Should abortions be legal - Essay Example

Many people justify abortion on the basis of the fact that the choice of abortion lies in the hands of the mother but many ethical groups argue against this issue. They present with the fact that abortion is basically the killing of a living being and hence it is morally unjustified. Abortion is an important subject and it may be considered to be legally justified in cases where the life of the mother is at stake and in other extreme cases but abortion with no strong grounds should not be permitted legally.

The rise in the population of the world has resulted in the utilization of different methods of contraception. The usage of these methods is to prevent unwanted pregnancies and childbirths. Abortion is also a technique utilized for the avoidance of an unwanted pregnancy. Abortion is defined as the ending of the pregnancy by choice which results in the death of the products of conception (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). The procedure of abortion is utilized for different reasons which include family planning, contraception as well as putting a control on the population.

A more important purpose of abortion is for saving the pregnant woman from life threatening emergencies that may result if the pregnancy is continued. There are different techniques utilized for carrying out the procedure of abortion. These include the administration of drugs which result in the expulsion of the fetus. The second technique is the surgical intervention whereby abdominal surgery is performed to remove the fetus. The last method is the insertion of surgical instruments through the cervix for removal of the fetus (Willke, 1985).

The procedure of abortion is legalized in the United States. Despite of this legalization, the procedure is losing its popularity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, there was a subsequent reduction of a percentage of 3.8 in the ratio of abortion between the years 1999 and 2000 (Elam-Evans et al 2003). Furthermore, the younger generation has also shown its support for the anti-abortion laws and youths in the United States have expressed of the fact that the procedure of abortion should be legally unjustified until and unless the pregnancy becomes life threatening for the mother.

Abortion has been viewed as a negative procedure which tends to lead to the death of a potential life and it is argued to be equivalent to a murder (Hayt, 2003). Thus, the subject of abortion has become an important subject and though it has been legalized, there have been many arguments to reconsider this decision owing to the fact that it yields no good to the society. References Top of Form Elam-Evans, L. D., Strauss, L. T., Herndon, J., Parker, W. Y., Bowens, S. V., Zane, S., Berg, C. J., .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (January 01, 2003). Abortion surveillance--United States, 2000.Mmwr. Surveillance Summaries : Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries / Cdc, 52, 12, 1-32. Hayt, Elizabeth.(2003, March 30). Surprise, Mom: I'm Against Abortion. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/30/style/surprise-mom-i-m-against-abortion.html Bottom of Form Part II: Anti-Thesis Abortion is an issue that arose and became a subject central to debates in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century.

The Supreme Court of the United States took a final stand on the issue and the procedure of abortion was legalized in the year 1973 following the legal case of Roe v Wade.