There are certain issues that are unique to women, though of concern to men as well. Reproductive issues, such as abortion and family planning, are among the most controversial issues in health care or any policy field. In general, the availability of abortion, while not completely eliminated, has been reduced beginning in the late 1970s. Some of this has come about because of legislative changes, such as the Hyde amendment forbidding the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion and similar action by some states. Some is a result of court decisions that have allowed restrictions, such as waiting periods. Another element has been the strong right-to-life movement, which has picketed abortion clinics. Medical schools are less frequently teaching abortion procedures.
The federal courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court in particular, have come to play a significant role in policymaking in certain aspects of the health care field. The Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion was a major policy decision and a victory for groups supporting a woman's right to have an abortion. But a 1989 decision by the Supreme Court whereby the Supreme Court granted states authority to regulate and thus restrict abortions in public clinics also suggests that the Court's position may change with changes in the composition of justices on the Court. Whether a more conservative Supreme Court in the future overturns Roe v. Wade remains to be seen.
In Roe v. Wade, the Court addressed squarely an integral part of the individual's right to procreative autonomy when an unmarried woman in a class action suit challenged the constitutionality of the Texas criminal abortion laws. The Court articulated a new source of privacy derived from the fourteenth amendment's standard of personal liberty and inherent restrictions on state.............
