Government 2305 Forum 2 A key political concern facing the country that is of personal interest to me would be Abortion.

The core of the Roe v. Wade (1973) judgment is that civil rights are solely applicable after birth; thus, abortion does not violate the individuals right to life. The debate on abortion usually centers on when human life starts. The courts concentrate on viability, the time at which the fetus can continue to live externally of the womb. Viability starts at approximately six months of gestation, however, with recent medical progress the period of viability is forced back significantly (Background on Abortion 2000). Passionate pro-life supporters deem that the fetus ought to be cared for from the time of impregnation. The Democrats and Republicans, two major political parties that have differing views regarding the abortion issue. A Democrat is recognized as an advocate of an extensive variety of social services in the United States than those supported by Republicans. The Republican viewpoint is based on a partial control by the government as well as an assertive foreign policy. Democrats deem that women have the right to choose to have an abortion, thus, it is lawful. On the other hand, Republicans consider it ought to be not legal (Democrat vs. Republican 2010). We support a human life amendment to the Constitution, and we endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendments protections apply to unborn children (Republican Platform Committee 2009). When people share familiar interests, it usually falls into place for them to unite together in pursuance of those issues. When this takes place, a particular interest group is produced. These groups then vie for a portion of the limited assets dispersed during the political course. Many

groups are produced to support their stance on concerns such as abortion, moreover the limited assets these groups vie for is not funds or property, nevertheless, rather the utilization of governmental influence to implement a specific set of standards. There are numerous interest groups in the United States political system. Abortion falls in the social policy or ideologically based groups. The groups concerned with abortion are the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) and on the other side the National Right to Life Committee (Corsi 2008). The two major roles of these groups are representation and education. The representation role arises from the grounds that interest groups are created in primarily: Collective action is the mainly the successful way of affecting policymaking, moreover, conveying problems to a big audience. In addition, interest groups inform their own constituency and the community. By way of publications, they can maintain constituents abreast of the most up-to-date progress on the concerns they care about (Corsi 2008). Interest groups resort to litigation when they require access or when they are dissatisfied with government in particular or with a certain government agenda and feel they are lacking influence to amend the situation. The Roe v. Wade removed the power of the states to prohibit abortions; it ignited a debate that took conservatives to the front on a national intensity. These conservative groups utilized the courts to weaken the extent of the privacy policy. They got rulings, such as, one that ban the utilization of federal funds to compensate for intentional abortions (Roe v. Wade 1971). Also in 1989, the interest groups pro-life were able to employ an approach of litigation that drastically hindered the Roe v. Wade decision, i.e. Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, which re-established the right of states to put boundaries on abortion. The case took more than three hundred interest groups on the two sides of the abortion issue to the Supreme Courts door (Webster v. Reproductive Health Services 1989).

After completing this activity, the extent to which I am willing to participate in the issue is to the point of volunteering for the interest group of my choice only. I cant make monetary donations since I am unemployed but with my volunteer work I can spread more information about the issue and educate people who have misconceptions about abortion. Each person has the capability to make their own decisions, and it is well fitting to have the populace respect them.

Word count: 694

Works Cited:

"Background on Abortion." OnTheIssues.org - Candidates on the Issues. 2000. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <http://www.ontheissues.org/Background_Abortion.htm>. Corsi, Jerome. "Barack Obama on Abortion." OnTheIssues.org - Candidates on the Issues. 1 Aug. 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2010.

<http://www.ontheissues.org/social/barack_obama_abortion.htm>. "Democrat vs. Republican - Difference and Comparison." Difference - Compare Anything. Discern. Decide. 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <http://www.diffen.com/difference/Democrat_vs_Republican#Gay_rights>. Democratic Platform of America. "Democratic Party on Abortion." OnTheIssues.org Candidates on the Issues. 10 Feb. 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/Democratic_Party_Abortion.htm>. Republican Platform Committee. "Values." RNC: Republican National Committee | RNC: Republican National Committee | GOP. 2009. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/Values.htm>. "Roe v. Wade." LII | Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. 13 Dec. 1971. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0410_0113_ZS.html>. "Webster v. Reproductive Health Services." LII | Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. 26 Apr. 1989. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0492_0490_ZS.html>.