Legal Implications Religious Stand Associated with Abortion - Research Paper Example

 «Legal Implications Religious Stand Associated with Abortion» Abortion is intentionally induced premature termination of pregnancy, which results in the death of an embryo or the fetus. Abortion is very personal to a woman since it is a life changing decision and normally very traumatic. The US adolescent pregnancy rates is the highest in the industrialized world (Germain, 2004). Abortion has both proponents and opponents and the arguments range from moral and religious to personal or legal rights of an individual. Women may be forced to undergo abortion for different reasons – could be teen pregnancy, unwed mothers or even under normal circumstances, the woman or the family may not be able to afford a child. A woman may even opt for an abortion without the consent of the father. This research paper would discuss the history of abortion along with the legal, moral and religious implications. Dvoskin (2008) finds that about half of all pregnancies in the US are unintended and 40 percent of these end up in abortion. The opponents argue that the experience is psychologically harmful to women which can cause mental health problems later in life like depression. However, the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2006 conducted an exhaustive review of the studies made earlier and carried out a comparative study of the mental health of the women who had abortions with those who did not. The study found that women who had abortion did experience some amount of sadness of grief and at times even clinically significant disorders such as depression or anxiety. They also found that a single, legal, first-trimester abortion of an unplanned pregnancy for non-therapeutic reasons, the risk of mental health problems were no greater than the risks associated with women who delivered an unplanned pregnancy. It was also found that post-abortion mental conditions could be associated to a woman’s pre-existing health conditions. In additions there are the social stigma attached which create adverse reactions like need for secrecy, low social support, and personality traits such as coping style. This study has not taken into account the post abortion trauma faced by unwed mothers or teen pregnancy and that itself is a high figure. The period of teens itself is an emotionally distressing period and an abortion during that time can be nothing less than a trauma. Hence government decisions should not be based on such findings and the proponents also should not find justification in such studies. Teenagers who encounter unintended pregnancy are physically, emotionally and economically ill-prepared for motherhood (Germain, 2004). These teens have to drop out of school, receive practically no prenatal care and have low-birth weight babies with health problems later in life. The decision making process for an adolescent is a complex one who is still growing up and dependent on others. An individual is expected to weigh the costs and benefit and then make a choice. To make a rational decision, an individual needs accurate information about the alternatives and analyze the consequences (Bender, 2008). This is often not enough as the adolescent may have cognitive limitations as well as limitations in decision-making. This article discusses the case of three young girls who had become pregnant not by choice but ultimately had to make a decision whether to carry the child or undergo abortion. All of them underwent emotional distress but it was also found that the decision choice was based on their family background and upbringing. The study also found that when mothers are willing to support the daughters, the girls are able to cope with the situation better and would not leave home. All of them first decided to abort and then changed their mind after reasoning and weighing the pros and cons. This study suggests that the decision making process for young unwed pregnant girls can be traumatic and they need the support of a parent to overcome the dilemma. They are vulnerable and their decision is based on their cultural background. What has also not been considered is the genetic disorder that can arise in human fetuses. This requires genetic counseling which can support women in taking decision about pregnancy. The article by Roberts, Stough and Parrish (2002) deals basically with the stages in genetic counseling and the decision making process once the risk of delivering a child with disability has been detected, the author further contends that the American are evenly divided on the morality issue over abortion. About Planned Parenthood, over 62% of the adults were in favor of Roe v. Wade decision, less than 33% opposed the decision and 5% were unsure. When disability was detected in the fetus women shifted their choice of pregnancy and hence the exact number of women for or against abortion is difficult to determine. Studies have also shown that some disabilities in the fetus are considered to be less acceptable than others to the extent that in some cases women are willing to take the risk. They realize that they are the primary caregivers but they are still willing to continue. A workshop sponsored by National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Md., concludes that abortion does not increase the risk of women contacting breast cancer (Travis, 2003). The investigators also agree that full-term pregnancies have a protective effect in young women. This implies that they have a reduced breast cancer risk if they have had a baby. The opinions of the major world religions are divided on the issue of abortion with some permitting and some forbidding it (Maguire, 2006). Strictly speaking the Roman Catholic Church forbids abortion but in some situations they are known to have permitted especially when it is needed to save the life of a mother. Conservative Protestants usually condemn abortion but they are open to a moral choice on abortion. The Jews have placed great stress on children as a blessing but it still remained an option for the women. According to the Jewish authorities, the fetus does not have the status of a nefesh, a person, until the head emerges in the birthing process. This does not imply that late-term abortions would be acceptable. At times, they also consider abortion a sacred duty. The Muslim scholars permit abortion although there is difference of opinion on the stage of fetal development beyond which it is not permissible. After 120 days aborting in Islam is permissible only when it becomes essential to save the mother’s life. Buddhism finds the ‘the middle way’ between too much and too little and this is applicable to children as well. Some Buddhists forbid abortion it is not permissible to take the live of a living thing. Others permit abortion when it is not a product of greed, hate or delusion. They even give explanations in favor of abortion saying it is only delaying the process of birth. Hindusim calls it an atrocious act but the religion is dynamic and changing and they do permit under certain circumstances. Abortion has been legalized since 1971 in India with no objections from the Hindu religious authorities. In Taoism and Confucianism – the Chinese religions – sex and sexual pleasure are celebrated and moderation is considered a virtue in reproduction. Thus abortion is allowed and there is no resistance to contraception. The Native American cultures believe that one cannot respect the Mother Earth without family planning. They follow the matriarchal system and hence such issues are the concerns of women and not men’s. The women make their own decisions about abortion. This compilation on the stand of different religions on abortion shows that all the religions have flexibility. Most allow it when the life of the mother is at stake. This implies that no religion is rigid and this is the way it should be. Pregnancy as discussed above is most often unplanned and especially it would amount to punishment if they were forced to be the caregivers when they themselves need love and care. Abortion has been an issue of controversy for over 30 years as Americans have been forced to choose between religious vs. secular, right vs. left, traditional vs. progressive (Miller, 2008). Nearly 40 percent of the Christian believe that abortion should be legal while another 40 percent of the people with no religion (but does not necessarily mean atheists) believe that abortion should be legal in all circumstances. They have their own justifications – the pro-life Christians argue that life is sacred because it is given by God while the pro-life atheists insist that human life is intrinsically valuable without God’s help. There are some who would like science to come up with solutions to unwanted pregnancies that would make abortion more like a contraceptive procedure than a surgical one. An unmarried minor under the age of 18 requires the written consent of her parents. Even the abortion provider is required to inform one or both parents that their daughter intends an abortion. Parent consent laws exist in the books in 42 states in the US but as of 2000 New Jersey Supreme Court has invalidated that state’s law (Bousian, 2002). The anti-abortion groups introduced this law as a part of their strategy to erode women’s reproductive rights but even the proponents agree that minors need their parents input into the decision. This law has been a subject to controversy because law in any case protects the minors’ right to confidentiality in matters of health care like sexually transmitted diseases and drug abuse. It is hence argued that law would also protect their confidentiality in case of abortion. Irrespective whether the parental consent laws exist, it has been found that approximately 61 percent minors do inform their parents of the intention for abortion. The parental consent laws appear to be unnecessary because the laws do not seem to encourage young women to confer with their parents about their pregnancies. Six states have two parent consent laws whereas most minors confide in their mothers. Besides, these laws have unintended consequences. To avoid the law minors would travel to states without consent laws to have the abortion. Women might be tempted to seek illegal or back-alley abortions. Due to previous family violence minors may refrain from informing their parents and seek refuge in other states where consent is not required. The Roman Catholic Church plans to conduct a national postcard campaign next month to oppose the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). The abortion opponents fear that the Democratic majority in Washington could succeed in passing the decades-old Bill and Barack Obama would end signing the FOCA (Arnoldy, 2008). This bill could wipe out the federal and state restrictions on abortions such as the parental consent laws. It is also likely to imperil the ‘conscience clauses’ that protect the doctors and hospitals who refuse to perform abortions because of their convictions. If FOCA is implemented and they are forced to perform abortions, they may even close their hospitals. When abortion was legalized by the Supreme Court, there were discussions whether doctors and hospitals could refuse to perform abortions. This was settled by passing the ‘conscience clause’ in 47 states. The intention was to balance the individual’s or institution’s freedom with patients’ access to health care. Now there is a fear that FOCA would undermine this ‘conscience clause’ and there would litigations against the doctor and hospitals for refusing the procedure. Bottum (2009) writes about the issue of abortion when Obama comes to power. The two case Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood have already proved that the government has no constitutional rights of the metaphysical decisions of an individual. Obama does not want young women ‘punished with a baby’. He is so firm in his conviction that the opponents would have no option but to concede as the new President is expected to remove all funding of embryonic stem cell research. The FOCA too will remove all restrictions in the entire country on abortions. All these suggest that the pro-life fight is off for the next few years. The pro-life movement is the movement for change where they want to eliminate the unlimited abortion license. The pro-life movement also confounds the politics of motherhood. A good number of female leaders in the pro-life movement have undergone abortions which helped turn them against the current license. This article by Nehaus (2008) discusses the controversy over whether the unborn child is a human. This has been overpowered by a controversy over culture of death versus culture of life, says the author. There are two cultures prevalent – one focuses on the rights and laws and the other on rights and wrongs. One is on maximizing individual self-expression while the other focuses on reinforcing community and responsibility. This article is basically an analysis of the book The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right, by Jon Shields, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. The author concludes that two groups of people continue to exist each pursuing a different line of thought. This has been further amplified by Andsager (2000) who highlights how different groups try to use the media to mobilize public opinion on any social issue and abortion too is one such controversial issue. In political debates over such social issues, the interest groups make the issue salient to both the policymakers and the media. The role of the media is to inform the member of the other group of what the opposition is doing or thinking. This article concentrates on analyzing how the different interest groups use the media to reach out to the public and influence the policy makers as well. They focus on how the pro-life and pro-choicers used the media in mid-1990s. Whatever may be the opinion of the different groups in the society, there is ample evidence of impact of politics and ideology on science and health policy (Germain, 2004). The US food & Drug Administration (FDA) decided in May 2004 not to allow over the counter sales of the morning-after pill, an emergency contraception, a safe dose of hormones, which can be taken by women within 72 hours of unprotected sex. It acts before the conception or pregnancy takes place and is already available across the counter in over 30 countries. This helps to avoid unintended pregnancies and reduces the demand for abortion. Prior to this, the US Administration also imposed a rule that mandated that foreign organizations that receive money for family planning assistance through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) must deny such crucial information to women as the option of legal abortion or where safe family planning services may be obtained. This policy stifles free speech and does nothing to reduce the incidence of abortions. Garmain is of the opinion that such policies not only put the lives of young women at risk but also ignore the social realities and the best practices of medical health. This observation of Germain is absolutely right because if at all there should be restrictions, it should be to educate the teens in safe sex or avoidance. Once conception has taken place, they need to be taken care of and imposing such restrictions only would cause more harm than good to the unwed mothers and to the society as a whole. Following the Roe v. Wade in 1973, Supreme Court legalized abortions nationwide and each religious camp thinks it has gained ground (Ehrich, 2006). The pro-lifers think justice will tilt towards its anti-abortion position while the pro-choicers believe that public opinions has moved towards greater acceptance of legal abortion and the court will follow the trend. Apart from Judaism all the religions believe that human life starts at conception and not at birth. Hence abortion violates the commandment against murder. The Supreme Court took the right stand when it declared that since disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology were unable to arrive at a consensus, how the jury could take a stand. The opponents try to develop a scientific and medical basis for defining life which is opposed by the supporters. They call it misreading of scriptures and argue that women and not the court should make the decision about reproduction. Thus, abortion globally and in all religions of the world has been a controversial issue for decades. While it has been legalized in several countries, opinions still differ. As far as the physical implications of abortion are concerned, studies have not concentrated on all conditions. While it may not be as harmful for a married woman having one or more child, it can be traumatic for a first-timer. Conditions are different for the teen unwed pregnancies and also for those that have the support of their partners. The personality types and the cognitive responses also make a difference on how women after abortion cope with the situation. All these would make a difference on the physical impact on their health. The choice for abortion should lie with the woman and her family and the father can be included if he is willing to shoulder responsibility for the consequences of the action and decision. The government and the courts should not be involved if an amicable decision is arrived at by both the parents concerned. Their involvement should be sought when the woman and her partner are unable to have consensus over the issue. As far as religion is concerned, all the major religions of the world have demonstrated a flexible approach to handling the situation. While some leave it to the mothers others while being strictly forbidding have also been know to permit when the mother’s life is at stake. This is a progressive approach and expresses concern for the living being rather than for the human being that has yet to take birth. Nevertheless, the pro-lifers and the pro-choicers continue to oppose each other and try to influence the public and the policy makers through the media. Abortion has been legalized since 1973 in all the states but many Catholic hospitals and doctors refuse to carry out the process due to moral reasons. This is expected to be changed once the Obama rule takes over in full swing as the implementation of FOCA is expected to remove all restrictions. Once the restrictions are removed, the teens would not have to travel to states where parental consent is not required. Such a step by the new government would be a reform although it would raise hue and cry in the beginning. Emphasis should also be laid by the government to impart safe sex education and the best is if it could be delayed till the girls and boys come of age. References: Andsager, JL 2000, 'How Interest groups attempt to shape public opinion with competing news frames', Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly; Autumn 2000; 77, 3; ProQuest Education Journals pg. 577, Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=21&did=66444388&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1232260782&clientId=47448 Arnoldy, B 2008, 'Catholic groups fear abortion bill', Christian Science Monitor, 08827729, 12/5/2008, Vol. 101, Issue 8, Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=108&sid=d6df937c-6a81-4aea-bd2e-bd3853f3e19e%40sessionmgr103&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCx1aWQmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl#db=aph&AN=35606183 Bender, SS 2008, 'Three cases of adolescent child-bearing decision-making: the importance of ambivalence', Adolescence; Winter 2008; 43, 172; ProQuest Education Journals pg. 861, Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1615316661&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1232260547&clientId=47448 Bousian, A 2002, Historical & Multicultural Encyclopedia of Female Reproductive Rights In the United States, Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated Date: 2002. Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/cecybrary/Top?channelName=cecybrary&cpage=1&docID=10040742&f00=text&frm=smp.x&hitsPerPage=20&layout=document&p00=abortion+&sch=%A0%A0%A0%A0%A0Search%A0%A0%A0%A0%A0&sortBy=score&sortOrder=desc Bottum, J 2009, 'Abortion after Obama', First Things, Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=1&hid=117&sid=7bd8d9df-5919-405d-b2e4-2822e80e2473%40sessionmgr103 Dvoskin, R 2008, 'Abortion Risk Reviewed', Scientific American Mind, 15552284, 2008, Vol. 19, Issue 6, Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=108&sid=9d976d15-e26e-4a3b-8d1a-93e4e53db600%40sessionmgr107&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCx1aWQmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl#db=aph&AN=35855221 Ehrich, T 2006, 'Where does God stand on abortion?', USATODAY, Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-08-13-forum-abortion_x.htm Germain, A 2004, 'Playing Politics with Women's Lives', Science; Jul 2, 2004; 305, 5680; ProQuest Education Journals, pg. 17, Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=11&sid=4&srchmode=1&vinst=PROD&fmt=6&startpage=-1&clientid=47448&vname=PQD&RQT=309&did=663496601&scaling=FULL&ts=1232261067&vtype=PQD&rqt=309&TS=1232261078&clientId=47448 Lithwick, D 2008, The Abortion Wars Get Technical', Newsweek, 00289604, 12/15/2008, Vol. 152, Issue 24, Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=117&sid=2955d00a-1588-4cd4-bfea-719162c73a45%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCx1aWQmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl#db=aph&AN=35632637 Maguire, GC 2006, 'RELIGIONS SAY ', USATODAY, Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-08-13-forum-abortion_x.htm Miller, L 2008, 'No God--And No Abortions', Newsweek, 00289604, 12/8/2008, Vol. 152, Issue 23, Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=107&sid=a5c2bf25-e8c9-475a-841d-e7e4976953a6%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCx1aWQmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl#db=aph&AN=35535562 Neuhaus, RJ 2008, 'THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT AS THE POLITICS OF THE 1960S', First Things, Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=1&hid=112&sid=da5e652d-7328-4635-9167-7a6237818b98%40sessionmgr104 Roberts, CD Stough, LM & Parrish, LH 2002, 'The role of genetic counseling in the elective termination of pregnancies involving fetuses with disabilities', The Journal of Special Education; Spring 2002; 36, 1; ProQuest Education Journals pg. 48, Retrieved online 18 January 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=18&sid=4&srchmode=1&vinst=PROD&fmt=6&startpage=-1&clientid=47448&vname=PQD&RQT=309&did=116908831&scaling=FULL&ts=1232261067&vtype=PQD&rqt=309&TS=1232261107&clientId=47448 Travis, J 2003, 'Abortion-cancer link is rejected', Science News, Washington, Vol. 163, Iss. 11; pg. 174, 1 pgs. 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