Legalizing Abortion - Research Paper Example

Abortion, a Right of Choice, For Now The of legal abortion has lead to a nationwide, often emotion-filled, debate that has endured for many years and will for many years to come. People are decidedly in either in the ‘pro-choice’ or ‘pro-life’ camp. There are no compromises to be negotiated: one concerned with the life of a child; the other, the freedom of choice and woman’s health. To properly analyze the issue, the opposing viewpoints including the moral, medical and legal aspects must be argued with equal resolve and without bias. The abortion issue is multi-faceted and both sides of the issue provide credible, thought-provoking arguments. Only the individual can disseminate the information and make their own decision based on what they believe to be right but everyone should know both sides on equal terms so as to make the decision that is right for them. This paper presents the ‘right-to-life’ opinion regarding the abortion issue then follows with the ‘pro-choice’ argument from an ethical, moral and legal aspect. The arguments for and against are significant in a social context yet inconsequential because they will not decide whether or not abortions remain safe and lawful. The conclusion explains why legal abortions should remain the law of the land. Pro-Life The right to choose is the foundation upon which this country was built. Those who are pro-abortion trumpet this slogan while proclaiming a woman’s ‘God given right’ to make her own choices without government interference. There is little freedom of choice for women who are experiencing an unwanted pregnancy. The women themselves usually wish to bring their baby to full term. Other powerful influences in her life such as husbands/boyfriends, parents and friends are generally the forces that exact pressures on her to terminate the pregnancy. “Eight out of 10 women surveyed after abortion said they would have given birth if they’d had support and encouragement from family and friends” (Reardon, 2002). It’s the abortion that, in many cases, is unwanted by the woman, not the baby. Most often, the father of the child, not wishing to accept responsibility, may beg or even threaten a woman until she agrees to the abortion. “In 95 percent of all cases the male partner played a central role in the decision” (Zimmerman, 1977). This and other studies have illustrated clearly that most women decide against their own conscience. Legal abortion enables fathers to force their will on mothers. Some women resort to abortion in desperation because they fear continued abuse. That fear is substantiated as women who refuse to abort have been subjected to serious abuses which have escalated to murder if the women still persists in her refusal. Murder is the leading cause of death for pregnant women and for what other motive could there be? “Sixty-four percent of women surveyed report being pressured by others into unwanted abortions” (Reardon, 1992).   Immediately following an abortion, the one(s) coercing the decision are relieved and seldom, if ever, give the inconvenient issue another thought. Women, on the other hand, suffer long afterwards, racked by overwhelming guilt and agonizing over their irreversible decision. This pain may last a lifetime as they are never able to forgive themselves (Elliot Institute, n.d.). Another myth espoused as fact is that the aborted fetus is no more than a cluster of cells, a bit of tissue unable to even feel pain. A developing embryo has a unique set of fingerprints as well as different genetic patterns than its mother. It is a human being unto itself. If one defines death as the stoppage of a heartbeat and murder as the forceful and intentional stopping of a heart then abortion is surely murder. If the existence of a heartbeat legally defined life, then almost all abortions would be illegal as the heart is formed by the 18th day in the womb. A British medical journal reported that when a pin is stuck into an eight-week-old fetus, it opens his mouth in a crying motion and pulls his hand away. By week five, eyes, legs, and hands begin to develop. “By week six, brain waves are detectable, mouth and lips are present and fingernails are beginning to form. By the eighth week the baby can begin to hear. Every organ is in place, bones begin to replace cartilage, and fingerprints begin to form” (National Right to Life Foundation, n.d.).  The Constitution does not directly address the issue but simply because the word ‘abortion’ does not appear, the Constitution is still the origin for legal precedence for this issue. The liberal interpretation of the Constitution in this matter (7-2 in favor) is at the heart of the legal issue. Because the Supreme Court has become more conservative in terms of overall ideology since 1973, many believe that soon this interpretation will closer resemble Justice Rehnquist’s dissenting opinion regarding Roe v. Wade. According to Rehnquist, “The so-called right to abortion is not what the majority makes it out to be. The Court must be wrong to find any basis for this right in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. To reach its result, the Court necessarily has had to find within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment a right that was apparently completely unknown to the drafters of the Amendment” (Pavone 2005). Pro-choice Laws that force women to carry their pregnancy to term contradict the precepts of the U.S. Constitution as well as any definition of compassion and decency. It is unconscionable that a nation founded on and dedicated to civil liberties could allow its citizens to resort to dangerous self-abortion procedures. The Roe v. Wade case, brought before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, resulted in the Court’s determination that women have the constitutional right to have an abortion prior to when the fetus is viable, meaning when it can survive on its own outside the woman’s womb. The decision invalidated any state law that restricted a woman to have an abortion or a doctor to perform an abortion during the first three months (first trimester) of a pregnancy (“Roe v. Wade”, 1997: 312). Before abortion was legal, many thousands of young women were mutilated and died attempting to end a pregnancy though the wealthy were able to have illegal abortions safely. The wealthy were able to travel abroad or pay high fees to a local doctor willing to perform the procedure for a price but a poor woman must resort to less safe options. (Dorf, 2003). Those opposed to abortion claim that the fetus, viable or not, is a living being much the same as a child or adult. Mothers who have had abortions certainly cannot believe she is killing a living child or the practice would be a rare procedure. “I don’t think, in most cases, that the woman, who aborts her child, consciously believes she is killing a person. As philosopher Francis Beckwith points out, ‘why do women only kill their fetuses when confronted with practical difficulties, rather than their already born children, if they truly believe their fetuses are fully human?’” (cited in Smith, 1985: 16). Recognizing that courts do indeed have the authority to intervene in decisions involving individual rights citing the Constitution as precedence, could laws preventing abortions still be justified in spite of this egregious encroachment on the civil liberties of women? After all, constitutional rights are not unconditional. Why doesn’t the government have an interest in protecting the rights of those not yet born? The Fourteenth Amendment answers this question. It begins by referring to “All persons born ... in the United States” (“Fourteenth Amendment”, 2006), indicating that the protections under the Constitution refer only to persons who are ‘born.’ When most people speak disapprovingly of the Roe decision, they base their objection purely on moral grounds but scholars, lawyers and especially judges who condemn the decision should only do so based on constitutional grounds in addition to voicing their moral objections. The argument against the decision should address the 9th Amendment which states, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people” (“Bill of Rights”, 2006). Those opposing legal abortions have said that the ninth, or any other amendment, does not specifically mention abortion therefore the Constitution is not applicable when attempting to determine the legality of abortion rights. This opinion, however, very obviously contradicts the short and to the point statement that is the Ninth Amendment which clearly encourages the recognition of abortion and all other rights over and above what is contained in the Constitution. Just because the word ‘abortion’ does not appear, the Constitution is still the origin for legal precedence for this issue as it is for all other civil rights cases. The Constitution also answers those that argue that the issue should be decided on the state level. The Ninth Amendment, along with the other amendments in the Bill of Rights, was initially understood to only apply to the federal government but not to the individual states. The ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) expanded the authority of the Bill of Rights to include all states. Judicial decisions since that time have formed solid precedent in this interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment which states, in part, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States” (“Fourteenth Amendment”, 2006). Those that criticize the Roe decision have complained that the nation’s founders used general terms to frame the Constitution and did not intend for the ambiguous use of the word ‘rights’ to include the right to an abortion. They further propose that those who ratified the Constitution were ‘God fearing’ men who would have opposed the practice. Even if this argument could be proved valid on a constitutional basis, the inference that the Founders were wholly opposed to the practice is probably inaccurate. A good deal of Justice Blackmon’s opinion regarding the Roe case was centered around the fact that prior to the latter part of the 1800’s, first trimester abortions were commonly allowable in the U.S. (Dorf, 2003). Conclusion Both sides of the abortion issue contain legal, ethical and social considerations that provoke great emotions as this paper has shown. It is important that those of each opinion understand the opposing viewpoint if they truly wish to debate the topic rather than simply insist that their own viewpoint is correct. Only in this way can the national debate proceed with any hopes of resolution. If both sides understand the issues of the other, the emotional aspect can be lessened and replaced with reasonable conversations. The ideological divide will never be bridged but the debate whether abortion should be legal or not is a matter for the courts, as are all legal matters. Roe v. Wade was and is a case that brings out emotions on both a moral and legal basis. The Supreme Court’s decision cannot be called a mistake like the critics call it unless those critics are willing to totally ignore legal procedure and the words of the Constitution itself. Abortion is legal and considered a right guaranteed by the Constitution but an appointment or two to the Supreme Court could swiftly take away the right at the federal level. Works Cited Dorf, Michael D. “Was Roe v. Wade Rightly Decided? Will it be Overruled?” CNN Law Center. (January 23, 2003). May 8, 2011 Elliot Institute. (n.d.). “Forced Abortions in America.” After Abortion. Springfield, IL. May 8, 2011 National Right to Life Foundation. (n.d.). “Fetal Development: From Conception to Birth.” National Right to Life. May 8, 2011 Pavone, Frank. “Justice Rehnquist’s Dissent.” The Conservative Voice. (June 19, 2005). May 8, 2011 Reardon, David C. Aborted Women, Silent No More. Springfield, IL: Acorn Books, pp. 11-21. (2002). “Roe v. Wade: 1973Women’s Rights on Trial.” 1st Ed. New York: Thompson Gale. (1997). Smith, Rachel Richardson. “Abortion, Right and Wrong.” Newsweek. p. 16. (March 25, 1985). May 8, 2011 “United States Constitution Bill of Rights.” Cornell Law School. Legal Information Institute. (2006). May 8, 2011 “United States Constitution Fourteenth Amendment.” Cornell Law School. Legal Information Institute. (2006). May 8, 2011 Zimmerman, Mary K. Passage Through Abortion. New York: Prager Publishers. (1977). Read More