Public Policy Analysis

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Public Policy Analysis

• Karen Lynn Grupski
• MPH Project
• Spring 2006

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Womens Choice Legislation Roe v. Wade

• Investigating policy changes, ethical concerns
  and advocacy efforts set in motion to overturn
  Roe v. Wade

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History

• 1873 Comstock Law
• Made it illegal to send obscene, lewd, or
  lascivious material through the mail
• 1936 United States v. One Package of Japanese
  Pessaries
• Shipment was confiscated under the regulations of
  the Tariff Act of 1930, which was created under
  provisions of the Comstock Act

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Margaret Sanger

• National Birth Control League (1916)
• American Birth Control League (1921)
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America (1942)

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Griswold v Connecticut (1965)

• Executive Director of PP of Connecticut and
  Medical Director were convicted for giving
  married couples advice to prevent conception and
  prescribe contraceptive devices
• Connecticut statute made contraceptive
  devices/advice a crime
• Supreme Court overturned conviction right to
  privacy

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Roe v. Wade (1973)

• 1970 Texas resident Jane Roe
• Plaintiffs included a Texas physician who had
  been arrested for violating abortion statutes, a
  married couple who had been advised against
  pregnancy by their physician, as well as all
  couples similarly situated to the Does and all
  other women in the same situation as Roe

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Roe v. Wade

• Supreme Court struck down Texas abortion law in
  1973, citing right to privacy
• 1st trimester State cannot interfere with a
  womans decision to abort a fetus
• 2nd trimester State has the power to regulate
  abortions to protect maternal health
• 3rd trimester State has the right to prohibit
  abortions

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Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989)

• Missouri passed into law a statue that put severe
  restrictions on abortion services, access and
  funding
• Created law based on the idea that life begins at
  conception, gave the same rights to unborn
  children as other persons
• Supreme Court supported the states right to
  prohibit the use of public funds on abortion
  services

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South Dakota

• A report published by the Guttmacher Institute
  compared contraceptive access and care amongst
  all fifty states and DC. As of November 1st,
  2005 South Dakota ranked
• 40th in service availability
• 40th in laws and policies
• 37th in public funding and
• 44th overall

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South Dakotas Abortion Ban

• On February 13, 2006, House Bill 1215 was passed
  by with a 47-22 vote in Pierre, SD
• The bill prohibits all abortions in the state,
  with an exception if the womens life is in
  danger
• Once implemented into law, physicians who
  continue to perform services would face up to
  5,000 in fines and jail time.
• An amendment to make exception for cases of rape
  or incest was denied

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Current/Past Legislation

• During the state-directed counseling session, the
  abortion providers are required to, tell women
  that the father of the fetus is liable for child
  support, provide a list of abortion alternative
  and adoption agencies, and offer to show
  photographs of fetuses at various stages of
  development

• 24 hour waiting period
• Parental notification
• Parental consent can be waived in emergency
  situations, but not in case of rape or insest
• Judicial Bypass does not allow for extended
  family
• Have not passed further safety legislation since
  FACE act

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Advocacy

• Pro Choice
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America
• Stand With States Campaign
• National Abortion Federation (NAF)
• South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families
• Collect signatures to prevent ban from going into
  effect on July 1st, instead the bill will be put
  in the hands of voters in Novembers election

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Advocacy

• Pro Life
• Life Advocacy Resource Project
• March For Life
• National Right to Life
• The Christian Alliance for Progress The
  movement to reclaim Christianity and Transform
  American Politics

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Ethics

• Respect for autonomy
• Respecting the decision-making capacities of
  autonomous persons enabling individuals to make
  reasoned informed choices.
• Beneficence
• This considers the balancing of benefits of
  treatment against the risks and costs the
  healthcare professional should act in a way that
  benefits the patient

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Ethics

• Nonmaleficence
• Avoiding the causation of harm the healthcare
  professional should not harm the patient. All
  treatment involves some harm, even if minimal,
  but the harm should not be disproportionate to
  the benefits of treatment.
• Justice
• Distributing benefits, risks and costs fairly
  the notion that patients in similar positions
  should be treated in a similar manner.