Recently, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds signed into law the Women’s Health and Human Life Protection Act, which bans abortion except to save a woman’s life.
Reactions to this new law and its projected impact on the rest of the nation have varied widely. The American public is decidedly mixed in its views on abortion. The nation’s legal landscape has changed dramatically since the Supreme Court last dealt with the issue. Many have suggested that this new South Dakota initiative is an attempt by conservative activists to force the Court to confront the issue and its two newest members to show where their loyalties rest.
Polls consistently show that most Americans do not believe that abortion should be legal in all cases, and that there should be certain restrictions, such as parental consent, in place. If Roe were overturned, it would be left to each state to craft laws that reflect the position of its population. If this occurs, what will be the ramifications for the nation as a whole? Given the emotional and contentious nature of abortion, would a plethora of laws, differing state by state, render the issue somehow less divisive? Or will there simply be more laws for people to disagree with?
How will services be impacted in states that pass restrictions versus states that do not? Will the number of children born increase dramatically? What will be the impact on social welfare agencies? Will there be a greater push for subsidized daycare, paternity leave, services for teenage mothers?
Join us at Café Society this week to share what you think at post-Roe world would look like.
This Week’s Articles:
- The abortion-crime rate puzzle
- Medical and Social Health Benefits Since Abortion Was Made Legal in the U.S.
- A Post-Roe World With Criminal Penalties
- States of Confusion
- A Post-Roe v. Wade America: What Happens If It’s Overturned?
- What We Did Not Know: The Aftermath of Thirty Years of Legal Abortion
For more informaiton, please contact Kristin Millikan at 312.422.5580.