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

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. 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.

Anti-abortion advocates tend to use terms such as "unborn baby", "unborn child", or "pre-born child", and see the medical terms "embryo", "zygote", and "fetus" as dehumanizing. 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". The Associated Press encourages journalists to use the terms "abortion rights" and "anti-abortion".

Context

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. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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.

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.

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. 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. Vermont's Republican Governor Phil Scott has promised not to veto Proposal 5. As of May 2019, there was no law that clearly addressed abortion in the state's law, with abortion rights not clearly defined.

Judicial history

In 1972, the Vermont Supreme Court made a ruling that effectively ended abortion restrictions in the state. 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.

Clinic history

Number of abortion clinics in Vermont by year.

Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state declined by three, going from nineteen in 1982 to sixteen in 1992. In 2014, there were six abortion clinics in the state. 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. In March 2016, there were twelve Planned Parenthood clinics in the state. 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.

Statistics

In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero recorded illegal abortion deaths in the state. In 1990, 67,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy. 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. In 2014, 70% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 4.8 deaths 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. In 2010, the state had 699 publicly funded abortions, of which were zero federally funded and 699 were state funded.

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."

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.

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.

Footnotes