Abortion: Should A Woman Always Have a Choice Essay Example
Abortion is one of the most intimate, widely debated, and disputed topics in American culture today. In most cases, people on both sides of the argument take notable and ethical positions. Can you blame those who want to save the life of an unborn child? On the contrary, can you blame those who advocate for women to have the rights over her own body? Picture this, you’re a woman who has just been raped, if you have that baby, you will constantly have to relive the night of the assault and you will picture that person every time that you tell your kid you love them. Every time that you tuck your child into bed, you will be wishing that their dad was a man who not only loved them, but loved you. No matter what she chooses to do, should we really have the right to te
...ll a woman she must have a baby, no matter what the circumstances of conception were? Most people in the US are pro-choice, and believe that abortion should be a legal and confidential decision that only a woman can make for herself.
Supporters and critics of abortion will usually define themselves as being strictly pro-choice, in that they support a woman’s right to make decisions about her body, or strictly pro-life, in that they believe the fetus is a human life which should not be destroyed. However, most individuals do not define themselves within these restrictive concepts as they may find themselves somewhere in the middle of the debate with room for compromise. They recognize that the real life circumstances of abortion are not black and white. They may
believe that in some cases it is justifiable to have an abortion such as in the cases of rape. Others are conflicted about the issue as their religion may have taught them one view and their experience has led to another. These conflicting views add to the debate as well as other complicated issues which deepen the discussion around the issue of abortion.
Prior to 1973, abortion rights in the United States were not seen as a constitutional issue. Abortion was seen as a purely state matter, all of which had some type of restrictions. The first legal restrictions on abortion appeared in the 1820s, forbidding abortion after the fourth month of pregnancy. By 1900, legislators at the urgings of the American Medical Association had enacted laws banning abortion in most U.S. states. In its landmark 1973 case, Roe v. Wade where a woman challenged the Texas laws criminalizing abortion, the U.S. Supreme Court reached two important conclusions: that state abortion laws are subject to the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; and that the procurement of an abortion was a constitutional right during the first and second trimesters of a pregnancy based on the constitutional right to privacy, but that the state's interest in protecting 'potential life' prevailed in the third trimester unless the woman's health was at risk. In subsequent rulings, the Court rejected the trimester framework altogether in favor of a cutoff at the point of fetal viability (cf. Planned Parenthood v. Casey). Abortion-rights groups are active in all American states and at the federal level, campaigning for legal abortion and against the reimposition of anti-abortion laws,
with varying degrees of success. Only a few states allow abortion without limitation or regulation, but most do allow various limited forms of abortion. In the United States, the Democratic Party's platform endorses the abortion-rights position, stating that abortion should be 'safe, legal, and rare'. Not all Democrats agree with the platform, however, and there is a small pro-life faction within the party, expressed in such groups as Democrats for Life of America.Similarly, there is a small abortion-rights faction within the Republican Party. The Libertarian Party holds 'that government should be kept out of the matter'.
People who have a pro-choice view of abortion believe that abortion should be legal and a woman should be able to have an abortion if she pleases. People who are pro choice also believe that sex education should be taught in schools, and women should have the ability to use contraceptives and go through whatever fertility treatments they feel are suitable to them. People who are pro-choice have a link to planned parenthood meaning you should not have a child until you have fully planned for it. A main belief of those who are pro-choice is that the fetus does not feel pain and if the woman gets an abortion than the child will not feel a thing. Other key points from the pro-choice campaign are the fact that every child should be a wanted child, women who are raped or suffer from incest should not have to give birth to a child that will cause them pain, and the main point ties into thoughts of many in the world which involves freedom; A woman is a person and every
person has the right to choose what they would like to do with their own body.
Approximately 1 million women had abortions annually until the 1973 decision legalizing abortion, and abortion had become the leading cause of maternal death and mutilation (40 deaths/100,000 abortions compared to 40 deaths/100,000 live births according to National Abortion Rights Action league.) An estimated 9000 rape victims become pregnant each year (FBI 1973); 100,000 cases of incest occur yearly (National Center for Child Abuse and Neglect, 1978). Two-thirds of teenage pregnancies are not planned, because many do not have adequate access to contraceptives.
The Supreme Court decided in 1973 that the unborn fetus had no constitutional rights until the third trimester (24-28 weeks), as it is incapable of functioning independently from the mother until that time. Right-to-Lifers claim that because the fetus will develop into a human being, it demands the same paternalistic protection that is extended to animals, children and others subject to exploitation and maltreatment. The fetus must be accorded the same constitutional rights as its mother.
When dealing with abortion there are physical risks and also risks of possible psychological damage. On the contrary when deciding to have a child there are also the same risks that could be present. “Improperly performed abortions may result in cervical damage, sterilization, or even death.” (Gaylor) Over the years there have been multiple studies done relating to the effects that abortion has on women. Some women are placed into situations where there is no other choice in their mind but to have an abortion, but with this comes consequences. Usually an abortion procedure that is performed early in gestation goes without complications, but
the effects that immediately follow after the abortion can be painful physically and mentally. All women are different, all situations vary but irreversible damages are always a possibility.
Every women who undergoes an abortion suffers a death experience- the death of her child.
There are many women in this country that have no contraception available to them, especially if they are young or poor. There are victims of incest who aren't expected to be practicing safe sex or contraception in the first place. And there are victims of rape, who never had a choice.
Before abortion was legalized or available to women in need, women had to seek out incompetent, unsafe abortionists, or attempt to abort themselves. The unsafe abortions that were performed lead to self injuries and often time death. In the late 1960's, a pregnant teenager in Wisconsin had come to full term and had hidden her pregnancy from her family as the result of fear of them finding out. One night while home alone, she went into labor and delivered her own baby. The girl was scared and frightened. The baby started to cry, the girl panicked because she didn't know what to do and so she killed it, stabbing it with a pair of scissors.
The “abortion” procedure has come a long way since it was fully legalized in 1973. Before 1973 a few states had legalized abortion for certain cases of incest, rape, or health issues that put the mother’s life in danger. 1973 Roe vs. Wade, ruled that allowing abortion only when necessary was unconstitutional. There are millions of hospitals and clinics all over the U.S. and overseas who perform abortions today. Clean
facilities and fully trained doctors are available, the procedure is said to be safer and less risky than going through actual child birth.
There are many different arguments back and forth between Pro-Life believers and Pro-Choice believers. These are two of the most common arguments amongst the groups. In the first argument, the pro-lifer will are that the fetus is a living human being, and that killing it is performing murder. Where as, the pro-choice will argue that substantial growth and development are necessary before any person exists, an embryos a potential life; it is not a human being. Most abortions in the United States are performed before the end of the second month. The embryo at this stage is 1 inch in length and weighs one-thirtieth of an ounce. The second argument states that an aborted fetus could have turned out to be another Beethoven or Shakespeare. To counter this argument, the pro-choice will state refute with the argument that it is also possible that the fetus could have turned out to be another Genghis Khan, or even worse, another Adolf Hitler, the more realistic chances are it would have just been another Joe Blow. The 'potential' of the millions upon millions of children who are already born in this world will never be realized due to poverty, malnutrition, and illness.
In conclusion, abortion “wars” will always continue because there will always be a mother somewhere that can’t or won’t want to raise her child or go through with giving birth. There will always be cases of incest, rape, or health issues that will come into play on deciding if aborting the fetus is a better
option in the long run. Both views have good points, and they are taking into account either fighting for the mothers rights, or giving an unborn child a voice when they otherwise can’t speak for themselves. Until every woman is on contraceptives, there are no more rapes, or there are no more incidents of incest, there will always be unwanted pregnancies that exist.
