Abortion Across America

What happens when a woman does not want to carry her child to full term? She gets an abortion: a procedure in which the life of an unborn child is terminated. However, since Roe v. Wade in 1972, access to abortion has declined in many areas of the United States, mostly in the south. In this thesis, we will first look at three keystone cases in the abortion discussion: Roe v. Wade (1972), Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), and Gonzales v. Carhart (2007). We then look in depth at five states and some of their abortion restrictions and reforms: California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Kansas, and North Dakota. Some restrictions to be discussed are the Abortion Control Act from 1989 in Pennsylvania, Texas’ Bill 2 of 2015, and Kansas’ Dismemberment Abortion Ban of 2015. After this evaluation, there is an assessment of current issues and policies involving abortion in recent news. This is followed by future predictions for the topic of abortion. Based on the current Supreme Court case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt (2016), the future of abortion looks relatively bright, relatively speaking. If this case is found in favor of Whole Woman’s Health, there should be a push towards less state limitations placed on abortion access