I respect it as well. For example, not wanting to have abortion available on military bases, that sounds like a good idea, I dont think we need that type of emotional baggage around automatic weapons. I just think that it is a womens right to choose its her body and she should be able to choose what goes in and what comes out. Abortion is an issue that will never go away and its up to society to develop a common view and acceptance of the topic.

[Tammy]

I agree with McCain Women should have the option in cases such as rape and their life in danger caring the pragnacy but we all know the risk of getting pragnet and if your able to go and have sex then your able to pay for anything that could happen during.

[Danielle Berrones]

I do not agree with abortion i think it is bad. Yeah some people have their own personal reasons, but as far as getting pregnant and knowing you cannot take care of a child then wanting to have an abortion is crazy. People know what they are doing and they bring it among themselves so i think they sould have to go through with it. I think mc cain should follow through with trying to stop abortion because it can harm the mother. If we have less abortions then maybe that will help prevent teen pregnancy. Their are probably teens that do not care because they know they can fall back on abortion. But that should not be an option for anyone.

[mbowman15]

Now I am a strong conservative myself so I agree with a lot for what McCain stands for. I am completely against abortion in every aspect. I am a Christian and as such I believe that the Lord has a plan for everyone and that he works all things to His glory. With that said, I believe the decision should be left to the Lord about whether or not the baby should be born or not. He gives and takes life and He has a plan for each birth and for each death. This nation was founded on God which is why we have done so well up to this point. However, we are slowly moving further and further away from God and if you were to look at us from an outside perspective, you could see this and how it is starting to slowly destroy us. We have strayed from our roots and are paying the price for it now.
We once prayed that God would lead this country and to protect us and to make us strong. He answered our prayers and in return we dismiss Him and try to get Him banned from everything He helped create. God is in favor of life--hands down and without dispute--so he looks at abortion with pain because he is watching one of his children die. I feel the same way so I am completely against abortion. McCain does a lot for abortion opponents but I feel as if he does some of the things he does just so that he can get the votes but the same goes for Obama. Both of them are just a lot of talk until they take office and actually do something about it.

[mbowman15]

I found this article interesting and educational. I have never really known the history of abortion until reading this and was intriguing to learn about its history. I am one of those three people that the author talks about. I am a firm pro-lifer and stand firm in my beliefs that abortion should be illegal and that the only exceptions should be rape, incest and at the risk of the mother's health. I personally don’t like either candidate but I am for McCain because he does stand against abortion. I hope that he gets office and that he is successful in overturning the Roe v. Wade trial that has affected so many lives for the worse. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that McCain will get the job. When he wants too he can be very aggressive about an issue and does s good job fighting it but I don’t necessarily believe that he will fight as hard as he needs to in order to have a positive effect. I believe against abortion and I found this article beneficial and interesting and a few minutes of my life.