Analysis of Impeachment Trails Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of Impeachment Trails - Essay Example reflect negatively on the integrity of the US government while at the same time, taking no action will be taken as a laxity which would affect trust and relationships as well as granting the future holders of this office chance to abuse their powers (Stadelmann, 2011). The most unethical of the three cases is the Nixon’s case with the Watergate issue where he covered up and refused to hand over evidence of the Watergate affair which would have shown that his re-election committee burglarized the headquarters of Democrats party office headquarters. He used his powers to misuse the CIA, conduct illegal wiretapping, perjury and obstructed justice. Lucky for him he resigned before he was impeached. This is closely followed by Clinton case. His sexual encounters were not what led to his impeachment by the Congress but rather his perjury and abuse of office. He was a lawyer to begin with and he knew that lying under oath was the worst mistake that can be done through any trial. Lastly is Andrew Johnson’s case where immediately after the Tenure of Office Act was enacted in 1867 and whose aim was to prohibit presidents from removing from office holders without approval from the Senate, he still went ahead and tried to remove the Secretary of War Stanton. He then went ahead and criticized Congress in loud voices on top of using his office to abuse powers (Gerhardt, 2000). On Clinton, the ethical charge would be conducting misconduct by having sexual relations in office which amounts to extra marital affairs and lying about it even after having video evidence of the misconduct. As for the Andrew Johnson, the ethical charge would be abuse of power and going against the laws of the land which he is supposed to be on the forefront of protecting. When it comes to Nixon, there are several ethical charges the first being perjury, abuse of his power as a president and involving the CIA in crime as well as misconduct in office by harbouring criminals and refusing to cooperate

Abortion in Canadian law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Abortion in Canadian law - Essay Example This essay will trace the development of abortion law in Canada.This law has originated from a variety of sources,philosophical,moral,religious and has resulted in current law that is framed by social values. Abortion law has basics of all of these but some are more clear and enduring than others are. Before this I will provide a shot history of general law and its relationship to social contract theory and moral philosophy. The influence of Dr. Henry Morgentaler on the evolution of abortion law will also be explored, as he is responsible for much of the progress made in the area. The conclusion is a brief summary, which shows that all law has a philosophical background but abortion law in Canada appears to have had an historical evolution. Influenced initially by a philosophical basis, religion and morality and more recently by societal values and expectations.Abortion law in Canada appears to have a philosophical origin. This can be located within social contract theory and moral p hilosophy. Social contract theory is the assumption that people must have entered into some kind of binding contract with other members of society. The idea being that people had sacrificed their personal independence that was guaranteed in the State of Nature in order to secure freedom of will devise for the greater good. Collective freedom was believed to ensure principles of liberty, justice and equality- democracy. Voluntary (and in Hobbesian theory, forced) submission to democratic principles was a superior moral decision to put the will of the collective ahead of oneself, thereby creating a moral basis of law (Browning, 1997). Whilst it is clearly possible to locate the primary source of the law itself, it is considerably more difficult to trace that origin in accord with specific legislation such as abortion law. The historical development of abortion law in Canada has endured many phases from its start in the late 1800's through to contemporary times. In early societies women had been excluded from civic engagement on the grounds that they were emotionally incapable of making reasonable decisions and as such were best suited to family life. This assumption along with religious and moral insult and possibly the desire of the state to control the reproductive rights of women and to regulate their sexual behavior have provided the basis of abortion law in Canada. Canadian abortion law can be traced to around 1869 when abortion first became illegal after the Canadian Parliament passed a complete ban on the procedure (Arthur, 1999). 1892 law reform saw these guidelines tightened when Canada's first Criminal Code was introduced. This Code prohibited abortion as an acceptable medical procedure and legislated against the inducement of miscarriage, ensuring that it would be seen as a criminal offe nse (History of Abortion Law in Canada, 2003). The confusion surrounding abortion law continued throughout the 1800's and into the 1900's until the situation became so desperate that further modification of abortion law was necessary. Between 1926 and 1947 an estimated 4000 to 6000 women died during botched illegal abortions and by the 1960's it was estimated that anywhere between 35,000 and 120,000 abortions were being performed every year (Arthur, 1999). Shocked at learning of such high statistics and horrified by being legally required to turn away women, many doctors and legal practitioners began to take up the challenge of securing women's right. The 1960's form a group to aim to solve the problem. The foundations for more progressive abortion law in Canada was set in 1967 when Trudeau authorized a bill that would permit women to have legal abortions in special circumstances if they were approved by a medical committee contain of three medical professionals. This bill became law in 1969 under section 287 of the Criminal Code, women could seek legal abortions if doctors ruled that it was in the best interest of the woman's physical or mental