Breaking Unjust Laws

In a democracy we have a moral duty in general to obey the laws or to attempt altering laws we don’t like through the electoral process. In America civil disobedience cannot be justified since it goes against the ideals of democracy. Living in a country where there are legal solutions to a problem that can take months or years to solve, people must voice their concerns and rebel against the government through grassroots movements and protests. Breaking laws that were created to protect the government and its citizens does not have to involve violence. Sometimes we have to break unjust laws that only benefit certain groups and burden others. For example, it is acceptable for women to commit illegal activities when the government takes away their right to an abortion, invades their medical files, and prevents doctors to provide any method of contraception. The right to an
abortion is fundamental to a women’s right to sovereignty. An effective example of civil disobedience was Gandhi who led a non-violent resistance against the government. Ghandi whom was inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Civil Disobedience” refused to follow the governments injustice; nonetheless he was arrested for fighting for his rights. Ghandi once said “In my humble opinion, non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good.” Resisting the laws we believe are harmful for our society is a risk we must take in order to help have a free society. His actions have prevailed through time as we now continue to defy the governments unreasonable laws to have a better democracy. Similar to Gandhi, many women had to stand up for their rights to access an abortion and health care decisions. In North Carolina, Republicans imposed restrictions on an anti-sharia bill to ban Sharia law that consist of anti-abortion measures. The new amendment would prevent insurance coverage abortion, ban sex selective abortion, impose restrictions on medication abortions, and impose new regulations on the state’s abortion clinics that would make them shut down. The law is unique nationwide, requiring doctors who perform abortion more than 16 weeks after contraception to submit ultrasounds without the mothers consent. This a violation of women’s privacy and their right to make personal decisions through the intervention of the government. Sixty four pink clad women’s health activists opposed to the proposed abortion restrictions by engaging in an act of civil disobedience, refusing to leave the legislative chamber which made them get arrested.
Grassroots activists have to protest and ultimately break the laws under the eyes of the government in order to be noticed. Their peaceful protests have been tainted by the governments unconformity with their cooperation. Their voices must not be drowned by the governments laws that do not protect everyone’s rights. It is unjustifiable to allow legislation to choose for every woman in the country what they think is better for them. If “breaking the law” is the only path to stop the government from violating women’s privacy rights then it is justifiable to break the law. Civil disobedience is the act of accepting the consequences for the greater good of society and we must continue our struggle in order to succeed. It is us citizens that must act passively against the government to keeps this country free unlike the system which gets in the way of progress and
development. More than 70 activists have been arrested and charged with “disorderly conduct, trespassing and violating building rules.” Although it is their constitutional right to assemble, the legislators are inappropriately exercising their power to arrest demonstrators. When our personal health is at risk and our opinion is not valued by the government we should not respect a law that does not ensure our safety. In a democracy citizens have the right to speak up any of their concerns and opinions regarding the ruling of their representatives. Society has the power and individual rights to work together to eliminate injustices. Sometimes a movement must start from the bottom in order to reach the top of the government through civil disobedience. Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society since we are creating a strong environment where people can speak up their minds without being oppressed. Those who demonstrate social protest and break the law must be willing to face punishments enacted by the government.