Skye
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(Originally posted on: 04-05-05 10:33:13 AM)
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I wanted to start a thread centered around all the issues regarding birth control, contraception, and most specifically, abortion in the United States (and elsewhere, if people in other countries are willing to provide information). I didn't want to create something as inane as a poll because this issue is hardly relegated to black-and-white terms, and I won't present it as such. I will, however, post links that provide information on abortion issues from both sides throughout the course of this thread.
To begin the debate, do you think the state or federal governments have a vested interest in the reproductive habits of its citizens? Does the state/federal government, under this interest, have the power to regulate access to contraception and birth control due to this interest? When do the rights of citizens override this interest?
List of Links (will be updated as more people contribute links)
http://www.reproductiverights.org/courts.html
Relevant United States Cases (will be updated as more people contribute information)
The Contraception Cases
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965): The Supreme Court held that the constitutional right to privacy (not specifically detailed in the document of the Constitution, mind you), derived from the "penumbras and emanations" of the Bill of Rights, encompasses the right of married persons to use contraceptives. Justice Goldberg, in concurrence, relied extensively on the Ninth Amendment (whatever powers not given to the federal or state governments are reserved for the people), which states that the specific rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights are not exhaustive.
Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972): The Court held that a statute that allowed the provision of contraceptives to married adults, while prohibiting it for unmarried adults, violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (all citizens of the U.S. are entitled to equal protection under the law). In the course of its decision, the Court recognized that the right to privacy protects access to contraceptives for the married and unmarried alike. The opinion states, "If the right to privacy means anything, it is the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwarranted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision whether to bear or beget a child."
Carey v. Population Services International (1977): The Court invalidated a New York statute making it a crime to sell or distribute contraceptives to minors under 16; for anyone other than a pharmacist to distribute contraceptives to anyone over 16; and for anyone to display or advertise contraceptives. The Court thus expanded the right to obtain and use contraceptives established in the Griswold and Eisenstadt to minors.
Quoted from Justice Stevens' concurring opinion in Carey: Common sense indicates that many young people will engage in sexual activity regardless of what the New York Legislature does; and further, that the incidence of venereal disease and premarital pregnancy is affected by the availability or unavailability of contraceptives. Although young persons theoretically may avoid those harms by practicing total abstention, inevitably many will not. The statutory prohibition denies them and their parents a choice which, if available, would reduce their exposure to disease or unwanted pregnancy.
The State's asserted justifications is a desire to inhibit sexual conduct by minors under 16. Appellants do not seriously contend that if contraceptives are available, significant numbers of minors who now abstain from sex will cease abstaining because they will no longer fear pregnancy or disease. Rather appellants' central argument is that the statute has the important symbolic effect of communicating disapproval of sexual activity by minors. In essence, therefore, the statute is defended as a form of propaganda, rather than a regulation of behavior.
As said above, as more information is made available, it will be added to this post. Hopefully, this will be an interesting and multi-faceted discussion!
rchif0: i love you
thecaveparable: why?
rchif0: good question
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