bortions. Roe v. Wade was based upon this case. This case supported a woman's control over her own body and reproductive system. Justice William Brennan stated: "If the right to privacy means anything, it is the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwanted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision to bear or beget a child." (Carver, Nelson 747). The ruling of Roe v. Wade was a landmark victory for the reproductive liberties of women. As Sonia Jarvis stated in her article Women and the Law: Learning Form the Past to Protect the Future, "giving women the freedom to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy fundamentally altered the legal status of women in ways that are still being explored," (Jarvis 161). One would expect the ruling of Roe v. Wade to act as a spring board, and would advance reproductive rights, but rather it still faces persistent challenges.There have been many abortion related court cases and legislation following Roe v. Wade. In many of these cases the Court gave states new powers to restrict access to abortions. Many states are now allowed to restrict "partial-birth" or late-term abortions, or require parental permission for minors. Not only have these restrictions been placed on terms of abortion but also federally financing that targets the poor. For example the Hyde Amendment was passed in 1977, which withdrew federal funding for abortion. Since surgical sterilization remained funded by the Department of Health, more and more poor woman opted for permanent birth control (Davis 205). The court case Harris v. McRae eliminated public payments for abortion for poor women with government financed health care, even though they cover prenatal care for those mothers who carry to term (Carver, Nelson 749). Therefore, many women are faced to have children they can not afford, or do not want. This makes the mother even further dependent on the welfare system...
