Roe vs Wade: The Ongoing Debate - Essay Example

Roe VS Wade: The Ongoing Debate The topic of whether or not abortion should be legal has lead to a national, often emotion-filled, discussion that has lasted for several years and will for several years to come. People are unambiguously on either the ‘pro-life’ or ‘pro-choice’ side of the ideological divide. There are seemingly no concessions to be discussed: one concerned with the freedom of choice and woman’s health, the other the life of a fetus. This essay will speak to which hurts women more, the prohibition of or access to legal abortions as defined by the 1973 Roe VS Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court presenting the ‘pro-life’ viewpoint first followed by the ‘pro-choice’ stance.

For women who are dealing with an unwanted pregnancy there is not much freedom of choice. The women themselves typically want to bring their child to full term. Other formidable influences in the woman’s life such as parents, husbands/boyfriends and friends are usually the forces that put pressure on her to end the pregnancy. Legal abortion permits fathers to push their desires on the mother. Some women opt for an abortion out of desperation because they are afraid of continued abuse. That fear is validated because many women who have declined to have an abortion have been subjected to severe emotional and physical abuses which has, in some instances, escalates to murder when the woman continues to refuse.

Murder is the principal cause of death for pregnant women. What other motive other than her refusal to abort could there possibly be? “Sixty-four percent of women surveyed report being pressured by others into unwanted abortions” (Reardon, 2002). Laws that compel women to take their pregnancy to full term are opposed to the principles of the U.S. Constitution in addition to any definition of decency and compassion. It is inconceivable that a country dedicated to and founded upon civil liberties could permit its people to resort to a perilous self-abortion procedure.

However, before the Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion in America, this horrific, unsafe practice was routine. Before the legalization of abortion many thousands of young women and girls were maimed and died trying to end an unwanted pregnancy. However, wealthy women were always able to have the procedure performed safely. The rich were able to travel overseas or pay large amounts of money for a local doctor willing to perform illegal abortion for a price while poor and middle income woman had to resort to unsafe options.

Making abortions illegal never has and never will stop them from happening; it just acts to injure women and broadens the economic divide. Those who criticize the Roe decision claim that since the Constitution does not address the issue directly, then Congress and not the courts should settle this matter due to the substantial ethical implications. The Roe decision basically spoke to this criticism by saying peoples concern for the unborn life does not prevail over the legal rights of the born and therefore their verdict to allow abortion.

The High Court did draw a distinction for what is to be considered murder of a child. On this matter, those who are opposed to abortion do have legal justification. Viability appears to be a suitable benchmark because the fetus is not a conscious being in the early weeks after conception although people of religious conviction would say it did have a soul. “Viability is somewhat scientifically determined while the presence of a soul is not. Therefore, the line can only be drawn at the viability of the unborn as any other method by which to determine when abortions are considered murder is unclear” (Dorf, 2003).

The subject of abortion is very complex, morally and legally speaking with both sides of the matter providing convincing, thought-provoking arguments. Roe v. Wade was, is and will be a case that evokes high emotions on both a legal and moral basis. The philosophical divide will likely not be bridged but the matter of abortion rights should be settled on legal grounds therefore is a matter for the courts not the pulpit. Works Cited Dorf, Michael D. “Was Roe v. Wade Rightly Decided? Will it be Overruled?

” CNN Law Center. (January 23, 2003). July 20, 2011 Reardon, David C. “Aborted Women, Silent No More.” Springfield, IL: Acorn Books. (2002). pp. 11-21.