Interest Groups Should Wait Until Policy Evaluation Occurs - Essay Sample

Introduction

Interest groups should wait until policy evaluation occurs because they can affect the process in the long run. The fact that producing public policies is a long process, including the groups in the process would only serve as a huge cost on the taxpayers in terms of time and finances. According to Howlett (2009), producing public policy involves several stages: agenda setting, policy formulation, approval, execution and evaluation. This paper explores online and direct quotes that explain why interest groups should not be involved in the whole process.

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Interest groups are known to provide valuable information to parties but a party can only deal with one agenda at a time, and in most cases the groups are biased. In criminal justice, the policy of death penalty capital punishment is a sensitive matter. If the church coalition as an interest group had been involved in all the stages, it is clear that would never have come to fruition.

"All Christians and people of good will are thus called today to fight not only for the abolition of the death penalty, whether legal or illegal, and in all its forms, but also in order to improve prison conditions, with respect for the human dignity of the people deprived of their freedom"(Pope,2014). This is a good example on why the Christian coalition as an interest group should wait until policy evaluation occurs. The Pope being influential as a church leader would greatly affect the stages producing such a policy given his stand.

Abortion is another sensitive policy that directly affects society. "Hiring a hitman to resolve a problem"(Pope, 2018) controversially compared abortion to hiring a professional assassin. Given the nature of the debate, it is clear his words show a very strong stand on the matter of abortion. At times it is inevitable to procure an abortion to save the mother if the child cannot survive.

Conclusion

Interest groups play a very critical role in producing policies that improve the lives of the less fortunate in society. But the groups should be regulated and be less influential in the most sensitive policies. Abortion can be carried out safely without harming the life of a mother. Since it was legalized in the USA, most women have opted for it as a solution to unwanted pregnancies.

References

Howlett M. (2009). Studying Public Policy. Policy cycles and policy subsystems. England:

Oxford University Press.

National Catholic Reporter.(2014) Pope Francis calls for abolishing the death penalty and life Imprisonment. Retrieved from: https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/francis-chronicles/pope-francis-calls-abolishing-death-penalty-and-life-imprisonment

The Guardian. (2018). Pope Francis compares abortion to hiring a hitman. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/10/pope-francis-compares-abortion-hiring-hitman