Abortion and Minority Women

Abortion is without a doubt one of the hottest and most politically divisive topics of the day. Burned and bombed abortion clinics across the country serve as indications of the volatility of the issue. Loaded words and imagery are constantly used tactics to persuade, dissuade, and defend positions on abortion. Political aspirations have been both dashed and edified based on the hopeful’s pro-choice or pro-life delineation. The abortion question is without a doubt hot!

Abortion is not an issue that grew overnight. It has a rich history in this country. Abortions, legal and illegal, existed before the twentieth century. Reproductive issues and women’s rights are the larger precursor issues that gave momentum to the abortion debate long before the colossal Roe v. Wade. This bibliography will explore the history of abortion both from a factual and legal context.

The abortion debate continues to expand as technology continues to expand. There are new vocabulary words to learn in order to fully participate in the abortion discussion. What is a "partial-birth abortion?" What constitutes "viability?" How does the "RU-486" work? What is the proper role of "manual vacuum aspirators?" These questions are either affected by or products of innovation and technology. This bibliography will review sources which seek to provide answers to these and other abortion-related questions of technology.

Technology will create new questions of morality in the abortion debate to keep company with the traditional questions that are still very undecided. The abortion issue has long turned on what is moral and right. Many argue that what is right and proper are man’s constitutional liberties, while others argue that what is right is the sanctity and preservation of life, and many others argue the several shades of gray that lie between. This bibliography will not seek to decide such mammoth concerns, but will provide arguments for some of the infinite thoughts and expositions on the morality issue.

For multitudes of American people, morality is to some extent a function of religious beliefs (and/or vice versa). Religion, for those who practice or believe in one, is usually a very personal experience that shapes one’s attitudes. Are attitudes on abortion shaped by these beliefs? This bibliography will look into the affect of religion in general on attitudes and practices related to abortion and also view the differing affects of specific religions. 

Not only do religious beliefs have the potential to affect attitudes and practices regarding abortion, but so do race and ethnicity. The abortion story is often told from the eyes and experiences of the majority culture in America. Laws are often implemented by and therefore through the insight of that same culture. This bibliography will explore the unique concerns of minorities in the abortion debate that are often overlooked and undervalued. 

This bibliography will address many issues however, the aim is that the bibliography will at least serve to continue the dialogue on abortion that will and has to exist in a civilized American society.

Anita L. Allen, The Proposed Equal Protection Fix For Law: Reflections On Citizenship, Gender, And The Constitution, 18 Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy 419 (Spring 1995).

David Robert Baron, The Racially Disparate Impact of Restrictions On The Public Funding of Abortion: An Analysis of Current Equal Protection Doctrine, 13 Boston College Third World Law Journal 1 (Winter 1993).

Mindy Belz, Abortion Imperialism, World Magazine, Jan. 17, 1998 v.13 no.2.

Melany Burrill, Role of Religious Congregations In Fostering Adolescent Sexual Health, RCRC, http://www.rcrc.org/pubs/speakout/adols.html, 12/14/98.

Constitutional Law, http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/abtrbng/conlaw.htm,12/14/98.

Renee Esfandiary, The Changing World Of Genetics And Abortion: Why the Women’s Movement Should Advocate For Limitations On The Right to Choose In The Area Of Genetic Technology, 4 William & May J. Women L. 499 (Spring 1998). 

Edward M. Gaffney, Law And Theology: A Dialogue On The Abortion Decisions, Jurist 33 (1973) pp. 134-52.

Robert P. George, Public Reason and Political Conflict: Abortion and Homosexuality, 106 Yale Law Journal 2475 (June 1997).

Griswold v. Connecticut , 381 U.S. 470 (1965).

Histories of Abortion, http://www.lm.com/~jdehullu/abortion/abhist.htm, 12/14/98.

Michele Jackson, End The Ignorance Now, Conservative News Service Opinion, http://www.conservativesnews,net/Opinion/archive/OPI19980901b.html, 12/14/98.

Bob Jones IV, One Step Forward, World Magazine Jan 17, 1998 v.13 no.2.

Richard Lamm, Odyssey: From Abortion to Sustainability, 75 Denver U.L. Rev. 669 (1998).

Marianne Lavelle, When Abortions Come Late In A Pregnancy, U.S. New Online, http://www.usnews.som/usnews/issue/980119/19late.htm, 12/14/98.

Patrick Lee, Abortion & Unborn Human Life, Catholic Univ. of America Press, 1996, pp. 105-130.

Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992).

Vernellia R. Randall, Slavery, Segregation and Racism: Trusting the Health Care System Ain’t Always Easy! An African American Perspective on Bioethics, 15 Saint Louis U. Public L. Rev. 191 (1996).

Jamin B. Raskin, Roe v. Wade and the Dred Scott Decisions: Justice Scalia’s Peculiar Analogy in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 1 American U. J. Gender & L. 61 (Spring 1993).

Lori Reed, Abortion Access, Sojourner: The Woman’s Forum, Vol. 20, No. 5 (Jan, 1995). 

Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).

Helen Rose, Abortion Attitudes In The United States: Continuities and Discontinuities, Perspectives on Abortion, Scarecrow Press, NJ 1988. (edited by Paul Sachdev).

Julienne Rut Siano, A Woman’s Right’s Law Reporter, 19 Women’s Rights Law Reporter 279 (Spring 1998).

Matthew H. Swyers, Abortion and its Viability Standard: The Woman’s Diminishing Right to Choose, 8 George Mason U.Civ. Rights L. Journal (Winter-Summer 1997-1998).

Steven Waldman, Abortions in America, U.S. News Online, http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/980119/19abor.htm, 12/14/98.

Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 492 U.S. 490 (1989).

Abortion: The Black Woman’s Voice, http://www.prolife.org/ultimate/up110.html, 12/14/98.

This is a brief article excerpting prominent black women who support the pro-choice movement. The article focuses on 2 main points that are very relevant to minority communities. First, the article reports that since 1973, 10 million black babies have been aborted; the result is that Black Americas population is currently 35% smaller and weaker than it could have been had those babies been born, The analogy is that abortion is a form of genocide. The second major point the article makes is that abortion agencies and supporters (Planned Parenthood, NOW, etc.) position themselves within the African American community and/or on the side of the African American community and as a result the racially motivated goals of extermination are more easily fulfilled. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

This article focuses on abortion through the two legal issues of equal protection and privacy. The author contends that abortion restrictions have a disparate impact on poorer and minority women. Allen continues that early advocates for Roe initially tried to argue a lack of equal protection, largely for minorities, if abortions were legally banned. The Supreme Court, however, chose not to focus on that aspect of the argument in deciding Roe; instead focusing on women’s right to privacy.

As the Supreme Court, consisting of only one woman, and the Congress, consisting of only a small percentage of women, become more and more conservative, women must become very watchful of their rights. Allen seems to believe that women in general, and especially minority women, will lose their ‘unique’ reproductive rights if the white-male dominated institutions are able to operate unchecked in their push for abortion restriction. Pages 435-445 read, this article contains no bibliography.

Baron writes a very insightful equal protection analysis of abortion. Baron’s article focuses on equal protection specifically through public funding of abortion. The decisions to not publicly fund abortion (i.e.- through Medicaid) has the impact of placing abortions out of reach for many poor and minority women. The disparate impact of the law, however, is unmoving to the Supreme Court. The abortion laws are facially neutral and therefore a disparate "statistical" impact without direct evidence of discriminating intent has little meaning or power.

Baron proposes an alternative to current equal protection analysis. After Baron’s keen explanation of the current equal protection analysis, Baron offers the alternative "anti-subjugation principle." Baron posits that this analysis looks more to the subjugate class than the intent or non-intent of the law of institution. I think that Baron’s argument and analysis are very worthwhile and do genuinely add something not only to the abortion argument but also to the reality of what equal protection should uphold. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

This article traces the government’s indirect support of abortion internationally, through funding. Though laden with a pro-life underline, the author outlays many facts that show the current administration’s attitude on abortion versus the more conservative previous administrations’ attitudes. Belz continues, that many non-profit, non-government organizations based here in the U.S. and funded by federal grants are making it possible and probable for the United Nations and the U.S. Agency for International Development to promote abortion on poor refugees who may feel as if they have no options.

The article is very helpful in contributing valuable information to the abortion debate. The article points out that the U.S. government does play a role in shaping abortion attitudes domestically and abroad. Additionally, as American organizations are federally funded and retain millions of dollars for their efforts, these organizational beliefs are spread throughout the states and affect lobbying, advertising, financing and ultimately our own attitudes on abortion. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

Melany Burrill holds a master’s degree in religious education and sees it as a challenge for religion to give youth the information and tools they need to make wise decisions about sexual health. According to Burrill, there are four ways to accept the challenge to promote a healthy attitude toward sex: 1) create an environment of openness and support; 2) teach and practice critical thinking skills; 3) provide youth with tools and resources; and 4) help face prejudices. The author believes openness and communication are key to developing the right attitudes for youth. She adds that ideally schools would teach the biological and physiological information and religious faiths would provide the meaning and morals.

Ms. Burrill’s assessment of adolescent attitudes toward health was very worthwhile to this analysis. First, the attitude that adults have about sex and sexual choices are clearly shaped by their youth. Secondly, religion plays a role on some levels for most Americans in making decisions. Therefore, to analyze the role of religion and adolescent attitudes is to gain insight into adult motivation regarding choices. Furthermore, many minorities, African American traditionally, cling to religion and therefore their habits and motivations may logically be closely limited to the religious attitudes and doctrines. All pages read, this article contains a bibliography.

This article traces Supreme Court cases concerning contraception, abortion and procreation from the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut1 decision to the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey2 decision. Furthermore the article outlines the major legal issues involved in the abortion debate. The legal issues include: right to privacy, substantive due process, federalism, legal persons and some relevant standard of reviews: compelling state interest, undue burden and rational basis.

The federal law has gone through many paradigm shifts. Prior to 1965 contraception could be disallowed, then by 1973 abortion were legalized and in 1992 abortion came its closest ever to be overturned. What does such shifts indicate for the future of abortion? This article does not answer that question but in my mind, the article does indicate that the political makeup of the Supreme Court will continue to play a large role in how that question is answered. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 US 470 (1965); Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 US 833 (1992). All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

There are a growing number of reproductive issues that affect or are affected by abortion laws. This article discusses genetic testing and genetic screening. The basic premise is that women and women’s organizations should be at the forefront of advocating for limitations on genetic innovations in order to preserve women’s autonomy.

One section of the article focuses on the public opinion on abortions resulting from knowledge of genetic defects. According to the author, the public (75-77% of Americans) accepts abortion when there are serious genetic defects but that acceptance declines with the severity of the genetic defects. This presents the question, How should abortion laws be shaped if most of Americans favor abortions in some instances? Also the question must be asked whether Congress’ attitudes reflect the attitudes of the public? All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

This article was written in response to the Roe decision that had recently occurred, legalizing abortions. The author, a theologian, comments on the morality of the decision according to religious science. 

Religion continues to play a role in abortion attitudes twenty-five years later. Gaffney’s article can be found in very similar context in more recent writings as well. This article is particularly helpful in that it gives insight into immediate Roe reactions. Pages 134-52 read, article contains no bibliography. 

This article explores abortion and public reason. The author, an advocate for life (over choice), gives a forum for and analyzes differing arguments for abortion rights. The specific lens through which George evaluates abortion is political liberalism.

Specifically, George applies Political Liberalism as perceived an written about by author John Rawls. The Rawls approach, according to George, is flawed and fails to provide substantive answers to abortion issues. George goes on to contrast Rawls views with that of author Judith Jarvis Thomson and ultimately concludes that both life advocates and choice advocates have strong arguments that support reason and morality. Therefore, the future may be best looked to as a compromise on abortion issues and not a victory for either side. Pages 2486 to 2495 read, this article contains no bibliography.

This case struck down a Connecticut law that banned the distribution and use of contraception. In the Supreme Court opinion Douglas stated the "penumbra" principle that there are fundamental Constitutional rights beyond those enumerated in the Constitution. The Court held that the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment contained unwritten rights..

This case is important to the history of abortion for multiple reasons. First, the decision opened the door for abortion, a non-enumerated right to be legalized eight years later in Roe v. Wade. Additionally, this case was the first Supreme Court case in which the majority accepted the right to privacy, also an underlying foundation for the legalization of abortion. All pages read, case contains no bibliography.

This article traces the historical and political evolution of Abortion in America. According to Mohr abortions have been occurring since 1800. Mohr’s record traces an attitude towards abortion that ebbed and flowed. During the early 1800’s there were no laws against abortion and common law did not consider abortion a crime until a point called "quickening." According to Mohr the determination of life was not until a mother’s 4th or 5th month when the fetus began detectable movement. Later in the middle of the 19th century, abortion prior to fetal movement (quickening) became a crime. The illegalization of abortion made the process less secretive but did not eliminate it says Mohr. Then in the early and mid 20th century did groups organize serious protest against anti-abortion laws which led to Roe v. Wade.

Olasky, presents another historical and political evolution of abortion as a response to Mohr’s interpretation. Olasky’s interpretation, however, presents stark differences from Mohr’s. According to Olasky abortion was not part of the mainstream culture and was not as accepted at anytime as Mohr’s portrayed. Also Olasky contends that abortions were only used by an underclass of women. (i.e... prostitutes, women abandoned by men, etc. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

This article is written by a black woman who is a member of the National Right to Life Committee. The basic premise of the article is that most African American do not realize that abortion is as great an epidemic to the black community as drugs. Jackson purports that abortions have killed nearly 12 million babies since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. She also points out that many people don’t see the abortion problem as clearly as the drug problem. According to Jackson this is because most African Americans have family members or close friends who are stricken by drugs and its affect, however, most women who choose abortion do so in a lonely silence that does not directly affect those around them as does drug addiction. This distinction is the reason that black leaders rally against drugs and its affects on the black community but often blatantly or even latently support abortion.

I believe this is a very important article because it presents a less common but real argument against abortion. The reality of abortion may very well be that it is weakening the African American community by snatching vital numbers and vital lives. However, there is nothing to prove that more will necessarily prove the plight of the African American community. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

The author, Bob Jones, paints a graphic picture of the abortion issue that uses war imagery to send his anti-abortion message. The language of the article and the explanation of tactics used by both pro-choice advocates and pro-lifers definitely suggest Jones is an activist himself.

Even in the midst of the very high charged and loaded analogies, Jones does an excellent job at outlining the many issues surrounding abortion. Some of these issues include, Congress and the present and proposed legislation, partial-birth abortion and new abortion techniques now available to women at earlier stages. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

In this article, the author discusses how public policy can transform from year to year and time to time. The author hits on a intriguing point, "Yesterday’s inevitabilities become today’s public policy choices. As a member of the Colorado State Legislature, the author has been approached by numerous factions with differing opinions on the abortion issue. Through his incumbency at the Colorado State Legislature he noticed that population had an intimate relationship with the law.

In one particular situation members of the state of Denver successfully opposed requirement that made them sponsors of the Olympics. The author’s aim in this article is to alert the American public that a new political movement is necessary to save the country or at least sustain it. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

One abortion issue gaining momentum in the public forum of debate is partial birth abortions. According to the article, partial birth abortions occur after 20 weeks-- when the mother can begin to feel the fetus move. The article discusses the two primary process used for such abortion. Then the article examines the moral implications of these procedures.

This article, unlike many others, does not have a strong leaning towards or against abortion but it relays the facts of partial abortion according to the clinics that perform the procedures. The somewhat graphic explanations are disconcerting but shed light on what the process entails. Those who are pro-abortion are faced with a "real challenge in justifying the morality" of partial birth abortions but perhaps no more so than those who must justify the morality of denying a woman’s right to not have a child. The debate continues. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

The author examines the issue of whether abortions may be justified as a non-intentional killing. Primarily, Lee focuses on arguments put forth by pro-abortion author Judith Jarvis Thomson. Thomson contends that both the fetus has a right to life and a woman has a right to decide what happens to her body. Thomson view is that a woman, by choosing abortion, chooses not to offer her womb as a place for the fetus, and the ultimate side-effect is death of the fetus. Thomson distinguishes this from the actual intentional killing of the fetus.

Lee’s purpose in this chapter of his book is more to introduce and explore Thomson’s view than to critique it; at this, Lee does a thorough job. In my own personal critique, I find Thomson’s argument to be unconvincing. If one chooses to enter the debate, the issue is whether terminating a pregnancy by aborting the fetus is legally, morally and socially acceptable? The reality is that the fetus will no longer exist in any meaningful capacity after the procedure and everyone knows this fact. Therefore, one enters into an abortion to end the existence of the fetus that is to say their intent is clear. In my opinion, Thomson is sidestepping the true issue by arguing non-intent as a defense. Pages 105-130 read, this book does contain a bibliography.

This case upheld a Pennsylvania statute placing restrictions on abortions. These restrictions included a 24- hour waiting period, an informed consent requirement, a parental consent provision for minors and a record keeping requirement. The case also replaced the Roe strict scrutiny test with an "undue burden" test and further held that the state’s interest becomes compelling at an undetermined "viability."

Casey was a landmark case for many reasons. This case upheld the very contested central holding of Roe to the delight of many abortion advocates. However, the much more conservative Court than in Roe did so in a close 5-4 vote and allowed for the numerous restrictions on abortion. The ultimate conclusion of Casey is that abortion’s stronghold has gradually weakened in the last 25 years.

This article examines the health care system from the perspective of African Americans. One section of the article focuses on African America’s distrust of the American health care system with regards to bioethical issues. Randall contends that the proliferation of abortion in the Black community is deeper than the scope of traditional abortion debates in part because of traditional history of racism and deception from the health care industry towards African Americans.

This article raises an important fact that there are many social concerns that affect the African American community that are often overlooked by popular media. Shocking trends and statistics are often reported about the Black community without regard to the unique circumstances and history of the community. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

This article examines the meaning, reasoning and ramifications of Justice Scalia’s analogy in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, (1992). Scalia’s dissent analogizes the Dred Scott2 decision holding that African American’s cannot be citizens of the U.S. with the Casey case upholding abortion. The author feels that the comparison is "fallacious" and largely a result of Scalia's strict textualist approach and social tradition emphasis.

The author provides an extremely in depth analysis of Justice Scalia’s view and more importantly Scalia’s method of Constitutional interpretation. Raskin contends that Scalia’s logic is flawed and consistently fails to consider the evolution in social tradition in analyzing 14th Amendment liberties. The ultimate conclusion of the author is that African Americans and women’s rights will continually be minimized or overlooked with Scalia on the bench. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

  Reed posits that pro-choice advocates’ focus has shifted from legal right to abortion, to access to abortions. According to Reed, lower income women has less access to abortion for various reasons. Those reasons include the unavailability of abortion clinics in some areas, the non-funding of abortion by Medicaid and the mandatory waiting periods and other restrictions which are financially costly to poorer women. (i.e.- taking of the job, paying baby sitters, etc.)

This article clearly shows some of the issues that are unique to minorities in dealing with abortion. It is beneficial to my research on abortion and minorities because it recognizes the special needs and concerns of minorities that make the abortion debate much more expansive than the traditional pro-choice and pro-life delineation. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

  This historical case struck down a Texas statute banning all abortions except as required to save the mothers life. The Supreme Court held that abortion is a constitutional right. The Court also held that it had jurisdiction and acknowledged abortion as a right to privacy.

Roe v. Wade was a turning point for many Americans. The blurred dividing lines of pro-abortion and anti-abortion began to come in focus as Americans took their sides on the issue. Roe sparked and continues to spark feverish debate even twenty-five years later. All pages read, case contains no bibliography.

This article surveys the affect religion has on attitudes toward abortion. The author found that Catholics’ views were most conservative and Jews were most liberal. Protestant religions filled the gamut of attitudes in between. Within the Protestant religions, Baptist, Lutheran and Methodist were more conservative than Presbyterian and Episcopalians.

The impact that differing religions have on attitudes is especially of great consequence in exploring minority women and abortion. Minority women tend to believe strongly in religion. African Americans are largely followers of Protestant religions and Hispanics largely practice Catholicism. Does this mean that Hispanic women are necessarily more conservative on the abortion issue than African American women or that minorities are less likely to obtain abortions? Actually statistics do not support that at all, but what it does mean is that religion is a factor that must be evaluated in ascertaining attitudes of minority women. Pages 170-172 read, this article contains a bibliography.

This article discusses the history of wrongful death statutes and the legislative intent behind them. The intent of wrongful death statutes is to allow personal relatives to sue for damages on behalf of a decedent’s relative for the wrongful death of the decedent. Primary to my research, is the concentration of how wrongful death statutes that allow recovery for nonviable fetuses affect abortion rights. 

Opponents of wrongful death statutes believe that allowing a right to recovery for nonviable fetuses takes away a woman’s right to an abortion. The author suggest that courts have routinely rejected wrongful death actions for nonviable fetuses by incorrectly using Roe’s reasoning that an unborn child is not a person under the 14th Amendment.4 The author suggest that Roe is not analogous to a situation where the state and mother have co-existing rights in preserving the life of a fetus and punishing the tortfeasor. In conclusion the author states that a woman should be compensated when a potential pregnancy is ended due to another’s negligence. I agree with the author that this is the only way to compensate such a devastating loss. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

  This article traces the history and legislation of abortion and more specifically the viability doctrine. The author includes the impact of prenatal and post-natal care on the viability issue. According to the author, the viability standard is an improper standard for determining the legality of abortion. The author ultimately concludes that as technology makes a baby’s viability possible at earlier stages, eventually the test will render all abortions illegal. 

Swyers presents an interesting argument that if left unheeded may very well change the legal face of abortion. The reality presented here and that seems prevalent throughout my research is that the abortion issue has to be revisited constantly from a legal, social and moral perspective. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

  The author of this article takes a more intimate look at abortion and focuses on the millions of women who have abortions a year but rarely talk about it. According to the authors, 43% of all American women will have an abortion during their lifetime. Abortion, posits the authors, has become a common life experience but because of its personal nature is usually only discussed as a political debate that often overlooks the women involved.

This article does an excellent job of making the abortion issue less spectacular and brings the issue into everyone’s neighborhood. The fact that almost half of all women will have an abortion forces the reader to see abortion as a story about women and not just a hot topic. All pages read, article contains no bibliography.

This case upheld a Missouri statute that declared human life begins at conception and therefore disallowing the use of state property for abortions. This was also significant in that it starkly contrasted with much of Roe but did not overturn Roe.

This case was the first real departure from Roe and opened the door for more restrictive state legislation on abortion. Ultimately, this case opened the door for the later decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992).

¹ Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 470 (1965).

² Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992).

³ Dred Scott v Sandford, 19 How. 393 (1857).

⁴ Gentry v. Gilmore, 613 So. 2d 1241, 1244 (Ala. 1993); Chatelain v. Kelly, 910 S.W.2d 215 (Ark. 1995).