History of Abortion in the United States - Essay Example

History of Abortion in the United s al Affiliation: History of Abortion in the United s Of all the medical procedures that are most common in the United States, abortion is the most practiced. According to a research carried out in the United States of America approximately, “More than 40% of all women will end a pregnancy by abortion at some time in their reproductive lives.” The prevalence of abortion in the United States of America is too high that research carried out on abortion shows “3 out of 10 women in the U.S. have an abortion by the time they are 45 years old.” What is abortion? The meaning of the word has been a source of debate amongst the public depending on which side one is basing the argument from. Some people from the section term abortion as murder, or killing of the innocent soul. According to the medical experts, “An abortion is when the pregnancy is ended so that it does not result in the birth of a child. Sometimes this is called termination of pregnancy.” Before legalizing of abortion Abortion in the United States has been going on for centuries; unwanted pregnancies have been in existence for very many years and in one way or the other such pregnancies were eliminated. Before the18th century women carried out abortion at will as there were no laws that restricted or barred the women from doing so. Due to the lack of any specific laws so many women carried out abortions that some states started coming up with laws to restrict abortions. The first law was the Connecticut statute 1821 the statute prohibited the use of “toxic substances to cause miscarriage.” Soon afterwards other states followed New York law in 1829. After the New York law various states came up with laws that punished the abortion providers, restricted abortions and at times punishing women seeking to carry out abortions. The first ever United States Federal law to be enacted was the Comstock Law of 1873. The law allowed a special postal agent to open mails suspected to contain abortion or contraceptive. The main aim for the law was to suppress the circulation of “obscene materials” From the year 1900 up to1960s, abortions were outlawed. As a result many women turned to unsafe abortion. In the year 1965 a total of 265 deaths were reported to have taken pace as a result of unsafe abortions. New York as well as California reported complications with 20% being as a result abortions. As a result of the numerous deaths associated with unsafe abortions, a series of cases were taken to the Supreme Court and some women were granted the right to carry out abortions (Solodnikov, 2011). During the great depression that took place in the 1930s most "Married women with children found it impossible to bear the expense of another, and unmarried women could not afford to marry." Being that abortion was illegal many women procured abortion illegally, a study conducted in 1932 established that the illegal abortion led to about 14% of all the maternal deaths (Solodnikov, 2010). Land mark rulings Even though the Supreme Court was able to grant some women to carry out abortion on various occasions none of the other rulings was as significant as the one made in the Griswold v Connecticut case. In the case Griswold was challenging the restriction of marriage among the married couples. The Supreme Court concurred with his argument that the married couple had the constitutional right to “obtain birth control from their health care professional.” The other ruing that legalized abortion was the Roe v Wade decision in 1973. Legalizing of abortion Roe v. Wade case 410 U.S. 113 Roe v. Wade (No. 70-18) Argued: December 13, 1971 Decided: January 22, 1973 Case Details An expectant single woman by the name of Roe filed a case challenging the constitutionality of the Texas criminal abortion laws, which “proscribe procuring or attempting an abortion except on medical advice for the purpose of saving the mothers life.” In its ruling the Court ruled that “The Court ruled that the states were forbidden from outlawing or regulating any aspect of abortion performed during the first trimester of pregnancy, could only enact abortion regulations reasonably related to maternal health in the second and third trimesters, and could enact abortion laws protecting the life of the fetus only in the third trimester. Even then, an exception had to be made to protect the life of the mother.” Since the legalization of abortion about 1.2 million abortions are carried out in the United States each year. A over the world approximately 20-30 million abortions are carried out each year legally. Another 10-20 million illegal abortions are performed each year, unfortunately they account for about 14% of women deaths due to complications. There are two methods of abortion that is available in the United States of America (Medoff, 2012). The abortion Pill (Medical abortion) Abortion Pill up to 9 weeks Abortion Pill after 9 weeks Up to 9 weeks of pregnancy Involves taking medicines to cause an early miscarriage (it can feel like having a heavy and more painful period) 9 to 24 weeks of pregnancy One is required to visit the clinic two times Entails taking medicines to cause the womb to contract and push out the pregnancy No in involvement in surgery or anesthetic An injection is administered to the womb on the 22nd week 2 visits to the clinic are required, In some cases an overnight visit may be required at the second visit Surgical abortion Vacuum Aspiration Dilatation & Evacuation Up to 15 weeks Between 15 – 24 weeks of pregnancy Entails terminating the pregnancy through gentle suction Pregnancies are always removed using narrow forceps that the doctor passes via the womb neck Visiting the clinic once and moving back home on very day Usually operated on general anesthetic (sleep) Done when one is deep asleep (Done normally or general anesthetic) Single visit usually, going home the very day for abortions that last for 3 months Over 3 months regular visit or overnight stay Despite the introduction of the latest, more efficient, and more widely accessible birth control methods, approximately more than half of the 6 million pregnancies taking place each year in the United States are considered as unintended by the women who are expectant (Schwartz, 2009). Of these unintended pregnancies, approximately half end in abortion. Whereas women of each societal class look for terminations, the distinctive woman who end up aborting are most likely moreover poor, over the age of 40,young or unmarried.   Opinions against abortion Religious perspective The issue of whether abortion is good or bad has been a major debate in the society, some of the people who are against abortions are basing their opinion from religious perspectives. According to research carried out in regards to abortion among the youth, it is estimated that about 50,000 each year. According to religious teaching “sexual intercourse is a preserve for the married only” thus getting pregnant in the first place should not happen among the youths. Most of the religious teachings are against killing. In that aspect most religious persons regard abortion as killing. Even though sexual intercourse is religiously right taking away of life is not allowed. In that aspect many religions are not in support of abortion (Lister, 1966). It is however significant to not that many religious groups have aired their opinion that abortion can only be carried out if the life of the mother is at risk. Ethical perspective Apart from religious opinions, it is ethically wrong for the youth to engage in sexual intercourse, it is for this reason that most of the youth engage in sexual intercourse in secret. It is from this perspective thus many term abortion amongst the youth as being wrong. Opinions in support of abortion Since the legalization of abortion through the 1973 land mark case numerous of both federal as well as state laws have been put in place to ensure that abortion is safe and accessible. The various laws that have been passed address some of the issues that have raised a lot of controversy ( OHair, 1989).. Some of the controversial issues that have been addressed include: The matter of parental notice. Various state laws do oblige that some minors inform their parents ahead of obtaining an abortion. Should the partner be alerted prior to a woman carrying out an abortion? Has the pregnancy advanced far enough that the fetus could survive on its own before annihilation Must there be a compulsory waiting time prior to carrying out an abortion What set of laws if any must pertain to the abortion providers What requirements might be completed against specific abortion procedure Should the rules be different in some cases such as sexual assault Most people who are in support of abortion are of the opinion that the women have the right to decide whether to carry on with the pregnancy or not. In that aspect if a woman feels that she is not willing to carry the pregnancy to maturity then she will abort. Illegitimate abortions are dangerous and account for approximately 13% of all deaths of women as a result of severe complications. Death as a result of abortion is just about unknown in the United States or in some other countries where abortion is legally available. In that aspect many feel that through the legalization of abortion many lives that would have been lost to illegal abortions are saved. Conclusion The debate whether abortion is acceptable or not, depends on the personal perspective, the various groups who are for or against abortion have their own valid reasons. There are instances where abortions have been carried out to save the life of the mother. Abortion has been in existence for a very long time and will continue to be a course of debate among the people who are against or in favor. References Lister, J. (1966). Abortion. The New England Journal of Medicine, 274(17), 957. Medoff, M. (2012). State abortion politics and trap abortion laws. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 33(3), 239.  OHair, J. (1989). A brief history of abortion in the united states. JAMA, 262(13), 1875, 1878-1875, 1875. Schwartz, V. (2009). Abortion. Feminist Collections: A Quarterly of Womens Studies Resources, 30(2), 20. Solodnikov, V. (2010). Abortion. Sociological Research, 49(5), 74-96. Solodnikov, V. (2011). Abortion. Russian Social Science Review, 52(2), 71-93. Read More