Pregnant, and No Civil Rights

The article under discussion and analysis titled „Pregnant, and No Civil Rights” was published in The New York Times. The newspaper article analyzes civil rights of pregnant women all around the United States of America. Owing to the success of Republican Party and the passage of Tennessee’s anti-abortion amendment, there are constant struggles to prohibit abortions and promote the “personhood” rights of impregnated ovum, embryo and foetus (Paltrow and Flavin). There is no sense for supporters of the amendment to worry about women’s desire to ban such an innovation. However, the anti-abortion measures pose a danger to all pregnant women, even to those who want to continue their pregnancy and give birth to their child.

A civil right is a legally enforceable right or opportunity, which, if restricted by another one, stimulates increase of a harmful action. There are various examples of civil rights in different aspects of people’s life. These include freedom of speech, media, and assemblage; the special right to vote; independence from unintentional slavery; and the right to be equal despite the color, religion and origin. Nevertheless, discrimination of civil rights of a particular group or class appears in the modern society. Numerous jurisdictions have passed acts to stop discrimination based on a person's race, gender, belief, age, former condition of servitude, physical restriction, nationwide origin, and in some cases, sexual orientation.

During the current era, Congress made some reforms and passed various civil rights statutes. These statutes, made with the purpose to prevent people from discrimination and dispossession of their civil rights, are in force nowadays. However, these statutes can discriminate human rights. The anti-abortion law is progressively being used as the foundation for arresting women who have no purpose of ending a pregnancy. Such law averts them from making their own choices about how they will bear their children.

The authors reveal different aspects and concepts of such a bill. However, it brings much harm to women. Paltrow and Flavin give numerous examples of cidal activity of the anti-abortion law. For instance, a judge in Washington, D.C., ordered a seriously ill 27-year-old woman who was 26 weeks pregnant to go through a cesarean operation, which he assumed might kill her. Neither the mother nor her child stayed alive. In Iowa, a pregnant woman accidentally fell down from the stairs in her house, and the police was immediately informed about the accident after the injured tried to turn to a hospital for help. Due to these circumstances, the woman was arrested for committing embryonic homicide. Therefore, it is not easy to make a decision whether such a law is adequate enough to be present in the American society. On the one hand, the discussed amendment protects the right of the impregnated ovum’s life. On the other hand, it puts the mother’s health at risk in numerous cases. Anti-abortion perception has also allowed the lawyers to arrest expectant women who are in depression and have attempted suicide. Moreover, these cases are not occasional or isolated.

Previous investigations of the newspaper revealed 413 confinements or equal actions, which kept pregnant women out of their physical freedom throughout the 32 years. In most of these cases, women did not intend to finish a pregnancy, but they carried fetuses to term and gave birth to wholesome babies. After some time, additional 380 cases were documented. According to Paltrow and Flavin, the main idea of modern attempts to terminate legal abortion is that fertilized eggs and fetuses are individuals or at least have distinct civil rights that must be defended by the government. Various pregnant women exposed to harm deeply oppose abortion. All pregnant women in the U.S.A risk losing a comprehensive variety of important rights related to legitimate personhood. The American government should stop to concentrate only on the abortion subject, starting to protect pregnant women.

Work Cited

Paltrow, Lynn, and Flavin, Jeanne. “Pregnant, and No Civil Rights.” The New York Times, 2014. Web. 20 Dec. 2014.