Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy. Since 1973 abortion has been an important controversial issue within the United States. 1973 marks the year that the famous Rowe versus Wade case was decided before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled that abortion be legal and available to all women. Legal abortions can be performed up until the sixteenth week of pregnancy, after sixteen weeks most doctors or clinics will not perform the procedure unless keeping the baby presents a medical risk to the mother. Even in these situations abortions are very risky after sixteen weeks. The moral question has always been whether or not it should be a woman’s decision to get an abortion.
The other side of that question is whether the government should have control over a woman’s body and forbid her to get an abortion. Both the pro-life and the pro-choice supporters on this issue are adamant about their ideas and their beliefs. I can remember in 1998 a bomb exploded in a Birmingham, Alabama abortion clinic killing several people. The bomb was planted by pro-life supporters. This kind of action leads me to believe that some pro-life supporters value the life of unborn children higher than the life of human beings. Should one life really be worth more than the other?I disagree completely with the idea of abortion being illegal.
I also disagree with the government having the right to decide for any woman what she can or cannot do with her body. I am pro-choice. By pro-choice this means that I believe that a woman can and should be able to safely obtain an abortion without being harrassed by pro-life picketers or potentially injured by unregulated procedures or unqualified doctors. Licensed clinics should be set up throughout all 50 states and should be treated by state medical inspectors the way any other surgical establishment is monitored.
The reason I believe so strongly about the abortion issue is because sometimes circumstances beyond a woman’s control present themselves. Women who are raped, who carry a disease, who are too young to be mothers, who are drug addicts and women who are too old to have children should all be able to obtain an abortion. Not only is the choice a good one for the potential mother but it is also a good choice for the unborn child. Before sixteen weeks the unborn child is not even considered a fetus. That is why I believe that abortions before sixteen weeks are justifiable.
I do not believe anyone just gets pregnant to have an abortion. The whole situation is both physically and psychologically painful for the woman. There is also a slight chance that the female will never again be able to carry a child to full term due to the abortion procedure. There are many factors to consider in choosing whether or not to carry a child to term or abort, but these factors are very personal and can only be answered by the woman who has been confronted with the fact that she is pregnant.
