Bioethics - the Abortion Debate - Essay Example

According to the World Health Report 2005, 68,000 women die from unsafe abortion (51). My aim in this paper is to persuade the masses to be pro-choice, in matters of abortion.
The ruling of Roe v. Wade of 1973 has made abortion a safe medical procedure in the United States. In the United States alone, about 1.6 million pregnant women seek and carry out abortions. Many people have desired to minimize the number of unwanted or unplanned pregnancies.

However, due to the insufficient supply of adequate contraception, contraception failure, or unwanted sex, the resulting unwanted pregnancies bear similar risks as those deliberate and desired (50). Singling out abortion from a woman’s reproductive choices is unfair, to say the least. Therefore, legalizing abortion is keeping it safe. Many countries that keep it legal ensure the safety of women who desire to terminate their pregnancies. Unfortunately, as we have seen earlier, not every country supports abortion and this results in an estimated 68,000 deaths. If governments around the world would recognize the right to abortion as a human right, women would be safer.

The right to privacy should not exclude the choice of a woman to do what she pleases with her own body. For example, a woman, raped, glares at the reality of raising a rapist child. This will have life-long psychological effects on her. Such a woman may more often end up losing her social standing, and in extreme cases, even losing her marriage. It is safer, therefore, for such a woman to choose abortion, than live a life of regrets and psychological torture. She should not be denied this right. The United Nations Human Rights Committee views a criminal penalty for a pregnant woman who contracts an abortion, as being a dire violation of her right to be free from degrading and inhuman treatment when the pregnancy is a result of rape.

In a different scenario, a teenage girl, if raped, will lose her virginity and might more often than not, end up pregnant. The implications of this are immense. If she decides to keep the baby, she would not only be unable to feed and support the child, but she will also have to terminate her education at such an early and defining moment in life. On the other hand, should she decide to terminate the pregnancy, she would not have to face these issues. Though there would be emotional aspects to deal with, she will, however, gain social maturity. She will evolve socially. She will not have to deal with a state of repression.

Finally, I can boldly conclude that pro-life supporters are ignorant of the decisions, situation,n or even the benefits of abortion. Even though it seems immoral, within the legal medical framework, abortion is safe and desirable it should be and remain legal. It remains the best alternative for the countless women who have to make that hard decision. Pro-choice protects and defends vulnerable women. We are living in an era of liberty, freedom, and free will, the woman’s choice, and rights should not be infringed. Read More