[Xia Ke Island Press]
On June 24, The U.S. Federal Supreme Court overturned the 1973 precedent “Roe v. Wade” that established abortion rights at the federal level. ( Roe v. Wade) , believing that the case had “weak arguments” ” not only failed to resolve the issue of abortion, but instead “stirred debate and increased differences.” As soon as the news of
came out, the United States and even the world were in an uproar. In addition to the protestors taking to the streets, heads of state have also expressed their condemnation: British Prime Minister Johnson said that this is "a huge step backwards"; Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau expressed shock, "I sympathize with the millions who are about to lose their lives." American women who have the legal right to abortion, I can’t imagine the fear and anger you are feeling now”; U.S. President Biden said that the Supreme Court made a “tragic mistake” and that this ruling “set the United States back 150 years”…
Many island friends may find it difficult to understand: How can a seemingly personal matter, abortion, become an issue that has been debated for decades in the United States and is still highly sensitive, controversial and even tearing apart society?
Xiakedao invited researcher Zhao Mei of the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and asked her to interpret this.
html On June 24, abortion rights supporters protested outside the Federal Supreme Court in Washington, the capital of the United States. Photo source: Xinhua News Agency
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In 1969, Jane Roy (pseudonym) from Texas, USA, sued Henry Wade, the prosecutor of Dallas County, Texas, to court to fight for abortion rights. htmlTwenty-four years later, in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled by a 7:2 majority vote that the Texas abortion law was unconstitutional, making abortion in the first trimester legal across the United States.
Now, as this precedent has been overturned, more than 20 states in the United States are expected to ban or strictly restrict abortion, and abortion bans in 13 states will take effect immediately. However, this ruling not only failed to calm the debate on abortion in American society, but instead intensified the confrontation between the "pro-life" faction who opposed abortion and the "pro-choice" faction that supported abortion rights.
What are the “re-life” and “re-choice” factions?
Simply put, the " pro-life" (pro-life) faction emphasizes the right to life of the fetus, and is dominated by Catholics, Protestant right-wingers, and conservative people who advocate maintaining traditional values and social order; "Pro-life" The pro-choice group emphasizes women's right to choose, and is dominated by feminists and liberals.
According to the "re-life" group, life begins at the moment of conception. Life is sacred and given by God. Only God can end human life. An unborn baby is the same person as the mother, and his right to life must not be deprived. . They believe that the ruling of "Roe v. Wade" gives mothers too much freedom to have an abortion, but fails to cherish the right to life of the unborn baby. It will lead to a general disrespect for life ethics and "legalize killing"; at the same time, abortion is legal The medical subsidies provided by the government for abortion mean support for inappropriate sexual behavior, which will lead to moral decay and cause serious harm to young people.
The "re-choice" group believes that although a fetus has potential life, it is not a complete person and is not protected by the constitution. The rights of pregnant women are more important than any rights of the fetus; abortion is purely personal privacy, and many women If contraception fails to lead to pregnancy, they should not be forced to change their education, work, marriage and childbearing plans. "Body self-determination" and "reproductive freedom" are women's basic rights. Without these rights, women will not be able to achieve true equality and Freedom; banning abortion will not stop women from having abortions. Pregnant women who do not want children will turn to illegal and unsafe abortions, which will inevitably lead to an increase in abortion mortality.
These two camps are in tit for tat, and there is also a "moderate" majority that emphasizes "respect for differences", that is, the rights of pregnant women, unborn babies, and society should be respected.
In the United States, there have always been pro-life and anti-abortion voices. Picture source: Internet
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In fact, before the "Roe v. Wade case" in 1973, states in the United States had different legislation on abortion. Some are strictly restrictive, some are completely prohibited, and some have looser rules.
In 1845, Massachusetts became the first state to criminalize abortion. After the Civil War, anti-abortionists pushed states to enact laws to impose severe sanctions on abortion. By 1910, all states except Kentucky had made abortion a felony. Most states allow abortion only if it is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the United States began to gradually reform abortion laws. The mortality rate from illegal abortions in the United States during this period was very high: according to statistics, in the 1960s, approximately 50,000 women of childbearing age died every year in the United States, of which 10,000 died due to illegal abortions or self-abortion, accounting for 20%. After various social movements, 14 states in the United States have made certain changes in the law. Abortion is considered legal when the pregnant woman's life is in danger, the pregnancy is abnormal, or the pregnancy is caused by rape. Four more states have repealed laws criminalizing early abortion.
"Roe v. Wade" is a key lawsuit challenging Texas' abortion law in this context.
After the verdict of this case, American women were given the freedom to have abortions within a certain period of time, and the number of abortions in the United States increased sharply. Since 1973, nearly 15 million abortions have been performed in the United States every year, accounting for 1/5 of the total number of pregnant women every year. Among pregnant women every year, about 1 million are between the ages of 15 and 19, and 30,000 are under the age of 15. Among them More than half of pregnant girls terminated their pregnancies through abortion; in 1975 alone, $45 million in federal funds was used to subsidize at least 300,000 women's abortions. These figures shocked all walks of life in the United States, and abortion became an important issue in American political life. How important is
? Since then, every presidential and gubernatorial election and every justice taking office have expressed their stance on the abortion issue; the Democratic and Republican parties have written their opinions on the abortion issue into their presidential campaign platforms; the abortion issue has also entered Congress and has become the focus of budget debates .
Generally speaking, Republicans are against abortion, while non-Catholic Democrats are in favor of abortion. Reagan also became the first president in American history to publish a monograph on abortion. He once gave a speech saying, "Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, 15 million unborn babies have died during legal abortions, a number that is 10 times the number of people who have died in all of our country's previous wars." “This is not the first time our country has been split in two by the Supreme Court.” Trump expressed his appreciation for the Supreme Court's decision that overturned "Roe v. Wade" and took credit for this result, saying that "today's victory" was because he brought together three conservatives during his term. Justice sent to the Supreme Court.
Presidents from the Democratic Party Clinton, Obama and Biden all support women's right to abortion.
html On July 1, Biden held a video conference with Democratic governors on abortion rights policy. Picture source: Visual China
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The unique historical and cultural background, religious traditions and value orientation of the United States have made abortion one of the most controversial social topics in American society.
The powerful conservative trend in the United States is the main promoter of the anti-abortion movement. Generally speaking, conservatism is often seen as conservative, outdated, and regressive, while liberalism symbolizes reform and progress. However, by the end of the 1970s, American society experienced a crisis of faith, racial conflicts, declining educational standards, moral decay, and long-term With issues such as sexual inflation , many Americans have abandoned their identification with liberalism and returned to traditional ethics and morals. By the 1980s, conservatism gradually became the mainstream of American politics.
Among them, the rise of two conservative forces has attracted attention: the Christian right and the "new right".
The Christian Right mainly refers to Catholic and Protestant conservatives. After the 1970s, conservatism became the dominant force in the church and changed its past indifference to politics. It actively intervened in politics and launched the "Moral Revitalization Movement" to safeguard traditional American values. They promote their ideas through mass media such as newspapers, radio, and television, as well as rallies, lobbying and other activities, thereby influencing American politics.
The "New Right" is an emerging conservative force that emerged during the same period. They agree with the political and economic concepts of traditional conservatives, pay more attention to social and moral issues, and are mostly Christian fundamentalists. They believe that since the 1960s, the United States has become a morally corrupt society, and modern liberalism is the fundamental source of trouble. Therefore, they have launched various "grassroots movements", such as anti-abortion, anti-gay, English-only, and the restoration of the death penalty system. , restrict immigration, etc. . It is more biased towards populism .
Through efficient mobilization, religious conservatives and fundamentalists alike voted for politicians who endorsed their beliefs. In order to "give back" the support of these voters, the Republican Party's policy platform has become increasingly conservative. Trump nominated 3 conservative justices during his term, changing the balance of power between liberals and conservatives on the Supreme Court. Currently, 6 are conservative justices appointed by Republican presidents, and 3 are appointed by Democratic presidents. Liberal justices have caused the Supreme Court to "turn to the right."
It should be said that the fight for abortion rights is part of the American women's movement for equal rights since the 1960s, demanding gender equality and equal political and economic rights. Some commentators believe that the Supreme Court's recent overturning of the "Roe v. Wade" ruling will exacerbate social political and economic inequality in the United States and further widen the gap between rich and poor, because regardless of whether abortion is legal or not, the rich can still get it quality services, while lower-class women suffer from illegal abortions.
The latest ruling by the U.S. Federal Supreme Court will not end the disputes over abortion in American society. The debate between the "pro-life" and "pro-choice" factions will continue to move to the states and Congress - this is destined to be a protracted tug of war .
Text/Zhao Mei
(researcher at the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
Editor/Dian Cang, Wuji
