Abortion is possibly the most divisive issue in the United States.
Pro-choice advocates argue that women should have total control over their own bodies. Anti-abortion advocates believe life begins at conception, so abortion is murder.
There's little (if any) common ground.
As it stands, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a woman's right to abort a pregnancy in Roe v. Wade 40 years ago.
On a more fundamental level, Roe v. Wade didn't just allow women to legally obtain abortions. It affirmed the right of doctors to practice medicine without interference from the states, unless the state had a compelling interest.
Well, the definition of what constitutes a "compelling interest" seems to have expanded since Roe v. Wade. States all across the nation have enacted, or are in the process of enacting, many laws restricting access to abortions.
A Guttmacher Institute study found that 135 abortion restrictions were enacted at the state level in 2011 and 2012.
There have been quite a few attempts to limit abortion rights at the federal level, as well.
At the March for Life in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Jan. 25, John Boehner told the crowd "making abortion a relic of the past" is "one of our most fundamental goals this year."
The Hyde Amendment is the grandfather of abortion funding restrictions.
Henry Hyde, a now-deceased House Republican, attached an amendment to a Medicaid appropriations bill that prohibited federal funding of abortions back in 1976.
The law now allows for federal funding for abortions to preserve the health of the mother or in cases of rape or incest.
Opponents believe this amendment "places an undue burden on women who rely on government programs like Medicaid for health care," The Washington Post has reported.
This amendment has had a big impact on Native American women.
Indian Health Service facilities, which provide care for about 2 million Native Americans, are federally funded. So, they're subject to the same limitations for abortion funding as Medicaid, according to the pro-choice group NARAL.
IHS facilities are often the only medical care available within hours of a reservation.
These barriers render "the right to choose effectively meaningless for Native-American women who rely on IHS for their health care," NARAL says.
American women overseas can also face an uphill battle getting an abortion.
Women serving in combat currently can't get abortions at military bases except in emergencies, even if they pay for those abortions with their own money, according to the National Abortion Federation.
NAF pointed out that, as a result, women serving overseas are forced to seek care from foreign providers, who often practice medicine differently from U.S. doctors or don't speak English.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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