Abortion in USA - Essay Example

?Your Full Your 6 March Abortion Abortion, or the willful termination of pregnancy, has very much been in the forefront in public debate in the United States. The legality of abortions and the right to have one are topics very vociferously opposed or supported. It should be noted that abortion is not a new phenomenon. Abortions have been carried out in the world since a long time ago. There have been findings, such as various olden texts, that prove that abortions were being carried out thousands of years ago. Various religious texts have also broached the subject in one way or another. It can be safely assumed that almost everyone has an opinionated stance when it comes to abortion based on what they deem to be their religious, moral, ethical and/or personal beliefs. Though many countries have legalized abortions, in the United States, the debate regarding the legality has still not been resolved, despite the United States Supreme Court having made a ruling on the subject. A brief historical overview in this regard reveals that abortion had not always been illegal in the United States. It was around the middle of the nineteenth century that states started enacting laws that made abortions illegal (“History of Abortion”). However, religion or morality did not have much to do with it. It was actually based on the premise of increasing the population, and ensuring that the immigrant populations did not increase those of the older residents. The religious minded people got involved in the debate much later, especially upon the scientific discovery that human life began at inception and not at the end of the first trimester as it had been previously thought. However, with the outlawing of abortion, there was a trend of women, who sought abortions, to go to ill-equipped back-alley practitioners most of whom were not medically trained. This resulted in many complications and deaths. With the passage of time, in late twentieth century, some states did legalize abortion; however, by 1965 it was effectively banned, with a few exceptions like in cases of rape or incest, if the mother’s life was at risk, or if the fetus was not developing right. Then, in 1973, the United States Supreme Court, in Roe v. Wade, struck down all state laws that prohibited a woman from having abortion, thus, in effect legalizing it. Even after the ruling in Roe v. Wade, the debate has not died, and some states, with the support, or by the demand, of the public at large, have enacted laws that restrict federal and/or state funding for abortion, thus minimizing the scope of the ruling. The two sides of the debate that oppose or support it are termed pro-life and pro-choice respectively. Out of the many arguments that they give, some are being mentioned here. The pro-life group argues that human life should not be so easily dispensable. It is sacred and should be preserved. A person has not right to end another’s life. Moreover, if we seek to bring religion into the debate then most, if not all, religions prohibit abortion, therefore, people who follow these faiths should not engage in the practice. Those women who opt for an abortion, according to a lot of religious minded people, show their lack of faith in God and His Commandments and His Providence. They claim that if God blesses someone with children, then He is the One who shall also provide sustenance. Also, the pain that the fetus goes through during the process is horrendous, and the fetus should not be subjected to that. What is more, abortion may also result in severe psychological trauma to the woman involved and cause emotional scarring that may last her entire life. Furthermore, abortion can, and often does, result in various medical complications. The procedure itself is quite painful, and though it does not have a long duration, however, the medical complications it can give rise to may last a life time. These medical complications include infection, sepsis, cervix weakening, miscarriages in later life, difficulties in conception, increased chances of uterine and breast cancer. The pro-life group propones that even if the pregnancy is unwanted, or unaffordable, the woman should have the baby, she can always put the child up for adoption after it is born. The pro-choice group puts many arguments in favor of its stance as well. According to this group, religion is a personal choice, and should not be imposed upon people who do not want to adhere to it, therefore, to ban abortion based on religion is wrong. They also say that pregnancies are used throughout the world to control and subjugate women. Women should be given the right to choose regarding matters that relate to them and their body. A fetus is not a person, they argue, and should not be treated as such. It is, therefore, wrong to give an unborn fetus, who is not yet a person in his own right, rights that override an existing person’s rights. Since it will be the mother who will be the primary caregiver to the child when it is born, therefore, she should be the one making a decision regarding whether she should abort the pregnancy or not. Also, the psychological trauma of having an unwanted baby and raising it may be worse than having to deal with the trauma that comes with aborting a baby – again, the woman should decide this matter. What is more, banning abortions would result in more medical complications as in that case the women would be forced to go to practitioners who are either not certified or are not competent or do not have enough wherewithal to deal with the procedure, thus increasing the chance of medical complications to occur. Though both sides present many arguments in favor of their views, however, I hold with the pro-life group. Abortions should not be legalized. Not only are they religiously and morally reprehensible, but they also subject the women (and their families to a certain extent) to unnecessary emotional pain. What is more with abortion a human life is ended, a human that life that nobody has the justification to end. In times where even the capital punishment is not considered above reproach, as it takes away human life (something that is precious, irrespective of whose life it is), it is only natural that we show concern regarding the life of the fetus as well, and try to protect it from harm. The woman undergoing an abortion goes through a lot of pain and opens the door for various medical complications that may ail her for the rest of her life, furthermore, the excruciating pain that the fetus is subjected to during the abortion could be termed as torture in this regard. Of course, those opposing my stance can object by stating how I cannot impose my morals on another person. That is true to a certain extent, however, this principle cannot be applied with a wide brush on everything. If a person does not, for instance, believe that killing another is wrong, would we, as a society, be fine with it if he goes around killing others? Would we not apprehend him and incarcerate him, just because we feel that it is our principle that others should not be killed and since he does not believe in it, he should not be punished for doing so? This seems pretty illogical to me. What is more, I am not trying to instill my religious beliefs into the hearts and minds of others. For me, it is only logical that abortions should not be legal. As per our constitution, it is illegal to subject anyone to cruel and unusual punishment, therefore, it is logical that the same rule be applied to the fetuses – they should not be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by being killed without cause. The detractors might comment that a fetus is not an individual and, hence, the United States Constitution cannot be applicable to it. However, modern science has shown that life begins at the time of inception, which means that a fetus begins to live as soon as it is born, therefore, right from its inception, a fetus has, indeed, become a person. Just because it is dependent on its mother for survival does not take away from his right as an individual. Doing so would be akin to saying that as a certain woman is dependent on a respirator to live, she is not a person in her own right. Christopher Reeves was a person right until he died, despite the fact that he could not live independently from his machines for quite a while before his death. Admittedly, there are people who simply cannot raise a child well. Whether due to certain financial, personal or emotional circumstances, a woman can be an unfit parent to a child. To force a child to grow up in such an environment would be unfair on our part, and perhaps it will end up causing more disaster, as the child may end up becoming emotionally damaged. However, even in such a case abortion is not the answer. The expecting mother is never forced to raise the child. If, for any reason, she cannot raise the child, then she always has the choice of giving up her child for adoption. The adoption process is quite simple and straightforward and it gives the child the chance to grow up in a nurturing environment, which the expecting mother, for whatever reasons, cannot provide to the child. With such an option open to the mother, it is wrong to allow her to kill another human being. While I am anti-abortion in my stance, however, I do realize that in some cases it becomes necessary. The fetus might be deformed, or improperly developed, or maybe the continuation of pregnancy poses a real threat to the mother’s health, or any reason where doctors feel that to allow the pregnancy to continue will be detrimental to the health of the mother. In such cases, where it is actually harmful to continue the pregnancy, abortions should be allowed. However, under no other circumstances should we be allowing others to take away a human life. For a society that is so vocal against capital punishment, it is cause for wonder that we are silent about killing on the other spectrum. Works Cited Foster, Serrin M. “The Feminist Case Against Abortion.” Feminists for Life – Women Deserve Better. Feminists for Life, 1999. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. Henshaw, Stanley K. “Induced Abortion: A World Review, 1990.” Family Planning Perspectives 22.2 (1990): 76-89. Print. Henshaw, Stanley K., Susheela Singh, and Taylor Haas. “The Incidence of Abortion Worldwide.” International Family Planning Perspectives 25.1 (1999). Web. 7 Mar. 2011. “History of Abortion.” National Abortion Federation. NAF, 2010. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973). SecularProLife.org. n.p., 2011. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. Tietze, Christopher, and Stanley K. Henshaw. Induced Abortion: A World Review, 1986. New York: The Guttmacher Institute, 1986. Print. Read More