Ilette Gutierrez

With the new coming generation, Generation Z has affected people’s perspectives on a wide range of topics, including abortion. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but when it comes to a topic like this, people should be considerate of not only themselves but of others as well. One of the most controversial topics, especially in modern society, is the admissibility of abortion in California.

Felicity Lima

With the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, a spark of controversy flowed and spread throughout the country. A multitude of opinions sprung among the citizens of the United States. Some favored its overturning, while others believed that the United States has regressed to a state of oppression for women. The overturning pinned the country against one another, while others were in the crossfire, abandoned, pondering the question, What is Roe v. Wade? 

On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court announced its conclusion to the Roe v. Wade case, a case that involved the individual “Jane Roe”. Roe challenged the state of Texas, with the legislation that prohibited abortion in most cases.  The Center for Reproductive Rights states that abortion was permitted to be performed if the pregnancy proved to harm the individual’s life. The state’s previous laws, incriminated and infuriated doctors. Under the law, it was illegal to perform abortions. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade recognized that the decision to continue or end a pregnancy belongs to the individual, not the government. 

The Roe Supreme Court’s ruling deemed that it was unconstitutional for any state to ban abortion under any circumstances, as it goes against America’s fundamental rights, abortion is protected under the 14th Amendment. The Center for Reproductive Rights states that In the 7-2 opinion, the court decided with a similar topic that related to marriage, contraception, etc.- that the decision to continue or end a pregnancy was a “fundamental right”.  

Grace Toribio

All over the world lies an assortment of religions and belief systems. It presents a challenge to world leaders to please all their citizens. This sparks debates over what is right or what is wrong, but what if these debates turn into uproars? Abortion has been one of the hottest topics of discourse in the nation ever since the overturning of Roe v Wade, causing both sides of the argument to speak up on the matter one last time before it fell into the fate of the U.S. government. During this time, pro-lifers and pro-choice activists stated their claims, and many were supported by their morals and religious beliefs. Considering religion is viewed as one of the main pillars of millions’ lives, it is no shock it ties into abortion. However, how does religion play a role in the overturning of Roe v Wade and the nation’s stance on abortion overall? Religion empowers the pro-life movement stance against abortion which works toward banning abortions, influences the political stances of diverse religious communities, and fuels harmful ideologies to people seeking safe abortions. 

Pro-lifers oppose abortion and the majority do not accept it, no matter the circumstances or consequences (Pew Research Center, 2022). Religion acts as a motivator for the pro-life movement since it defends their position, aiding in the overturning of Roe v Wade. One of the most common religions in the U.S. is Christianity which is well-known for speaking out against women’s reproductive and abortion rights. As a result, numerous Christian conservatives are holding powerful political titles, determining what laws pass or not. Their perspectives influence their decisions in office undermining the fact of what the people want and have voted for. According to the Pew Research Center, “Public support for legal abortion remains largely unchanged since before the decision, with 62% saying it should be legal in all or most cases.”. The vast majority of the U.S. disagreed with the overturning of Roe v Wade considering it is the most significant federal legislation protecting their right to abortions (Pew Research Center, 2022. In addition, the study displays how the vote did not experience any significant change since the first introduction of Roe v Wade, demonstrating how peculiar the overturning of this legislation is.

With religion offering a broad range of perspectives on various subjects, it is usual for people to be torn between following the orthodox belief system or branching out and aligning it with their personal morality. For example, in Christianity, people are split between two separate ideologies based on the same bible since it can be perceived differently. The following could also be applied to numerous religions where its followers think and practice contrary to other followers. This creates tension within their community and determines their viewpoints on certain subjects namely, women’s reproductive rights. Large numbers of conservative Christians comprise the followers of Christianity and make it difficult for those exploring faiths by creating a hostile or unappealing environment. Unlike the majority of Christianity, Judaism supports abortions because Jewish law states that only at birth is when the fetus acquires the status of an actual person. Although, they do face stricter viewpoints regarding contraceptives due to the violation of the commandant of Genesis which states that one must be “fruitful and multiply”. (My Jewish Learning, n.d). Sharing a similar philosophy to Christianity, Hinduism declares a steady approach to the sanctity of life and therefore against the termination of pregnancy. They reason that unborn fetuses are not seen as fully human until birth but instead, believe that the soul forms at conception thereof are opposed to abortion (Martin E. Gold, 2022). 

A pro-life leading argument poses that the banning of abortion and contraceptives will reduce the number of abortions but instead fails to recognize how this would only cause a decline in safe abortions. Criminalizing the medical practice for women will only put them at greater risk of undergoing unsafe procedures and exposing them to dangerous situations such as back alley abortions or at-home remedies. Hate toward women seeking abortions is partially fueled by conservative religious inference. Oftentimes pro-lifers can be spotted at a family planning facility or women’s reproductive care clinics shoving religious anti-abortion campaigns into patients’ faces in hopes of intimidating them. Demonstrations such as these aim toward making safe abortions less accessible and shaming women into believing that their choice to terminate is sinful. 

Ilette Gutierrez

With the new coming generation, Generation Z has affected people’s perspectives on a wide range of topics, including abortion. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but when it comes to a topic like this, people should be considerate of not only themselves but of others as well. One of the most controversial topics, especially in modern society, is the admissibility of abortion in California. Unfortunately, many dilemmas such as unexpected pregnancies, do come across in many women’s lives, and they have no other option but to put their babies up for adoption or abort the baby. Most teens become sexually active once they reach high school. In a 2023 report by CDC.gov, 42 to 44% of teens between the ages of 15-19 have had sexual intercourse, which is a very high percentage and can lead to teens encountering these situations more often. Although many states have used different methods of contraceptives, many unplanned pregnancies happen and many teens are more at risk if they are not informed about the basics of sex, ovulation, periods, and much more. Women are already limited to two options, so why decrease it to one? An abortion article written in 2019 by The Atlantic, explains how women mainly seek abortion as a first option, but if they can not afford it and receive this procedure for any reason, they start to consider adoption. This being, abortion is the number one source of getting rid of a pregnancy at this time. Taking this away will result in losing a very important privilege to women worldwide.