oner for a clinic. I was under the impression that the nation had gotten over the controversy. These reproductive rights that I assumed were given are still in question every day as more and more cases walk through the Supreme Court, and as more power is handed over to the states. Our rights are also in question during every election period. The pro-life movement and the "new right" are still very aggressively opposed to Roe v. Wade and abortion rights. Members of congress are under intense pressure over their votes on abortion legislation. Anti-abortion groups have been successful at restricting abortions even though most Americans are pro-choice. In 1978 and 1980 elections, the anti-abortion lobby helped defeat four pro-choice Democratic senators (Carver, Nelson 747). We are also seeing a trend towards a conservative platform with more power handed over to the states, along with middle of the road, back and forth politicians. I can foresee these combinations as being detrimental to the security of our reproductive rights in this upcoming election. Several pieces of legislation and Supreme Court decisions have led up to, and have chiseled away at Roe v. Wade, ultimately making abortions more difficult to obtain. Here are some important cases: 1965, Griswold v. Connecticut upheld the right to privacy and ended the ban on birth control. Griswold was the first major breakthrough of the establishment of women's constitutional rights. The ruling remains controversial today because the Supreme Court engaged in judicial activism using a "zone of privacy" within the penumbras of the constitution (Jarvis 160). The point should be raised is women, minorities, and other socially oppressed groups have been dependent on judicial activism to gain equality. With more and more power placed in the hands of the state, many of our fundamental rights become malleable. Eight years later, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled the right to privacy included a...
