Abortion

"Abortion is the act of ending a pregnancy by removing a human embryo or fetus from the uterus before it is viable" (Rich and Wagner). Abortion has been a really controversial topic, especially in the last couple years. Many people have strong opinions on it and really stand on what they believe. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court made a decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which then meant that from that point on abortion was no longer legal in at least thirteen states (Kenneth). Roe V. Wade is a case from the supreme court that prohibited abortion on January 22, 1973, but then was found to be in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and from there up until June 24, 2022, it was prohibited for states to ban abortion during the first two trimesters and in certain cases even the third trimester (Rich and Wagner). Right now, the current status of abortion is left to be decided by the state in which you live in. "With advances in technology and education and increased use of contraception, the abortion rate in the United States has dropped significantly. From 1973 through 2011, more than 50 million legal abortions occurred, with a peak in 1981"(Rich and Wagner). Those who aren't against it and believe that it's okay to have the ability to have an abortion are known as pro-choice. Those who are against it and believe that it isn't okay to have the ability to have an abortion are known as pro-life. Several of those who are considered pro-life are mostly against abortion because it intrudes with their personal beliefs and morals but fail to take into consideration how the mother's carrying the babies feel and the reasons as to why they believe that abortion is what's best for them.

     Abortion is a very personal matter which is why there is a lot of conflict in weather it should be legal or not. The overturn of Roe v. Wade stirred up a lot of frustration in a large number of women that are pro-choice in the U.S. They feel that as citizens they should be given the right to make that decision on their own and not being able to do that makes them feel like their rights are being taken away (Lee and Sprague). Even though one of the reasons to ban abortion is because of the risk factor towards the mom's health, there are also health risks when banning abortions because of unsafe attempts to have an abortion: "Statistics clearly show that when abortion is made illegal or inaccessible, pregnant people who confront unwanted pregnancies inevitably turn to other, typically very unsafe, avenues to end their pregnancies rather than carrying them to term" (Lee and Sprague). Most pregnant women are also aware that abortions later in pregnancies are more dangerous and understand other's concern in those cases but believe that abortions early on in the pregnancy no later than the second trimester should be legal because abortion is considered a safe procedure. Those who consider themselves pro-life are more focused on the rights of an unborn fetus rather than on the right of a women to choose for herself. 

Pic from flickr

     The opposing side believes that they shouldn't be given the right to make the decision of having an abortion on their own, because many times it puts the mom's health at risk, not only physically but mentally. Not only that but some people would consider abortion murder. Those who are religious believe that abortion isn't something God would have wanted to be done as it is considered sin. For the people that aren't religious or that don't believe in God this isn't an issue as they won't feel any guilt in that sense. Even though most abortions happen in the first trimester when the fetus isn't alive yet. Some physical risk factors of abortion are severe bleeding and cramping, infection, tearing of cervix, and complications in future pregnancies. Some emotional risks include shame, guilt, anxiety, depression which can sometimes even lead to physical effects like eating disorders (Abortion Information). 

     Other reasons people are against abortions is because of rape, money issues, and young moms not being stable. When someone goes through something as traumatic as rape, it really messes with someone in every way including mentally, physically and emotionally and they’re in no place to be having a baby. Especially from that type of situation where they had no say in what was done to them and not having a say in whether or not they get to keep the baby makes it all so much worse for them. When it comes to money issues, as much as a mom may want to keep her baby, it's n

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ot easy. Getting pregnant young and not having any support from family and friends can be extremely difficult and frustrating. The pro-choice side believes that it's better for the society to have babies aborted rather than having them to be raised suffering, put through problems and poor. 

     The pro-life side believes that having abortion be legal allows for women to keep making the same "mistake" and getting pregnant because they know abortion is available. Even though abortion isn't a form of contraception and shouldn't be used as so. It's a benefit for those who aren't using any type of birth control but yet are being sexually active in since in a way they're neglecting they're responsibilities as future mother's when aborting in this type of situation. So, abortion can become into a selfish act many times, especially when it is used more than once by a woman.

     Upon considering both sides, the pro-life side, which is against abortion, believes that abortion is ultimately taking away a human being's chance to live and can be considered murder. Also, can be misused and overused and in some situations can be unnecessary. Can also potentially cause harm for mother's physically and emotionally and possibly trouble getting pregnant in the future. The pro-choice side believes that whether or not a woman chooses to have an abortion or not is a fundamental right. Statistics indicate that rather than helping reduce the number of abortions that take place, it causes major health risks due to unsafe ways of abortion that women do (Lee and Sprague). Overall, those who are all for pro-choice believe the decision to bring someone to this world should be left to be made to the pregnant person because of how personal it is, and because at the end of the day is whose life is going to be affected in every way. Educating both women and men, even those young at age about contraception and making it more available are some approaches that can be made to minimize the number of unplanned pregnancies (Lee and Sprague).

Works Cited

"Abortion Information." Life Clicic, https://lifeclinic.org/considering-abortion/abortion-information/

Ackerman, Kenneth D. “When Abortion Roiled 19th Century New York: Long before Roe vs. Wade, the Practice of Abortion Posed a Daunting Political--and Public Health--Issue in 1870s America.” American Heritage, vol. 67, no. 3, Summer 2022, pp. 1–9. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=pwh&AN=157812404&site=pov-live.

Lee, M., and Nancy Sprague. “Point: Abortion Is an Individual Health Issue and Should Be a Constitutional Right.” Points of View: Abortion, Sept. 2022, pp. 1–4. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=pwh&AN=26607736&site=pov-live.

Rich, Alex K., and Geraldine Wagner. “Abortion: Overview.” Points of View: Abortion, Sept. 2022, pp. 1–5. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=pwh&AN=22826417&site=pov-live.

Pic from flickr

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