Legalization of Abortion Research Paper

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Abortion: Pro-Choice

Abortion (pro-choice)

Women in the United States faced many difficulties before the legalization of abortion. The case of Roe vs. Wade is famous as this case allowed for the legalization of abortion K. Jones & Chaloner, 2007.

Before the legalization of abortion, there were women who still aborted illegally, and all that legalization provided for was a safe environment for the women to perform abortion. Legalization of abortion provided women with a choice in regards to keeping the pregnancy to term or terminating the pregnancy. This choice is and has been a controversial one, which results in many debates for and against abortion. The debates regarding abortion have not favored women as it was earlier thought, since there are women who still cannot access abortion services. Women of color were mostly disadvantaged before abortion was legalized, but the situation did not change after abortion was legalized. Colored women were still discriminated upon when they sought abortion services. There are two prominent groups pro-life and pro-choice. The pro-lifers constantly argue that abortion is equated to killing a human being, but the pro-choice group state that is not the case. The decision to abort or maintain a pregnancy is divisive in terms of politics, ethics, and science. Abortion is an activity that predates any recorded history. It used to be a brutal process that threatened the life of the woman before the advancement of modern medical advances. With the current medical technology, abortion is a safe process that poses no risk to the mother. The pro-life group believes that abortion is immoral based on skewed facts. They only see abortion from one side, and they do not want to offer women a choice. There are many reasons that would result in a woman preferring to terminate a pregnancy. Understanding the underlying reasons is vital in this debate. Focusing only on the morality of the issue denies a pregnant woman the option of choice Fried, 2013.

If abortion becomes illegal, many women will revert to doing it under unsafe conditions, which will defeat the reason behind making abortion illegal.

The government is not obligated to interfere in the choice a person makes in life. Therefore, abortion should remain legal, and women provided with the opportunity to make choices they feel comfortable with in regards to pregnancy. Before the legalization of abortion, women still underwent the procedure and denying them that choice, will definitely result in more fatalities. Women will result to illegal abortions performed by persons with limited equipment and unsafe environments. If abortion becomes illegal, there will be many unwanted pregnancies, which will result in despair and poverty. This is because the women are unable to provide for the children. Economic deprivation is possible since the number of births will increase and the resources required are unavailable. The pro-life groups have not presented any conclusive evidence to support their argument of a fetus being a human being. Therefore, the fetus will not have the same rights as a human being.

Fetuses are not yet human beings

A fetus is not a human being since it cannot survive on its own. The fetus is a clump of cells that have the capability and potential to develop into human being. A fetus is alive just like the other cells found in the woman's body, but the fetus has not life of its own, it is a part of the woman's body. It depends on the woman for oxygen, food, and excretion. Until the fetus is born, it will be dependent on the woman for its survival. The fetus is not capable of thinking, feeling, breathing, or performing anything by itself. This indicates that it solely depends on the woman. Therefore, the woman has a right to decide if she is willing to provide and care for the fetus. People who argue that abortion is killing a baby or a human being fail to understand that the fetus will not experience any pain. A human being has the capability to experience pain and suffer. This distinctive difference confirms that a fetus is not a human being. It is misleading to compare a fetus to a human being, misleading, especially considering that a fetus is a group of cells that have not matured.

A majority of abortions will occur during the first or second trimester Joffe, Weitz, & Stacey, 2004.

During these stages, the fetus is not fully developed, and it cannot survive outside the woman's uterus. An abortion that occurs in the first or second trimester does not hurt the fetus in any way. The fetus is still developing, and it does not have all the body parts.

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Until the fetus is able to take in its own breath, one cannot consider it a human being. Human beings are able to breathe on their own unless they are suffering from some medical condition. Pregnancy is a well understood even, and it occurs naturally within the woman's body. The woman determines if they are prepared to carry a pregnancy to term. If not they should have an option to terminate the pregnancy. No woman should carry a pregnancy until term because she got pregnant. The moral obligation placed on the woman is discriminatory as she is been forced to do something she does not want.

The argument for a fetus being a human being or not is dependent on a person's religious beliefs and perceptions. The legalization of abortion was because of unwanted or unplanned pregnancies. There is no proof that a developing fetus is a human being, but the woman of girl carrying the pregnancy is a human being. The woman has a right on how her body is used, which is why they should have a choice. The argument claiming that a fetus is a being is based on the morality of an individual. The person believes that once conception occurs the fetus becomes a human being automatically and eliminating the fetus is equivalent to murder. This been a moral issue, it is best if it is not legislated by the government. If it should be legislated by the government, then all other moral issues in the health profession should also be legislated.

Women have rights over their bodies

Every person has a constitutional right that allows them to make their own independent decisions. Forcing women to carry a pregnancy for nine months goes against their constitutional right of choice. A woman should not be obligated to carry a pregnancy till term and raise the child if they do not want. Forcing the woman to do this will lead to the child been abused or raised in a non-loving environment. The child would grow with hatred as the mother raised the child with hatred. Women use birth control methods, but there are situations when the methods fail and result in pregnancy. The woman been unprepared to raise a child should be given an option to abort. There are many reasons that would lead a woman to terminate a pregnancy like lack of finances, still in school, unstable relationship, or not prepared. Providing the woman with an option is vital as this allows her to make a choice based on her current position.

Pro-lifers should conduct a comprehensive analysis instead of insisting on the morality of this issue. Research conducted by Avalos (2003)

demonstrates that women consider a lot before deciding to abort. The twenty women who participated in the study had aborted once or twice. The women in the study indicate that they considered their relationships in deciding to abort. This shows that the women were not prepared although they were financially able to cater for the child. Having a stable relationship is vital for the woman. The woman will not raise the child alone, and they would prefer if the child is born in a loving home. Majority of the women who were involved in the study were on the pill or some other form of birth control. This shows they were taking control, and they only got pregnant by mistake. They were not careless, and they were consenting adults who knew what they were doing. The only reason the women opted to have the abortion was mainly based on their current relationship.

Manninen (2010)

states the pro-life group should consider all aspects in their arguments against abortion. The pro-life group argues that women will suffer emotionally and have regrets after the abortion, but considering the women form the study, it is clear that most women do not have any regrets. The pro-lifers state that women suffer from depression after an abortion. There is no evidence to support this claim, and it can easily be refuted using the study results. Failure to analyze the underlying reasons behind an abortion will result in biased arguments. Women are aware of what they want, and given a choice, they would not prefer to raise a child if they are not prepared. If a woman wants to abort, no legal provisions will discourage or hinder….....

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