Roe v Wade And Recent State Abortion Legislation; and Recent United States Aggression Toward Cuba

Roe v Wade And Recent State Abortion Legislation

In 1973 in the famous Roe versus Wade case the US Supreme Court ruled that a womans right to obtain an abortion was protected under the US Constitution.

The core holding in Roe, which remains the law today, is that the government may not prohibit a woman from obtaining an abortion prior to fetal viability and may do so after viability as long as abortion may be available to protect a womans life and health.

A womans right to make childbearing decisions is in essential part of womens overall equality. Recent legislation in Ohio bans abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant. Kentucky and Mississippi have similar laws and 10 other states are considering them.

Will the Supreme Court take the Ohio case as an opportunity and use it to overturn the 45-year-old Roe versus Wade decision?

Guest ” Dr. Vicki Breitbart in the last 40 years, Dr. Breitbart has worked as an educator, researcher, and activist, dedicated to sexual and reproductive justice. Presently, she is an Associate Professor at NYU Silver School of Social Work. Previously, she served as the Director of the graduate program in Health Advocacy at Sarah Lawrence College and has taught at Columbia and CUNY Schools of Public Health. She worked at Planned Parenthood of New York City for over 15 years in various roles including Senior Vice President and Director of the Clinician Training Initiative. Currently, she serves as President of the Board of the Civil Liberties and Public Policy (CLPP) program at Hampshire College and is on the Board of the Reproductive Health Access Project. Her research in womens health has been published in several peer-reviewed journals.

Guest ” Lizzy Watson is a staff attorney at the ACLUs Reproductive Freedom Project at the ACLUs national office in New York. She litigates cases to defend the right to abortion and contraception for all people regardless of race, ethnicity, economic status, gender identity, or geographic location. Prior to joining the ACLU she provided legal services to low income individuals at the Homeless Action Center in Berkeley, CA.

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Recent United States Aggression Toward Cuba

The United States of America has ratcheted up its ongoing 60 year effort to overthrow the elected government of Cuba and restore an American dominated corporate capitalism to the island. This effort was relaxed a bit under the Obama Administration. That all has changed, dollar remittances from Cubans living in the U.S. to their relatives in Cuba have been drastically cut. Travel to Cuba by Americans which has been considerable is virtually banned.

The Helms-Burton Act of 1996 which was meant to strangle the Cuban economy wasnt fully enforced until recently. Under the guidance of the ultra-right wing National Security Adviser John Bolton. A 23 year old dormant version of the Helms Burton Act has been invoked. It now allows Cubans who live in America to sue the government of Cuba in American courts to get back their estates, businesses and property holdings which were legally nationalized under the 1959 revolution.

This new aggression is meant to cause such severe hardship to the Cuban people that they will be willing to allow their government to be overthrown.

Guest ” Walter Lippmann, editor of the Cuba News Yahoo News Group.

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