2023-03-14 07:00:00
Republicans want to tighten criminal law in several US states: abortion should be punishable by death as murder.
United States — Republicans in several state legislatures have introduced bills that would include murder charges for women who have abortions. Legislative initiatives in Texas, Kentucky, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Arkansas sometimes stipulate that life begins at conception. In each of the bills, abortion is to be considered murder and carries the death penalty in all five states.
It is unlikely that all of these proposed laws will be passed. But their frequency alone shows a willingness to turn away from the previous consensus to exempt women who want or have an abortion from prosecution. If an embryo or fetus is considered a person, the pregnant woman can also be charged with endangering it or causing bodily harm.
US: Republicans with bill that might criminalize pregnant women
This would mean that pregnant women might be prosecuted in parts of the United States if they take medication or drugs, drink alcohol or engage in any strenuous physical activity during pregnancy, even if it doesn’t adversely affect the fetus.
The Arkansas bill even allows the partner to sue the woman who terminates a pregnancy for wrongful death.
USA: Pregnant people as “mere containers”
“The way that pregnant people might become mere containers for a being with separate and unique rights is becoming more and more a reality. And there are ways that this might be used that we haven’t even considered.” Dana Sussman told the Guardian. Sussman is Associate Executive Director of Pregnancy Justice, a US non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the rights of pregnant women and parents.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued the landmark abortion-rights ruling, Roe v. Wade, lifted in June 2022. Since then it has been the responsibility of the individual states to regulate the right to abortion. The right has been restricted in around half of the states and thirteen states have so far issued outright bans. (Johanna Soll)
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