Women Having the Choice of Abortion - Essay Example

Abortion Should Be Allowed Abortion is a very common and historical medical procedure performed for purposes of terminating a pregnancy; ex post facto incidences of the operation can be traced as far back as ancient Greece, China and Rome (Fairbank & Goldman, 2006). It is arguably the most common medical operation in the world with statistics showing that over 46 million procedures are carried out each year (Shah & Åhman, 2004). However, only around 27, million are legal since in many countries where it is outlawed, practicing it openly could result to serious legal consequences including but not limited to conviction for murder (Nie, 1999). As a result of the legal restrictions on it, it is estimated that two out of every five abortions are carried out under unsafe conditions that put both the mother and fetus at risk or complications and death more so since they are done by quacks. In addition, numerous women undergoing these “coat hanger” procedures are left permanently scarred and unable to deliver children in future or suffer long term mental or psychical damage as a consequence of the botched operation. Instead of risking unsafe abortions, for legal or medical reason, many more women are forced to carry their pregnancies to term despite their evident inability to raise them (Arthur, 2009). Consequently many of the children are abused, neglected or forced to live in an unsafe and hostile environment, in addition some of them suffer from health conditions that make their life both physically and mentally difficult not to mention negatively affecting their caregivers. Such reality brings to the fore the controversy on whether or not abortion should be legalized; taking to account the benefits of abortion and the risks of having one procured illegally this paper will try to support the claim that women should be allowed the option of legally and safely terminating pregnancies should they so wish. The debate on abortion is one that has ranged for decades in the western world it has proven to be extremely controversial and highly divisive with two main camps for and against it; these consist or pro-choice and pro-life supporter, with the former opposing and the latter supporting the legalization of abortion. One of the justifications for allowing abortion is based on the fact that in as much as it is touted as murder by prolife activist, abortion does not involve the death of a person unless the mother dies procuring it. Personhood or rather the state of being a human being has been found scientifically only commence after birth, rather than conception. Until one has entered the world outside the womb, they cannot legally be considered a person, this is because the embryo and fetuses are cannot be describes as independent of self-determining organism. An individual’s age is counted from birth to death rather than from conception to death, in addition the national census does not tally unborn children. According to the majority opinion in Roe v Wade, the word person as used in the 14th amendment cannot be under any interpretation be construed to be inclusive of the unborn. One of the arguments posited by opponent of abortion is that the fetus is actually alive and capable of feeling pain and therefore abortion does not only involve killing but torturing the unborn. However, it has been scientifically proven that fetuses are not actually capable of feeling pain when the abortion in being performed. A review by the royal colleges of obstetricians and gynecologists determined that the source of pain in the body is the cerebral cortex, when most abortions are carried out this part of the brain has not been formed. As a result, they concluded that the fetus cannot feel pain since the faculties through which such senses can be perceived have not yet come to be. The study concluded that in the cases that are reported of fetuses filching during the process they are actually not doing so because pain but rather reflexes and it should not be used as indication that the fetus is actually feeling pain (Mary, 2011). Furthermore, when women are denied abortion it drastically increases their chances of becoming jobless deprived of an education and end up on social welfare and in abusive relationships. A study carried out by the University of California at San Francisco found women that got turned war from abortion were more likely to end up living below the poverty line two years after the fact. In comparison; those that were allowed an abortion at the same time were significantly less likely to be in a similar predicament (Turn Away Study, 2012). Another argument to consider is this, when a pregnant woman if forced to carry the unwanted child to term, and ultimately support it they are placed in a difficult and position which is not very different from someone taking away their body for 9 months and then being forced to endure the pain of invasive surgery. At the end of the day the very idea of making abortion illegal is synonymous with taking away the autonomy of women over their own bodies and as soon as the child is born they are trapped in a circle of parental responsibilities from which they cannot free themselves. It is easy for people in the west to claim they can give up the child for adoption; however this argument does not fly in third word contrived where overpopulation is rampant and that is not offered as an option. In any case even in the west organs that seek to outlaw abortion do not intend to contribute anything to the upbringing of the child and the mother will be in most cases left to her own devices. It would make more sense if the laws banning or proposing to ban abortion were made to take responsibility for the child for the rest of his life as well. However this would be difficult if not impossible to implement, as a consequence it is the women who are forced to be trapped in the poverty cycle and rendered incapable if improving her in terms of education employment. Overall considering all the factors in play in the issue of abortion, it is apparent that the women after being forced into poverty and ignorance will end up along with their children becoming the responsibility of the middle class. Sometimes during prenatal screening, it may be found that the unborn fetus is suffering from a condition with a profoundly poor prognosis, for instance the doctor may find that the fetus has anencephaly. Approximately half the babies diagnosed with this condition will not be likely to survive childbirth and the other half do not live more than a few hours or days. Other include chromosomal conditions such as trisomy 13, which can result in extremely short lifespans for babies and 91% of babies with such conditions do not live past their 1st birthday. In a case where abortion is outlawed, a woman even after learning the child will almost definitely die before birth or in a few days would be expected to not only deal with the trauma of the new but also to wait out the inevitable. However with the option of abortion being availed for such situations a woman can choose to terminate the pregnancy before term effectively saving both herself and the fetus the agony of going through the unnecessary process of delivery. While prolife supporters may insist that every child should be given a chance, in the aforementioned situations it would be unfair to put the mother through the pain of birth knowing very well that the fetus suffering from say, anencephaly is missing a brain, liver or any other organs whose absence guarantees death. Furthermore some women more so those suffering from mental problems may not be the best to take care of children with special conditions or severely disabled ones. As soon as a woman makes the decision not to carry the fetus to term whether they intend to do it legally or otherwise, the child automatically becomes unwanted, this could be justified by a number or reasons such as those mentioned herein. Nevertheless there are other circumstances that even the most dedicated pro-lifist will be forced to consider, for example if a woman is pregnant because she was raped or the child is result of an incestuous relationship. In this and similar cases where the woman is bound to be traumatized even before the child is born, abortion is touted as the humane way of dealing with matters. Rape is one of the most traumatizing experiences that can happen to a woman and this trauma could remain with here and affect her mental health for years. When she begets a child from the same it is not unlikely that they will develop negative feelings towards it and their chances of being abusive or denying it attention and parental love are high. This is because the child will provide a permanent memory of the experience make it near impossible for the victim to ever recover fully and thus jeopardizing their mental welfare. It is for this among other reasons why a child should not be brought into this world by parents or a parent who would rather be childless because they may be doomed to a life of misery and rejection from those who should love them. While making a case for abortion, one must also take to account the fact that international laws guarantee women a right to the highest standards of physical and mental health that can be attained and this right in inclusive of the requirement that governments should provide health care and work towards providing conditions that are conducive for ensuring women enjoy good health. The committee of economic social and cultural rights in the year 2000 recognized the fact that a woman has the right to be free to take control of her own body; furthermore reproductive freedom was seen to include the right to be free from all interferences and /or barriers delimiting her access to health services and educational information (Freedman, 2001). The Maputo protocol also explicitly recognizes that in certain circumstances, at the very least women should be allowed a right to have an abortion and to this end state parties must take appropriate measures to legalize it. According to international human right laws, safe abortion services are part of a woman’s right to health and this can only be realized if governments take proper action to ensure they provide women with not just the means but the appropriate information and advice should be provided so they can make an informed decision on when to keep or terminate a pregnancy. This way, incidences of unsafe abortions carried out by quacks and which have cost some many lives can be mitigated against. While some countries have made exceptions for allowing abortion in special circumstances such as the mother’s life is in danger possibly in the case of an ectopic pregnancies (BBC News, 2014), in others where there is a general ban women’s health is often jeopardized. In hospitals doctors will often fear to perform the operation even if in their professional opinions it is the only logical course of action. In some cases they do not even advice the women of the true situation because they fear it they were to carry out the procedure they may be victimized and likely imprisoned. This is both against the professional ethics for doctors who are forsworn to protect life as well as the right of the woman to reproductive health and information. Access to legal abortion means access to safe and professionally performed operations that do not expose women to the serious and often fatal risks of maternal injury and death that were and in some places are still caused by illegal abortions . Before the legalization of abortion in the US there were numerous cases of women trying to induce it through numerous ways, most of these were crude and dangerous and just as likely to terminate the mother’s life (Pazol, Andrea, Burley, Hayes and Jamieson, 2013). For example the coat hanger was a popular tool as were knitting needles radiator flashes and chemical concoctions which were often produced from back alley abortionists (National Abortion Federation, 2010). In 1972 alone 39 attempted abortions resulted in maternal deaths and after the enactment of the Roe v Wade had laws; the number went down to only two in the next year. The world health organization’s estimates that the illegalization of abortion globally has resulted in over 68,000 recorded maternal deaths each year. This number is a minimum however since in many instances families of women will not admit that their deaths were caused by an attempted abortion in fear of legal or social ramifications. However modern abortion procedures have proven to be safe and do not result immediate and short term effects such as hemorrhage and infections or lasting ones such as cancer, infertility or mental health problems (Haddad & Nour, 2009). In 2012, it was found that a woman’s risk of dying after an abortion is less than 0.5% as opposed to the much higher risk in convectional birth. In fact according to the American medical association abortion is considered one of the safest medical operations performed in the United States, in addition, claims that it can result in increased chances of breast cancer have all but been successfully refuted. Religion is commonly used as an argument by pro-life supporters who claim that abortion in against the decrees and laws of God, they posit that only he has the power to take away life and by allowing abortion the state is essentially trying to override his divine authority. While this argument is indeed sound, it is only applicable to those who subscribe to religious beliefs in which abortion is outlawed, the US is a secular state and in as much as it recognizes the existence of different faiths, it cannot write its laws based on religious sentiment. Furthermore, an examination of some of the religious doctrines on which the opposition for abortion is based brings out several contradictions between the claims of the faith and the writings in the bible. For instance, in Christianity abortion is equated to killing a persona and deemed as grave a crime as murder, however, in the book of exodus 21: 22-25, the laws appear to have a rather pro-choice view. The crime of causing a woman to miscarry is considered a property crime while that of killing her is murder and earns the death penalty, by extension, when they put pressure on states to burn abortions churches are indirectly contributing to the latter. Consider the fact that many of the religious organizations that oppose abortion also oppose most methods of modern birth control such as condoms and the pill. However they admit that at some point in the future the world may not be capable of supporting its population if efforts to curb population are not intensified, by opposing birth control they increase the rate of unwanted pregnancy and then oppose abortion which ultimately implies that they are simply hoping the problem of population goes away on its own. References “Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH)”. (2012) University of California at San Francisco, "Turnaway Study," http://voxxi.com/2012/11/15/global-turnaway-study-abortion-care/ Arthur, J. (2009). legal abortion: the sign of a civilized society. The Pro-Choice Action Network. Retrieved from http://www.prochoiceactionnetwork-canada.org/articles/civilize.shtml BBC. (2014). reasons for abortion. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/legal/when_1.shtml Fairbank, J. K., & Goldman, M. (2006). China: A new history. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. http://studijas.asiares.lv/teacher/frankkraushaar/ievads-kinas-civilizacija/materiali/Fairbank_Goldman_CHINA-A_New_History.pdf Freedman, L. P. (2001). Using human rights in maternal mortality programs: from analysis to strategy. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics,75(1), 51-60. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11597619 Haddad, L. B., & Nour, N. M. (2009). Unsafe abortion: unnecessary maternal mortality. Reviews in obstetrics and gynecology, 2(2), 122. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19609407 Mary, W. (2011) Fetal Pain Anti-Abortion Laws Spur Fierce Debate. reuters.com. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-abortion-pain-idUSTRE73572820110406 National Abortion Federation. (2010). national abortion federation: history of abortion. National Abortion Federation: History of Abortion. Retrieved from https://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html Nie, J. B. (1999). The Problem of Coerced Abortion in China and Related Ethical Issues. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics,  http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=46315&fileId=S0963180199004077 Pazol, K., Andrea, C., Burley, K., Hayes, B., and Jamieson, D., (2013). abortion surveillance-US 2010. CDC. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6208a1.htm Shah, I., & Åhman, E. (2004). Age patterns of unsafe abortion in developing country regions. Reproductive Health Matters http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15938153 Read More