Nature of the issue
Abortion is in California ranges from $350 to $950 in the first trimester. The cost may rise significantly in the second trimester, making it unaffordable by most women. The Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973 in the Roe v. Wade ruling. However, since 2010, most states, including California to discourage women from conducting an abortion. In this case, public funding has been eliminated, making the cost of abortion to hike (Assifi et al., 2016). The act has denied people their right to aborting, which was granted by the Supreme Court in 1973. Currently, it is only private insurance covers that compensate for abortion issues in California. The lack of state funding has seen abortion decrease by about 16% yearly.
By 2019, 40% of the counties in California did not have abortion clinics, which saw most women have their rights denied. The effect of the law has increased this year as on March 1, 2020; the state could only allow terminating a pregnancy if the patient’s life is in danger. The ruling has drastically affected women in the country and the decision of Roe v. Wade, which was gearing to regulate the population (Baum et al., 2016). The reduced abortion rights is a deter to the state and the nation at large as the population of people in the country are to increase. The twist of the law is against the state’s 2002 constitution, which denied any possibility to deny women their rights. High prices and lack of illegality have also contributed to deaths in the country.
The denial of abortion rights has a significant impact on the population of the people in California. Studies signify that 36% of poor American women are not likely to achieve the high cost of abortion, as evident in the state. This inability to pay for the abortion fund makes women give birth to children they are unable to raise. The increase in future Californian population in the future will imply an increase in dependency rates in the State (Johnson et al., 2017). The high society is a significant setback to the state’s economy and growth in anti-social practices such as theft. This problem originates from the inability of the incoming people to raise their bills and other basic needs. The failure of these poor parents to pay tuition fees is also a significant challenge that will see most members is the state go without education.
Abortion rights have faced a lot of ups and downs since the 19th century. Abortion was illegalized in almost every state as people could give birth to children, even those they would not raise. Various religious leaders, doctors, and the judges held different dimensions regarding abortion. To some perspectives, abortion was taken to be killing (Eshre et al., 2017). However, the victory through Roe v. Wade ruling was the turning point to free women into abortion rights. Various politicians have also slowly incorporated multiple issues regarding the matter as they want the Supreme Court to revisit their ruling. The practice of denying women abortion rights has been signed in some states of the US, such as Nevada and Mississippi. California is slowly joining those states by entirely denying poor women from conducting an abortion.
History of Abortion
Abortion has existed since ancient history in the entire world through the application of an array of strategies to expel the fetus. Abortion laws have been developed in various era in history in the United States. The abortion laws are often produced by politicians, religious leaders, and even the general citizens. In the mid 20th century, abortion was illegal, as most states disallowed the practice of abortion. During the 1950s, abortion was termed as killing and denying the fetus a right to life (Juarez, Bankole, & Palma, 2019). Various women were judged and sentenced at this time, as abortion was known to be illegal manslaughter.
In 1971, Shirley Wheeler was charged in Florida from what was termed to be an illegal abortion. Two years later, women championed for the creation of awareness by pooling funds that will enable pass information for their fellow women. The coalition WONAAC was to rally and defend for the rights of women to create a collective voice in the US. This came at a time when Wheeler was known to be the first woman to submit to abortion in the country.
In January of 1973, the Supreme Court came up with a 7-2 decision to hold clause 14 of the US constitution to grant a pregnant woman a right to an abortion. The landmark Roe v. Wade ruling held that the government could not ban abortion in the first trimester. A woman could miss her rights to abortion if the fetus had developed fully in the second trimester. The ruling (Latt, Milner, & Kavanagh, 2019) was vital to help women control birth rates and population pressure.
Where things are in addressing the issue
California is currently considered the refuge state for women who want to undertake abortion in countries that are deserted with abortion legalities. However, as a state, it has failed its people who are unable to achieve the high cost of abortion levied in hospitals. California requires to require written consent to receive an abortion, which significantly affects the privacy rights of the minors. The requirement of a written agreement regarding the desire for an abortion implies that the minor should inform parents regarding the pregnancy. Currently, the state has done little to protect the privacy rights of minors.
Currently, 40% of the counties in California lack abortion clinics. The unavailability of abortion clinic deters women in those counties from accessing the required services of abortion. Lacking clinics is also a setback to the championing of the Roe v. Wade ruling that requires women to have a vast right to abort (Shaw & Norman, 2020). Fewer clinics in most places in California has affected willing women residing in those states to their rights. The lack of enough clinics in California with the increase in population has seen a significant reduction in abortion rates. For one year, abortion rates reduced by 16% in California.
Abortion in the state of California costs between $350 and $950 in the first trimester of pregnancy and even more in the second trimesters. The hiking of prices has significantly affected the willing fertile women from aborting. Research signifies that most poor women aged less than 36 years in California find it challenging to afford sanitary pads during their cycles. This infers that wiling women in this poverty bracket in this state are unable to provide abortion. The expense is catalyzed by the fact that public funding does not cater to abortion. This leaves only the private insurance covers as the only organizations to compensate incidences of abortion.
Possible policy alternatives
Increasing the number of abortion clinics in California is a crucial policy alternative to increase access to abortion in 40% of the counties. Increasing the number of clinics is essential to reduce expenses of travel in California by the women willing to abort. The creation of sufficient health clinics will reduce pressure in hospitals and, therefore champion quality services. However, the nature of sufficient clinics will cost a huge amount of funds for the state of California to build (Shaw & Norman, 2020). The expenses may be difficult to raise by the government and taxpayers in general.
Subsidizing abortion cost by the government of California through public funding will be an ideal strategy to help these women. Reduced rates of abortion have a significant setback in controlling population pressure and the overall economy in the future. However, government subsidy, which can be available through government insurance, can curb rampant population growth (Juarez, Bankole, & Palma, 2019). The government can launch insurance services which help poor women to afford abortion costs. The policy strategy is ideal since the government can pool funds from diverse sources to ensure women with a common problem. However, the initial cost of subsiding for abortion practices is high.
Guaranteeing the minors their right to privacy during an abortion is a crucial policy procedure to the state government. In this case, the state government of California will reduce the data required for conducting abortion to the minors. Policy practice is cheaper and easy to implement. However, keeping the information on children under age a secret is disastrous as they are not independent.
Recommendation
I recommend that the governor of California Gavin Newsom launches a subsidy on the women who require subsidizing abortion practices. Empowering through Medi-Cal can be apparent by the government to help women who are willing to practice their legal practice. The funding of costs of abortion will be a crucial step by the government to reduce population growth in the state( Latt, Milner, & Kavanagh, 2019). The recommendation is essential since the government, through Medi-Cal can pool a large sum of funds to insure women on abortion. The government-owned medical insurance fund attracts a considerable number of subscribers, which makes it ideal for solving the problem. The step will see the government spend limited finances to effect the funding. Generally, the recommendation is achievable by the state government due to its low cost of operation.
Work Cited
Assifi, A. R., Berger, B., Tunçalp, Ö., Khosla, R., & Ganatra, B. (2016). Women’s awareness
and knowledge of abortion Laws: a systematic review. PloS one, 11(3).
Baum, S. E., White, K., Hopkins, K., Potter, J. E., & Grossman, D. (2016). Women’s experience
obtaining abortion care in Texas after implementation of restrictive abortion laws: a qualitative study. PloS one, 11(10).
ESHRE Capri Workshop Group. (2017). Induced abortion. Human reproduction (Oxford,
England), 32(6), 1160.
Johnson Jr, B. R., Mishra, V., Lavelanet, A. F., Khosla, R., & Ganatra, B. (2017). A global
database of abortion laws, policies, health standards and guidelines. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 95(7), 542.
Juarez, F., Bankole, A., & Palma, J. L. (2019). Women’s abortion seeking behavior under
restrictive abortion laws in Mexico. PloS one, 14(12).
Latt, S. M., Milner, A., & Kavanagh, A. (2019). Abortion laws reform may reduce maternal
mortality: an ecological study in 162 countries. BMC women’s health, 19(1), 1.
Shaw, D., & Norman, W. V. (2020). When there are no abortion laws: A case study of
Canada. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 62, 49-62.