Federalism Can Solve the Abortion Fight
Federalism has appeared to be a challenge to democracy in the US with the mixture in the system, causing conflicts between the national and state governments. A central government is always stronger as laws passed at the top are applied with less resistance from lower agencies. The US, however, faces a situation where states hold power to come up with policies that are not in line with the national government’s plans. Some of the policies may be a contradiction in different states. The abortion laws have, for a long time, been a case of contention with states coming up with laws that befit the interests of their residents.
Federalism in the US has been accused of giving equal power to both the national and state governments. The states have been allowed to come up with policies that do not necessarily require the support of the national government. The national government has been forced to adhere to the policies developed by various states to avoid unnecessary conflicts. However, some policies may come out differently between states, and the national government finds challenges in giving in to demands from the different states. One of the new policies to cause a national dilemma is the issue of the abortion law (JR., 2019). States such as Georgia passed the heartbeat requirement to reduce the number of abortions while Illinois proposed abortion to be viewed as a basic human right. However, all the states have the power to pass legislation that serves to the best of their interests. Generally, federalism does not serve the best interest of democracy and leads to a mixed type of government.
In sum, federalism is responsible for the situation where the national and state governments hold equal powers. Conflicts have always ensued where states exercise their influence in the development of policies. Generally, abortion laws present one of the recent cases of failures associated with federalism.
References
JR., W. J. (2019, September 6). Federalism Can Solve the Abortion Fight. Independent Institute .