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Should Abortion be legal? Here are some pros and cons

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Should Abortion be legal? Here are some pros and cons

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The debate over whether abortion should be a legal option has long divided people around the world. Split into two groups, pro-choice and pro-life, the two sides frequently clash in protests.

Proponents of legal abortion believe abortion is a safe medical procedure that protects lives, while abortion bans endanger pregnant people not seeking abortions, and deny bodily autonomy, creating wide-ranging repercussions.

Opponents of legal abortion believe abortion is murder because life begins at conception, that abortion creates a culture in which life is disposable, and that increased access to birth control, health insurance, and sexual education would make abortion unnecessary. Read more background...

Pro & Con Arguments

Pro 1

Abortion is a safe medical procedure that protects lives.

The death rate for legal abortions is 0.7 deaths for every 100,000 abortions. By contrast, there are one to two deaths per 100,000 plastic surgery procedures, three deaths for every 100,000 colonoscopies, and three to six deaths per 100,000 tonsillectomies. Childbirth has nine deaths per 100,000 deliveries.

Pregnancy-related maternal deaths could increase 20% in US states with abortion bans. Amanda Stevenson, Sociology Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, explained, "People with resources are more likely to make it out of state or find out about medication abortions. People who can't are more likely to have health issues, to live in poverty and have less access to resources." People of color are especially likely to be in the latter category and, thus, negatively impacted by abortion bans.

The predicted 20% maternal death rate does not include those who will die from "back alley" or illegal abortions because legal options were not available.

Globally 45% of abortions are unsafe, 97% of which take place in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Evidence shows that restricting access to abortions does not reduce the number of abortions; however, it does affect whether the abortions that women and girls attain are safe and dignified. The proportion of unsafe abortions are significantly higher in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws than in countries with less restrictive laws."
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Pro 2

Abortion bans endanger healthcare for those not seeking abortions.

Medical treatment for nonviable pregnancies is often exactly the same as an abortion.

Ectopic pregnancies occur when a fertilized egg implants somewhere other than the uterine cavity. About one in 50 pregnancies are ectopic, and they are nonviable. Bleeding from ectopic pregnancies caused 10% of all pregnancy-related deaths, and ectopic pregnancies were the leading cause of maternal death in the first trimester.

One out of every ten pregnancies ends in miscarriage. The drugs used for medication abortions are the only treatment recommended for early miscarriages. For later or complicated miscarriages, the same surgical procedure used for abortions is recommended.

While some abortion bans include specific exceptions for nonviable pregnancies and miscarriages, other bans are too vague to be practicable. Healthcare providers may refuse to perform a procedure that could be interpreted as an "on-demand" abortion for fear of liability or prosecution.

Further, bans are a slippery slope to contraceptive and other healthcare restrictions. For example, some already wrongly view Plan B (the morning after pill) as an abortifacient and are thinking of including it in abortion bans.
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Pro 3

Abortion bans deny bodily autonomy, creating wide-ranging repercussions.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated, "eliminating the rights of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades.... In many cases, abortions are of teenage women, particularly low-income and often Black, who aren't in a position to be able to care for children, have unexpected pregnancies, and it deprives them of the ability often to continue their education to later participate in the workforce."

After being denied an abortion, household poverty increased and lasted four or more years, resulting in an inability to cover basic expenses including food, housing and transportation. A denied abortion was associated with a lowered credit score, increased debt, and an increase in negative public records including evictions and bankruptcies. The households were also more reliant on government assistance. Transgender and nonbinary people denied abortions may face even worse outcomes.

And the consequences can be much more dire. "If a woman of childbearing age dies, it has enormous economic consequences.... It's someone who society has invested in and who has many productive economic years ahead of them," according to David Slusky, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Kansas. Often, death also removes a wage-earner and caregiver from the household.

60% of women seeking abortions already had other children. Being denied an abortion worsened the well-being of their older children, including not meeting childhood development markers.

The Turnaway Study concluded, "Abortion does not harm women," and "Women who receive a wanted abortion are more financially stable, set more ambitious goals, raise children under more stable conditions, and are more likely to have a wanted child later."
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Con 1

Life begins at conception, making abortion murder.

Conception is the moment a sperm cell fertilizes an egg cell, which begins the process of cell division that creates a human.

Tara Sander Lee, Senior Fellow and Director of Life Sciences at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, stated, "life begins from the moment of conception when the sperm fertilizes the egg, because there is the creation of a new, totally distinct, integrated organism or a human being, which is going to be biologically distinct from all other life forms on this planet." The first cell is biologically distinct because it has its own DNA that is different from either biological parent and all other humans.

Ending a life is murder legally and ethically, even a life that is only a few growing cells at the time of death.

Pope Francis explained, "Abortion is murder. Those who carry out abortions kill.... At the third week after conception, often even before the mother is aware (of being pregnant), all the organs are already (starting to develop). It is a human life. Period. And this human life has to be respected. It is very clear.... Scientifically, it is a human life."

That people may face difficulties without abortion as an option does not excuse or justify murder. A reader of The Atlantic, who gave only the initial K., clarified the moral dilemma: "I wish that I could be pro-choice because the awful circumstances so many women face-that I can't even imagine facing-seem so much more real to me than the rights of a fetus who doesn't even always look human. But abortion is the intentional killing of a human being and we look back with horror at anyone in history who decided a group of people did not actually count as people. We cannot solve the problem of injustice against women with more injustice. We need solutions that support women without killing fetuses."
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Con 2

Legal abortion promotes a culture in which life is disposable.

Echoing a 2014 remark by Pope Francis that connected abortion to " throwaway culture," Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, stated, "abortion represents a failure to recognize the sanctity of human life and promotes a culture in which human life in its most vulnerable moment is perceived as disposable. Such a proposal targets poor women as needing an expedient solution to a complex problem."

Tobin previously declared legal abortion a "brutalization of the American heart" on par with the "dehumanization of the undocumented" immigrants.

Alveda King, former Georgia state representative and niece of Martin Luther King, Jr., also connected abortion to other societal ills: "Abortion and racism are both symptoms of a fundamental human error. The error is thinking that when someone stands in the way of our wants, we can justify getting that person out of our lives. Abortion and racism stem from the same poisonous root, selfishness. We create the deceptions that the other person is less important, less worthy, less human. We are all fully human. When we face this truth, there is no justification for treating those who look different than us as lesser beings. If we simply treat other people the way we'd like to be treated, racism, abortion, and other forms of inhumanity will be things of the past."

As King notes, some fetuses are treated as less than human. This ideology combined with legal abortion could create a slippery slope to designer babies, gender selection, termination of disabled but healthy fetuses, and other trait-selection-based abortions. The slippery slope can then extend to the mentally disabled and elderly in general.

"[A]bortion is an act rife with the potential for eugenic manipulation," according to US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. "Technological advances have only heightened the eugenic potential for abortion, as abortion can now be used to eliminate children with unwanted characteristics, such as a particular sex or disability."
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Con 3

Increased access to birth control, health insurance, and sexual education would make abortion unnecessary.

Experts largely contribute the decline in abortions in the United States and elsewhere to the improved safety and availability of LARC (long-acting reversible contraception) including IUDs and contraceptive implants that can last up to 10 years.

Access to health insurance to pay for contraceptives also contributed to a drop in abortions. With the passage of Obamacare (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), more people were insured with access to free or low-cost contraceptives and reproductive care.

Linda Rosenstock, Public Health Professor of Health Policy and Management at UCLA, summarized the simplicity of the connection: "In the United States each year, about half of pregnancies are unintended and about 40% of those lead to abortion. Access to birth control leads to fewer abortions."

Further, teens are having sex later in life than their parents. 38.4% of American high schoolers reported they have had sex (down from 54% in 1991) and only 27.4% reported they were currently sexually active (37.5% in 1991).

Because teen birth control use has not increased significantly, experts attribute the decline in part to better sex education. A 2021 study found that students who received comprehensive sexual education initiated sex later than students who did not participate in sex ed. The later teens have sex, the less chance there is for them to become pregnant unintentionally, which leads to fewer abortions.
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Did You Know?

1. Throughout much of Western history, abortion was not considered a criminal act as long as it was performed before "quickening" (the first detectable movement of the fetus, which can occur between 13-25 weeks of pregnancy).

2. In 1821, Connecticut became the first US state to criminalize abortion.

3. The death rate for legal abortions is 0.7 deaths for every 100,000 abortions. By contrast, there are one to two deaths per 100,000 plastic surgery procedures, three deaths for every 100,000 colonoscopies, and three to six deaths per 100,000 tonsillectomies. Childbirth has nine deaths per 100,000 deliveries.

4. Abortion rates in the United States have fallen at what the CDC called a "slow yet steady pace" since a peak in 1981. That year there were 29.3 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44. The rate fell to 11.4 abortions per 1,000 women in 2019.

5. 60% of women seeking abortions already had other children.

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Abortion - Top Arguments For and Against - ProCon.org

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The Pro Choice side says women should have control of their bodies. Pro Lifers say abortion is murder. Explore both sides of the debate.

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Kids learn about the history of Women's Suffrage and the fight for the right for women to vote from the Seneca Falls Convention to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.

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Below are some of the more questionable, comical or just plain dumb laws that exist in each of the fifty states.

Alabama

You can't wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church.
Don't even think about it, kid.
Alaska

If you see a sleeping bear, it's illegal to wake it up for a photo op.

Arizona
This man has no respect for the law.
Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs.

Arkansas
Not to be confused with "KANzis".
You're not allowed to pronounce "Arkansas" incorrectly.

California

It's unlawful to allow a dog to pursue a bear or a bobcat at any time.

Colorado

Tags may be ripped off of pillows and mattresses.

Connecticut

A pickle is not a pickle until it bounces.

Delaware

You are forbidden to sell the hair of a dog.

Florida

They accidentally banned every computer in the state by poorly wording a law which outlawed Internet Cafés.

Georgia

You can't keep an ice cream cone in your back pocket on Sundays.

Hawaii
But Spam can go in anything, anywhere, all the time.
You cannot use imitation milk in a milkshake without warning the drinker.

Idaho

Giving your sweetheart a box of chocolates weighing more that 50 pounds is illegal.

Illinois

You can drink under 21, if you're enrolled in a culinary program.
Maybe Hoosiers should stick to basketball.
Indiana

The value of Pi is 3.

Iowa

One-armed piano players must perform for free.
You CAN pass, just wait a moment.
Kansas

If two trains meet on the same track, neither shall proceed until the other has passed.

Kentucky

A person can't dye ducklings, baby chicks, or bunnies.
Pizza is not a joke.
Louisiana

It's a $500 fine for sending a pizza man to a friend's house without them knowing.

Maine

It is illegal for Christmas decorations to still be up after January 14th.
It's how you use it.
Maryland
But they only explode if you hit them.
A vending machine may NOT dispense a non-latex condom.

Massachussetts

Y ou cannot own an explosive golf ball.

Michigan

A woman isn't allowed to cut her own hair without her husband's permission.
Body parts are still up for debate.
DO YOU WANT TO GO TO JAIL?
It is illegal, but mostly: gross.
Minnesota
One is also insane if they're driving with a bear, caged or uncaged.
Using goldfish as bait is against the law.

Mississippi

High school teachers may not have sex with their students.

Missouri

One cannot drive with an uncaged bear.

Montana

Seven or more Indians are considered a raiding or war party... and you can shoot them.

Nebraska

Whale fishing is illegal.

Nevada

A man can't buy drinks for more than three people at a time.

New Hampshire

It's illegal to show a movie before 2 pm.

New Jersey

If you've been arrested for drunk driving, you lose the privilege of personalized plates.

New Mexico

Idiots may not vote. Nor can insane people.

New York

You can't sell the fur of a cat.

North Dakota

Beer and pretzels cannot be served at the same time.

North Carolina

Bingo games can't last more than five hours.
WHO IS HUNTING IN CEMETERIES?
Ohio

It's illegal to get a fish drunk.

Oklahoma

Wrestling a bear is unlawful.

Oregon

Hunting in cemeteries is prohibited.

Pennsylvania

It's a crime to tell a fortune teller where to dig for buried treasure.

Rhode Island
Stop hogging your friend's account.
Any marriage in which either party is an idiot or lunatic is null and void.

South Carolina

You have to be at least 18 to play a pinball machine.

South Dakota

You can't sleep in a cheese factory.

Tennessee

You can't share your Netflix password.

Texas

It's illegal to point a laser beam at a plane.

Utah

It's illegal to cause a catastrophe.

Vermont

You're not allowed to intentionally kill a bird with a plane.

Virginia

It is illegal to tickle women.

Washington

All lollipops are banned.
Note: Most of these laws are either ignored by their respective states, or common sense. While all of them should be regarded as ridiculous, they are all still technically on the books.
And fun. Don't have any fun.

West Virginia

Roadkill may be taken home for dinner.

Wisconsin

You can't serve butter substitutes in prison.

Wyoming

It's illegal to remove more than half a sheep's ear.

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The Strangest 50 State Laws Across America That Still Exist

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Below are some of the more questionable, comical or just plain dumb laws that exist in each of the fifty states. You can't wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church. Don't even think about it, kid. If you see a sleeping bear, it's illegal to wake it up for a photo op.

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Social Studies Unit: U.S. Government - BrainPOP

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Learn about the systems that define a nation!

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Infographic: 3 Branches of the U.S. Government
Learn the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government and see a lesson plan for teachers.

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U.S. Constitution

The Founding Fathers, the framers of the U.S. Constitution, wanted to form a government that did not allow one person to have too much control. With this in mind, they wrote the Constitution to provide for a separation of powers, or three separate branches of government.

Each branch has its own responsibilities and at the same time, the three branches work together to make the country run smoothly and to assure that the rights of citizens are not ignored or disallowed. This is done through checks and balances. A branch may use its powers to check the powers of the other two in order to maintain a balance of power among the three branches of government.

Legislative - Makes Laws

Congress is composed of two parts: the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Senate

The Senate has 100 elected senators total; 2 senators per state. Each senator serves a 6-year term.

House of Representatives

The House has 435 voting representatives; the number of representatives from each state is based on the state's population. Each representative serves a two-year term and may be re-elected.

Executive - Carries Out Laws

The executive branch is composed of the president, vice president, and Cabinet members.

President

The president is the head of state, head of the U.S. government, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. military.

Vice President

The vice president not only supports the president but also acts as the presiding officer of the Senate.

Cabinet

The Cabinet members are nominated by the president and must be approved by the Senate (with at least 51 votes). They serve as the president's advisors and heads of various departments and agencies.

Judicial - Evaluates Laws

The judicial branch of government is made up of the court system.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country. The nine justices are nominated by the president and must be approved by the Senate (with at least 51 votes).

Other Federal Courts

There are lower Federal courts but they were not created by the Constitution. Congress established them around the country to handle federal business as the country grew, using power granted by the Constitution.

You can download or order a kids' version of our 3 Branches poster.

How the U.S. Government Is Organized
The Constitution of the United States divides the federal government into three branches to make sure no individual or group will have too much power:

Legislative-Makes laws (Congress, comprised of the House of Representatives and Senate)

Executive-Carries out laws (president, vice president, Cabinet, most federal agencies)

Judicial-Evaluates laws (Supreme Court and other courts)

Each branch of government can change acts of the other branches:

The president can veto legislation created by Congress and nominates heads of federal agencies.

Congress confirms or rejects the president's nominees and can remove the president from office in exceptional circumstances.

The Justices of the Supreme Court, who can overturn unconstitutional laws, are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

This ability of each branch to respond to the actions of the other branches is called the system of checks and balances.

Legislative Branch of the U.S. Government
The legislative branch drafts proposed laws, confirms or rejects presidential nominations for heads of federal agencies, federal judges, and the Supreme Court, and has the authority to declare war. This branch includes Congress (the Senate and House of Representatives) and special agencies and offices that provide support services to Congress. American citizens have the right to vote for Senators and Representatives through free, confidential ballots.

Congress

Congress is composed of two parts:

Senate-There are two elected Senators per state, totaling 100 Senators. A Senate term is six years and there is no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve.

House of Representatives-There are 435 elected Representatives, which are divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. There are additional non-voting delegates who represent the District of Columbia and the territories. A Representative serves a two-year term, and there is no limit to the number of terms an individual can serve.

Legislative Branch Agencies

The legislative branch includes Congress and the agencies that support its work.

Executive Branch of the U.S. Government
The executive branch carries out and enforces laws. It includes the president, vice president, the Cabinet, executive departments, independent agencies, and other boards, commissions, and committees.

American citizens have the right to vote for the president and vice president through free, confidential ballots.

Key roles of the executive branch include:

President-The president leads the country. He or she is the head of state, leader of the federal government, and Commander in Chief of the United States armed forces. The president serves a four-year term and can be elected no more than two times.

Vice president-The vice president supports the president. If the president is unable to serve, the vice president becomes president. The vice president can be elected and serve an unlimited number of four-year terms as vice president, even under a different president.

The Cabinet-Cabinet members serve as advisors to the president. They include the vice president, heads of executive departments, and other high-ranking government officials. Cabinet members are nominated by the president and must be approved by a simple majority of the Senate-51 votes if all 100 Senators vote.

Executive Branch Agencies, Commissions, and Committees

Much of the work in the executive branch is done by federal agencies, departments, committees, and other groups.

Executive Office of the President

The Executive Office of the president communicates the president's message and deals with the federal budget, security, and other high priorities.

Executive Departments

These are the main agencies of the federal government. The heads of these 15 agencies are also members of the president's cabinet.

Executive Department Sub-Agencies and Bureaus

Smaller sub-agencies support specialized work within their parent executive department agencies.

Independent Agencies

These agencies are not represented in the cabinet and are not part of the Executive Office of the president. They deal with government operations, the economy, and regulatory oversight.

Boards, Commissions, and Committees

Congress or the president establish these smaller organizations to manage specific tasks and areas that don't fall under parent agencies.

Quasi-Official Agencies

Although they're not officially part of the executive branch, these agencies are required by federal statute to release certain information about their programs and activities in the Federal Register, the daily journal of government activities.

Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government
The judicial branch interprets the meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and decides if laws violate the Constitution. It is comprised of the Supreme Court and other federal courts.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. The Justices of the Supreme Court are nominated by the president and must be approved by the Senate.

Nine members make up the Supreme Court-a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. There must be a minimum or quorum of six Justices to decide a case.

If there is an even number of Justices and a case results in a tie, the lower court's decision stands.

There is no fixed term for Justices. They serve until their death, retirement, or removal in exceptional circumstances.

Federal Courts and Judicial Agencies

The Constitution gives Congress the authority to establish other federal courts to handle cases that involve federal laws including tax and bankruptcy, lawsuits involving U.S. and state governments or the Constitution, and more. Other federal judicial agencies and programs support the courts and research judicial policy.

Confirmation Process for Judges and Justices

Appointments for Supreme Court Justices and other federal judgeships follow the same basic process:

The president nominates a person to fill a vacant judgeship.

The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on the nominee and votes on whether to forward the nomination to the full Senate.

If the nomination moves forward, the Senate can debate the nomination. Debate must end before the Senate can vote on whether to confirm the nominee. A Senator will request unanimous consent to end the debate, but any Senator can refuse.

Without unanimous consent, the Senate must pass a cloture motion to end the debate. It takes a simple majority of votes-51 if all 100 Senators vote-to pass cloture and end debate about a federal judicial nominee.

Once the debate ends, the Senate votes on confirmation. The nominee for Supreme Court or any other federal judgeship needs a simple majority of votes-51 if all 100 Senators vote-to be confirmed.

Infographic: How the Supreme Court Works
Learn how cases reach the Supreme Court and how the Justices make their decisions. Use this lesson plan in class.

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How the Supreme Court Works

The Supreme Court is:

The highest court in the country

Located in Washington, DC

The head of the judicial branch of the federal government

Responsible for deciding whether laws violate the Constitution

In session from early October until late June or early July

How a Case Gets to the Supreme Court

Most cases reach the Court on appeal. An appeal is a request for a higher court to reverse the decision of a lower court. Most appeals come from federal courts. They can come from state courts if a case deals with federal law.

Rarely, the Court hears a new case, such as one between states.

1. Dissatisfied parties petition the Court for review
Parties may appeal their case to the Supreme Court, petitioning the Court to review the decision of the lower court.

2. Justices study documents
The Justices examine the petition and supporting materials.

3. Justices vote
Four Justices must vote in favor for a case to be granted review.

What Happens Once a Case is Selected for Review?

1. Parties make arguments
The Justices review the briefs (written arguments) and hear oral arguments. In oral arguments, each side usually has 30 minutes to present its case. The Justices typically ask many questions during this time.

2. Justices write opinions
The Justices vote on the case and write their opinions.

The majority opinion shared by more than half of the Justices becomes the Court's decision.

Justices who disagree with the majority opinion write dissenting or minority opinions.

3. The Court issues its decision
Justices may change their vote after reading first drafts of the opinions. Once the opinions are completed and all of the Justices have cast a final vote, the Court "hands down" its decision.

All cases are heard and decided before summer recess. It can take up to nine months to announce a decision.

Every year:

The Court receives 7,000-8,000 requests for review and grants 70-80 for oral argument. Other requests are granted and decided without argument.

About the Justices:

There are nine Justices:

A Chief Justice, who sits in the middle and is the head of the judicial branch.

Eight Associate Justices

When a new Justice is needed:

The President nominates a candidate, usually a federal judge.

The Senate votes to confirm the nominee.

The Court can continue deciding cases with less than nine Justices, but if there is a tie, the lower court's decision stands.

Justices are appointed for life, though they may resign or retire.

They serve an average of 16 years.

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Branches of the U.S. Government | USAGov

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Infographic: 3 Branches of the U.S. Government Learn the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government and see a lesson plan for teachers. View a larger version of the infographic. Show Description of Infographic The Founding Fathers, the framers of the U.S.

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Trump is going to change Obamacare...What happens next?

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Trump is going to change Obamacare...What happens next?

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President Trump's executive order on Obamacare Friday reaffirmed his commitment to dismantle the health reform law. But it could have little tangible impact on the law... at least initially.

The order directed the Health and Human Services secretary and the heads of other agencies to minimize the financial burden of Obamacare on Americans, states, insurers, health care providers andothers to the maximum extent permitted by law.

Therein lies one of the main hurdles to quickly taking down the Affordable Care Act. Much of Obamacare is controlled by law or by a hefty slew of regulations that an executive order can't undo with the stroke of a pen.

What the Trump administration can do is tinker with the guidance that enables agencies, states, insurers and others to actually implement Obamacare. Also, the Health secretary can be more liberal with his use of waivers in order to loosen some provisions or allow states to tailor their implementation of certainaspects of the law, particularly Medicaid expansion.

Related: Trump issues executive order to start rolling back Obamacare

"It's a mix of symbolic arm waving (lacking more specific and targeted details) and directional guidance to empower Trump administration officials to lean against more regulation on the margin," said Tom Miller, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, which has long opposed Obamacare. "What remains unclear is how far they can go before they bump up against clearer statutory requirements and existing final regulations."

Here are some examples of what the executive order could do:

Loosening guidance: The Health secretary -- Trump's pick Tom Price has yet to be confirmed -- could revise the guidance they've issued to carry out the Affordable Care Act's regulations.

Even more so than manyotherlaws, Obamacare has largely been implemented through regulation and the Obama administration continued to make adjustments for years, delaying some provisions such as the mandate that employers provide affordable policies, tightening the rules on who can still sign up for coverage after open enrollment ends and revising the risk formula that governs how insurers are compensated if they have a large share of sicker and costly enrollees.

Related: Why it's so hard to replace Obamacare

Trump appears to be taking aim at the individual mandate, which requires that nearly all Americans get insurance or face a penalty.

"What President Trump is doing is, he wants to get rid of that Obamacare penalty almost immediately, because that is something that is really strangling a lot of Americans to have to pay a penalty for not buying," Kellyanne Conway, Trump's senior adviser, said on ABC News "This Week" on Sunday.

His administration might loosen the criteria for qualifying for a hardship exemption, which would allow more people to remain uninsured without paying a penalty.

However, experts said he cannot simply waive the mandate or penalty or broaden the exemption so much that it essentially nullifies it without facing lawsuits. Also, weakening the mandate too much could prompt healthy people to stop buying coverage, which could prompt insurers to pull out.

Under the order, officials could also opt not to impose penalties for certain infractions of Obamacare provisions. For example, some companies, particularly small businesses, used to provide workers with money to buy their own individual health insurance. Under Obamacare, those employers can be slapped with a penalty of $100 per day, per person. Trump could suggest to his new IRS commissioner that enforcing the rule is counterproductive and a waste of resources, especially when Congress plans to replace Obamacare.

Granting more waivers: Trump's executive order also directed agencies to provide greater flexibility to states to run their own health care programs.

The Obama administration already granted states waivers allowing them to tailor the way they administer Medicaid expansion. For instance, it allowed some to charge premiums and co-pays. Under Trump, more will likely be allowed to require participants to work -- a request Obama officials never granted. (States will still have to apply for these waivers and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must review them, a process that could take months.)

Yet, another major obstacle to delivering swift blows to Obamacare is Trump and Congressional Republicans' repeated promises not to leave millions of Americans without insurance.

Related: How Trump could use his executive power on Obamacare

"For the 20 million who rely upon the Affordable Care Act in some form, they will not be without coverage during this transition time," Conway said on Face the Nation Sunday.

That vow limits the extent to which Trump can upend the law's provisions. Changing them too much or injecting too much uncertainty into the market could prompt health insurers to flee next year, which might leave some Americans without options and others forced to pay higher premiums. These are the very problems with the current law that Republicans criticize so they will be wary to take actions that exacerbate them.

The main lobbying organization for health insurers said only that it has been meeting with policymakers to offer its recommendations.

"There is no question the individual health care market has been challenged from the start. The president said he would take swift action, and he has," America's Health Insurance Plans wrote in a statement. "We look forward to working with the administration as well as members of Congress to ensure health care works to lower costs for all Americans."

While insurers are bound by contract to provide coverage in 2017, nothing requires them to continue next year. The carriers are in the final stages of determining their participation and rates for 2018, which they will file with state regulators this spring. They will be watching the administration's moves to make sure it doesn't do anything that leaves them with a pool of sicker and costlier consumers.

Related: Even as they repeal Obamacare, Republicans still have to fund it

"The short of it is that the Trump administration, by trying to bring relief to some consumers, could just as easily further undermine the already shaky Obamacare risk pool," Robert Laszewski, an Obamacare opponent who runs Health Policy and Strategy Associates wrote in a blog post Sunday morning.

The real work of undoing Obamacare, however, will likely proceed along a two-track system -- through changing regulations at agencies and passing new laws in Congress. Both of those will take more time, especially considering Price has yet to be confirmed and Republican lawmakers remain divided on how to repeal and replace President Obama's landmark health reform law.

Related: Why GOP governors like Medicaid under Obamacare. Hint: $

The Trump administration can make changes to Obamacare's regulations. But this requires an agency to publish the proposed changes, allow the public to comment and then write a final rule, a process which can take up to two years.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are already on the path to repealing major provisions of Obamacare, though they have yet to decide how and when to come up with a replacement plan. Even after they pass a law changing Obamacare, it could take two or three years for the agencies to pass new regulations and then insurers to come up with new policies to offer consumers.

CNNMoney (New York) First published January 22, 2017: 7:08 PM ET

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Trump and Obamacare: Where we go from here

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The order directed the Health and Human Services secretary and the heads of other agencies to minimize the financial burden of Obamacare on Americans, states, insurers, health care providers andothers to the maximum extent permitted by law. Therein lies one of the main hurdles to quickly taking down the Affordable Care Act.

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Should immigrants be allowed in the US? Read people's opinions here 

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Should immigrants be allowed in the US? Read people's opinions here 

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Should immigrants be allowed in the United States?

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Discuss whether immigrants should be allowed in the United States. What problems do they bring? What skills can they offer?

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No puedes mantenernos afuera!!!!!  You cant keep us out!!!!! 

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No puedes mantenernos afuera!!!!!  You cant keep us out!!!!! 

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When the government has the power to deny legal rights and due process to one vulnerable group, everyone's rights are at risk. The ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project is dedicated to expanding and enforcing the civil liberties and civil rights of immigrants and to combating public and private discrimination against them.

Using targeted impact litigation, advocacy, and public outreach, the ACLU protects the rights and liberties of immigrants. For more than 25 years, the ACLU has been at the forefront of almost every major legal struggle on behalf of immigrants' rights, focusing on challenging laws that deny immigrants access to the courts, impose indefinite and mandatory detention, and discriminate on the basis of nationality. In addition, we have challenged constitutional abuses that arise from immigration enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels, including anti-immigrant "show me your papers" laws at the state level and unconstitutional enforcement tactics by the federal government and local agencies.
More about the Immigrants' Rights Project

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Immigrants' Rights | American Civil Liberties Union

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The fundamental constitutional protections of due process and equal protection embodied in our Constitution and Bill of Rights apply to every person, regardless of immigration status.

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Women's March on Washington (Photo Credit: S Romito)

On November 8, discouraged and upset by the outcome of the US election, retired lawyer Theresa Shook set up a Facebook event inviting women to stage a peaceful protest in Washington, the day after the Presidential inauguration. The Hawaiian resident wanted the Trump Administration to know on its first day in office that women's rights are human rights. By the time she woke up on November 9, over 10,000 people had expressed their desire to attend the rally.

Soon after, women across the country began setting up similar events. On November 10, New York-based fashion designer, Bob Bland decided to consolidate the various Facebook rally calls including Shook's, and enlisted three activists to help coordinate a single event. Originally billed "Million Women March," the name was later changed to "Women's March on Washington" in a nod to the rally led by Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963. Bland and her team also used the social media site, to recruit volunteers from different states and cities to organize sister marches. Their efforts paid off handsomely.

Women's March on Washington (Photo Credit: S. Romito)

On January 21, a day after President Trump's inauguration, over 500,000 people, including many celebrities, arrived at the nation's capital to stage a peaceful, but forceful, protest. An additional 408 marches took place in cities across the United States and 168 more in 81 countries worldwide. According to some estimates, over 4.8 million women, men, and children took to the streets on Saturday. They wanted to remind President Trump not just about women's rights but also a host of other issues like immigration and health care reform; protection of the natural environment, LGBTQ rights; racial justice, freedom of religion, and workers' rights.

Though thrilled at the turnout, Bland realizes that one rally is not enough to convince the new US Administration about the public's concerns. Given that the first 100 days is the most important for establishing new policies, the activist has launched a new campaign. Entitled "10 Actions for the first 100 Days," it starts by urgingUS residents to inform their local senator about the issue most important to them within the next ten days.

Women's march in San Francisco (Photo Credit: C Naqvi)

Concerned citizens can either write their letter on the postcard from the womensmarch.com website or create their own. To ensure their concerns are heard, Bland wants everyone to share their message on social media using #WhyIMarch tag before sending it to their respective lawmakers. After the ten days are over, the activist will assign the second, yet to be disclosed, task. Hopefully, repeatedly hearing about issues most dear and near to the hearts of Americans will encourage members of the Trump Administration to make the right decisions.

Resources: Washingtonpost.com, LA times.com. womensmarch.com.

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How Social Media Helped Instigate Saturday's Global Women's March

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On November 8, discouraged and upset by the outcome of the US election, retired lawyer Theresa Shook set up a Facebook event inviting women to stage a peaceful protest in Washington, the day after the Presidential inauguration. The Hawaiian resident wanted the Trump Administration to know on its first day in office that women's rights are human rights.

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Young Women March on Washington for their Rights!

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Young Women March on Washington for their Rights!

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US Government for Kids: Nineteenth Amendment

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Kids learn about the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution including giving women the right to vote, the long ratification process, the background and history, and interesting facts.

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13th Amendment to end Slavery int the USA

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13th Amendment to end Slavery int the USA

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Learn about the Bill of Rights of the United States government. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution.