Woman and Law - Essay Example

?Briefing Paper: SKELETON ARGUMENT ment: - “Twentieth-century law reforms changed infanticide and abortion from moral to medical questions.” This statement agrees with the Bourne case of 1938 in which a women was raped by five soldiers that made her conceive. Dr Bourne terminated her pregnancy and, therefore, faced prosecution. However, she was acquitted because he was able to prove his point that the victim was suicidal and in case the baby had been born the women might have been a physical or mental wreck. Key Cases with Facts: The Bourne case gave precedent to abortion as the physical/mental health of the woman was indeed in danger had she not had an abortion. it is necessary to take medical opinions from experts, along with considering moral perspectives as well, as to whether to save the life of the foetus or the mother in case an abortion is required. Current Law: - Abortion Act of 1967 Definition of Abortion Law Act: - This act, passed in 1967, defines the types of allowed abortions. A woman can get an abortion before 28 weeks of conception; abortion is also allowed in case the life of the mother is in serious mental or physical danger or in case the born baby will be severely handicapped” Evidence proved: - Personal Evidence: - The Psychiatrist The Gynaecologist Prosecution: . We, as members of the Western society, have certain responsibilities towards our women and the way they lead their lives. To ban practices such as abortion is a strike on their freedom and liberty. No matter how inhumane the practice of abortion appears to be, we have no right to stop it by force or get someone in court just because they want to have a kid. Before the Abortion Act of 1967 the British society was quite strictly against this practice and women carrying out abortion were prosecuted under federal law. Morally, abortion is a complicated procedure. There are two perspectives to everything; one is white and the other black. On the white side a woman, being a member of the free living world, has the right to carry out abortion. On the black side it is wrong because a life is being killed and some people might consider it infanticide. But that is just a perspective, and it has to be made clear that abortion, in other parts of the world, is used for purposes which are unbelievable irrational and make no sense whatsoever. (Barnett, 1997) For example, let’s take the example of India. Just in the state of Maharashtra, every year more than 4.5 million women are forced to get an abortion (Saha, Duggal, Mishra, More, & Khaire, 2004) because, with the use of sonogram, families are able to identify the sex of the baby; if the baby is male then all is well but if it is a girl she might be aborted, the reason being that girls are not considered the “Bread Winner” in the Indian society. Abortion in this and similar cases is wrong. It must also be comprehended that abortion has increased at an alarming rate, since the passing of the Abortion Act of 1967, The number of abortions carried out since the passage of the Abortion Act 1967 is unacceptably high. Medically, abortion is beneficial in certain cases. Number one, in case of rape if a woman gets pregnant and decides not to abort the baby, the woman is at a risk of suffering post-natal depression which can, with time, endanger the baby’s health. The second case is when a child has been conceived because of an incestuous relationship; in this situation there is a high probability of the child being defective. Third is in the case of Thalassemia or HIV; if both the parents are suffering from one of these conditions there is a probability that the child might also contract it or it can even result in the death of either the child or the mother at the time of delivery. In my personal opinion pregnancy is more about men dominating women, and I can say it with 100% surety that if men were to get pregnant instead of women, abortion would definitely be a blessing. In the English society abortion is on a rise and women, mostly teenagers, are getting abortions at an alarming rate (Jenkins, 2002). The government has, however, not taken any major steps to stop it due to its medical aspects. The medicalization of abortion has made it easy for English politicians to come out in favor of abortion with little or no political consequences. (Banaszak, 2006) The viewpoint of feminists, as to why one half of women oppose it while the other half do not, can be quite easily comprehended. Great Britain was the first country to give voting rights to women and was also the front runner in the fight for women rights. Lord Denning M.R. was less enthusiastic about abortion and commented, I can quite understand that many nurses dislike having anything to do with these abortions. It is a soul destroying task. The nurses are young women who are dedicated by their profession and training to do all they can to preserve life. Yet here they are called on destroy it. (Cole & Frankowski, 1987) But the question is not just about whether or not abortion has advantages; the question is whether or not doctors are willing to conduct abortion. Doctors with strict Evangelical or Catholic beliefs oppose abortion for every reason. The Church of England has a complex stand against the issue of abortion, We do not believe that the right to life, as a right pertaining to persons, admits of no exceptions whatever; but the right of the innocent to life admits surely of few exceptions indeed. (Oliphant, 2011) But when it comes to safety of the life women abortion has been called justifiable by the Church of England, That in situations where the continuance of a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother a termination of pregnancy may be justified and that there must be adequate and safe provision in our society for such situations. (Montefiore, 1986) The positive side of the Church of England is regarding its prioritizing the life of a woman over that of the baby during the delivery. So at least there is a consensus regarding the woman’s life. Morally, medically or rationally, or even as citizens of the Western Civilization who have been blessed with the notions of freedom and liberty, abortion should be legal. If the mother’s life is in danger, and abortion is legal, what if some women take advantage of this and fly to the country where they can get an abortion easily. For instance, the women of Ireland where abortion is illegal come to England to get their pregnancies aborted. That is not a concern for us. Just as gun control has saved several lives, it also has led to a decrease in self-defense for the citizens of England. References Banaszak, L. A. (2006). The U.S. women's movement in global perspective. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc. Barnett, H. (1997). Sourcebook on feminist jurisprudence. London: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group. Cole, G. F., & Frankowski, S. (1987). Abortion and protection of the human fetus: legal problems in a cross-cultural perspective. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Jenkins, J. (2002). Contemporary moral issues. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers. Montefiore, H. (1986). So near and yet so far: Rome, Canterbury and ARCIC. London: SCM Press. Oliphant, J. (2011). Aqa Religious Ethics for AS and A2. London : Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group Ltd. Saha, S., Duggal, R., Mishra, M., More, S., & Khaire, B. (2004). Abortion in Maharashtra: incidence, care, and cost. Mumbai: Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes. Read More