Abortion in Vermont

Abortion in Vermont is legal. 70% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Terminology
Main article: Abortion

The abortion debate most commonly relates to the "induced abortion" of an embryo or fetus at some point in a pregnancy, which is also how the term is used in a legal sense.[note 1] Some also use the term "elective abortion", which is used in relation to a claim to an unrestricted right of a woman to an abortion, whether or not she chooses to have one. The term elective abortion or voluntary abortion describes the interruption of pregnancy before viability at the request of the woman, but not for medical reasons.[1]

Anti-abortion advocates tend to use terms such as "unborn baby", "unborn child", or "pre-born child",[2][3] and see the medical terms "embryo", "zygote", and "fetus" as dehumanizing.[4][5] Both "pro-choice" and "pro-life" are examples of terms labeled as political framing: they are terms which purposely try to define their philosophies in the best possible light, while by definition attempting to describe their opposition in the worst possible light. "Pro-choice" implies that the alternative viewpoint is "anti-choice", while "pro-life" implies the alternative viewpoint is "pro-death" or "anti-life".[6] The Associated Press encourages journalists to use the terms "abortion rights" and "anti-abortion".[7]

Context
See also: Abortion in the United States

Free birth control correlates to teenage girls having a fewer pregnancies and fewer abortions. A 2014 New England Journal of Medicine study found such a link. At the same time, a 2011 study by Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health also found that states with more abortion restrictions have higher rates of maternal death, higher rates of uninsured pregnant women, higher rates of infant and child deaths, higher rates of teen drug and alcohol abuse, and lower rates of cancer screening.[8] According to Megan Donovan, a senior policy manager at the Guttmacher Institute, states have legislation seeking to protect a woman's right to access abortion services have the lowest rates of infant mortality in the United States.[9]

According to a 2017 report from the Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health, states that tried to pass additional constraints on a women's ability to access legal abortions had fewer policies supporting women's health, maternal health and children's health. These states also tended to resist expanding Medicaid, family leave, medical leave, and sex education in public schools.[9] According to Megan Donovan, a senior policy manager at the Guttmacher Institute, states have legislation seeking to protect a woman's right to access abortion services have the lowest rates of infant mortality in the United States.[9]

History

Legislative history

By the end of the 1800s, all states in the Union except Louisiana had therapeutic exceptions in their legislative bans on abortions.[10] In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion were about protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens.[10]

As of 2017, California, Oregon, Montana, Vermont, and New Hampshire allow qualified non-physician health professionals, such as physicians' assistants, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives, to do first-trimester aspiration abortions and to prescribe drugs for medical abortions.[11]

In February 2019, Vermont House Human Services and Judiciary committees held public hearings about abortion in relation to H.57. As a way to try to stop passage, Vermont Republican Party urged people to come and speak in opposition to it.[12] In early 2019, an amendment was passed called Proposal 5. The amendment to the state constitution would "ensure that every Vermonter is afforded personal reproductive liberty." Before the amendment becomes law, it needs to pass the state legislature a second time and then be voted on in a ballot box measure during a 2022 special election.[13][14][15] Vermont's Republican Governor Phil Scott has promised not to veto Proposal 5.[9] As of May 2019, there was no law that clearly addressed abortion in the state's law, with abortion rights not clearly defined.[13]

Judicial history

In 1972, the Vermont Supreme Court made a ruling that effectively ended abortion restrictions in the state.[12] The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester.[10]

Clinic history
Number of abortion clinics in Vermont by year.
See also: Abortion clinic

Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state declined by three, going from nineteen in 1982 to sixteen in 1992.[16] In 2014, there were six abortion clinics in the state.[17] 64% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 38% of women in the state aged 15 – 44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[18] In March 2016, there were twelve Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.[19] In 2017, there were twelve Planned Parenthood clinics in a state with a population of 136,459 women aged 15 – 49 of which six offered abortion services.[20]

Statistics

In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero recorded illegal abortion deaths in the state.[21] In 1990, 67,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[16] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were abortions 190, 0 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 10 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 10 abortions for women of all other races.[22] In 2014, 70% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.[23] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 4.8 deaths per 1,000 live births.[9]

Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996[24]
Census division and stateNumberRate% change 1992–1996
199219951996199219951996
Total1,528,9301,363,6901,365,73025.922.922.9–12
New England78,36071,94071,28025.223.623.5–7
Connecticut19,72016,68016,23026.22322.5–14
Maine4,2002,6902,70014.79.69.7–34
Massachusetts40,66041,19041,16028.429.229.33
New Hampshire3,8903,2403,47014.61212.7–13
Rhode Island6,9905,7205,4203025.524.4–19
Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates
LocationResidenceOccurrence% obtained by

out-of-state residents

 YearRef
No.Rate^Ratio^^No.Rate^Ratio^^
Vermont1,16110.01891,23510.62016.82014[25]
Vermont1,1219.71901,26510.921412.42015[26]
Vermont 1,131 9.9 196 1,298 11.3 226 14.1 2016 [27]
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births

Abortion financing
State Medicaid coverage of medically necessary abortion services.Navy blue: Medicaid covers medically necessary abortion for low-income women through legislationRoyal blue: Medicaid covers medically necessary abortions for low-income women under court order Gray: Medicaid denies abortion coverage for low-income women except for cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment.

17 states including Vermont use their own funds to cover all or most "medically necessary" abortions sought by low-income women under Medicaid, 13 of which are required by State court orders to do so.[28] In 2010, the state had 699 publicly funded abortions, of which were zero federally funded and 699 were state funded.[29]

Women's abortion experiences

Dotty Kyle of Warren was a teenager in 1953 who found herself pregnant. After talking to her parents, Kyle and her parents decided getting an abortion would be the best option. They located a doctor who would perform an illegal abortion after their regular office hours ended. According to Kyle, the abortion "allowed me to graduate high school, go to college, marry and have three lovely children. Without access to abortion, I would have struggled to support a child as a single mother."[12]

Abortion rights views and activities

Protests

Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.[30]

Anti-abortion views and activities

Violence

In 1977, there were four arson attacks on abortion clinics in the United States. These took place in Minnesota, Vermont, Nebraska and Ohio. Combined, they caused over US$1.1 million in damage.[31]

Footnotes
  1. According to the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade:
    (a) For the stage prior to approximately the end of the first trimester, the abortion decision and its effectuation must be left to the medical judgement of the pregnant woman's attending physician. (b) For the stage subsequent to approximately the end of the first trimester, the State, in promoting its interest in the health of the mother, may, if it chooses, regulate the abortion procedure in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health. (c) For the stage subsequent to viability, the State in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life may, if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe, abortion except where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgement, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.
    Likewise, Black's Law Dictionary defines abortion as "knowing destruction" or "intentional expulsion or removal".


References
  1. Watson, Katie (20 Dec 2019). "Why We Should Stop Using the Term "Elective Abortion"". AMA Journal of Ethics. 20: E1175-1180. doi:10.1001/amajethics.2018.1175. PMID 30585581. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  2. Chamberlain, Pam; Hardisty, Jean (2007). "The Importance of the Political 'Framing' of Abortion". The Public Eye Magazine. 14 (1).
  3. "The Roberts Court Takes on Abortion". New York Times. November 5, 2006. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  4. Brennan 'Dehumanizing the vulnerable' 2000
  5. Getek, Kathryn; Cunningham, Mark (February 1996). "A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing – Language and the Abortion Debate". Princeton Progressive Review.
  6. "Example of "anti-life" terminology" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
  7. Goldstein, Norm, ed. The Associated Press Stylebook. Philadelphia: Basic Books, 2007.
  8. Castillo, Stephanie (2014-10-03). "States With More Abortion Restrictions Hurt Women's Health, Increase Risk For Maternal Death". Medical Daily. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  9. "States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates". NBC News. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  10. Buell, Samuel (1991-01-01). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66: 1774–1831.
  11. "Study: Abortions Are Safe When Performed By Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Certified Nurse Midwives". Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  12. Walters, John. "Walters: Vermont Abortion Bill Hearing Features Emotional Testimony". Seven Days. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  13. "Are there *any* states working to protect abortion rights?". Well+Good. 2019-05-17. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  14. "SENATE CHAMBER PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF VERMONT" (PDF). legislature.vermont.gov. 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  15. Lou, Michelle. "Vermont lawmakers are trying to pass a constitutional amendment to protect the right to an abortion". CNN. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  16. Arndorfer, Elizabeth; Michael, Jodi; Moskowitz, Laura; Grant, Juli A.; Siebel, Liza (December 1998). A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 9780788174810.
  17. Gould, Rebecca Harrington, Skye. "The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  18. businessinsider (2018-08-04). "This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell". Business Insider (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  19. Bohatch, Emily. "27 states with the most Planned Parenthood clinics". thestate. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  20. "Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood". Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  21. Cates, Willard; Rochat, Roger (March 1976). "Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974". Family Planning Perspectives. 8 (2): 86. doi:10.2307/2133995. JSTOR 2133995. PMID 1269687.
  22. "No. of abortions among women aged 15–19, by state of residence, 2013 by racial group". Guttmacher Data Center. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  23. "Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics | Pew Research Center". Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  24. "Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995-1996". Guttmacher Institute. 2005-06-15. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  25. Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2017). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2014". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 66 (24): 1–48. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6624a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMID 29166366.
  26. Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2018). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2015". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 67 (13): 1–45. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6713a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 30462632.
  27. Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2019). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2016". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 68. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1. ISSN 1546-0738.
  28. Francis Roberta W. "Frequently Asked Questions". Equal Rights Amendment. Alice Paul Institute. Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  29. "Guttmacher Data Center". data.guttmacher.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  30. Bacon, John. "Abortion rights supporters' voices thunder at #StopTheBans rallies across the nation". USA TODAY. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  31. Jacobson, Mireille; Royer, Heather (December 2010). "Aftershocks: The Impact of Clinic Violence on Abortion Services". American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 3: 189–223. doi:10.1257/app.3.1.189.
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