What is abortion? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “Abortion: the premature expulsion of a [foetus] from the womb; an operation to cause this.” Abortion has been a controversial topic for many years. Some people favor adoption and some are against it. “In 2008 an estimated 1.21 million abortions were performed in the Unites States.”(Jones, and Kooistra). Many opinions collaborate in abortions rights or abortion legislation. “In 2008, 84,610 women obtained abortions in Texas, producing a rate of 16.5 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age. Some of these women were from other states, and some Texas residents had abortions in other states, so this rate may not reflect the abortion rate of state residents. The rate decreased 4% since 2005, when it was 17.3 abortions per 1,000 women 15-44. Abortions in Texas represent 7% of all abortions in the United States.”(Jones, Zolna, Henshaw, and Finer). Some argues that favors abortion focus in the mother’s rights to choose what to do in her body, and opponents of abortion focus on the fetus right to life without the discomfort of the mother. In my opinion, abortion should be prohibiting as it increase every day. Abortions are performed legal as well as illegal in which is a criminal action against the laws of the United States, also there are physiological, emotional, and physical consequences in women who perform an abortion, and mainly because by murdering the fetus it denies the right of life to a child. According to Texas Statues Abortion enacted in 1857, Article 1191, describes how a women will be punish to “not less than two nor more than five years” in jail if with her consent an abortion is performed. (Druker). Before 1973, abortion was prohibited and consider crimi... ... middle of paper ... ...and Bernard M. Dickens. "Human Rights Quarterly." Human Rights Dynamics of Abortion Law Reform (2003): 1-59. JSTOR. Web. 26 Mar. 2011 Druker, Dan. Abortions Decisions of the Supreme Court, 1973 through 1988. A Comprehensive Review with Historical Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 1990. Flavin, Jeanne. Our Bodies, Our Crimes. The Policing of Women's Reproduction in America. New York and London: New York University Press, 2009. Hull, N.E.H and Peter Charles Hoffer. Rose v. Wade. The Abortion Rights Controversy in American History . kansas: University Press, 2001. Schroedel, Jean Reith. Is the Fetus a person? A Comparison of Policies across the Fifty States . Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2000. Shrage, Laurie. Abortion and Social Responsibility. Depolarizing The Debate. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Milbauer, Barbara. The Law Giveth: Legal Aspects of the Abortion Controversy. Atheneum, New York: 1983.
Works Cited Warren, Mary Anne. On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion. Trans. Array Exploring Ethics: An Introductory Anthology. . 2 nd.
Page, Christina. How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America: Freedom, Politics and the War on Sex. New York: Basic Books, 2006.
" Abortion and the Constitution: Reversing Roe v. Wade Through the Courts. Horan, Grant, Cunningham, eds., pp. 113-117. Washington, D.C. - The. : Georgetown University Press, 1987.
No other element of the Women’s Rights Movement has generated as much controversy as the debate over reproductive rights. As the movement gained momentum so did the demand for birth control, sex education, family planning and the repeal of all abortion laws. On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision which declared abortion "fundamental right.” The ruling recognized the right of the individual “to be free from unwanted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the right of a woman to decide whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.” (US Supreme Court, 1973) This federal-level ruling took effect, legalizing abortion for all women nationwide.
Over the course of the last century, abortion in the Western hemisphere has become a largely controversial topic that affects every human being. In the United States, at current rates, one in three women will have had an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45. The questions surrounding the laws are of moral, social, and medical dilemmas that rely upon the most fundamental principles of ethics and philosophy. At the center of the argument is the not so clear cut lines dictating what life is, or is not, and where a fetus finds itself amongst its meaning. In an effort to answer the question, lawmakers are establishing public policies dictating what a woman may or may not do with regard to her reproductive rights.
Wade by NEH Hull and Peter Charles Hoffer they state “thus before abortion because the object of law it was a subject of everyday life” (Hull & Hoffer 12). Meaning that any female that found out she was pregnant was able to get an abortion but then suffered the consequences of something going wrong. In the United States around eighteen hundred abortions became illegal, due to the lack of medical education, procedures and surgeries because they were very dangerous. As time came later medical advancements were made but women still had to rely on the back alley abortions which resulted in harming thousands of women. Abortion or premature termination of pregnancy can be accidental or on purpose. Both types of abortions can be legal or illegal. If the ongoing pregnancy becomes a medical threat, abortion is not illegal. Legal developments along with health care services are intertwined with each other. The American Medical Association stated that abortions were wrong and unsafe which made the National Abortion Federation make abortion into a “physicians- only” practice because they could be performed legally in order to save a women’s life. (National Abortion Federation NAF) It wasn’t until 1973 that abortions were made legal in the United States due to the “Supreme Court’s decision in Roe vs. Wade ruling that Americans’ right to privacy included the right of a woman to decide whether to have children, and the right of a woman and her doctor to make that decision without state interference” (NAF). In 1965, almost 300 deaths occurred due to illegal abortions, and of all pregnancy-related complications in New York and California, 20% were due to abortions. “If the US Supreme Court found constitutional grounds to extend the birth control cases’ logic that women’s bodies belonged to the women themselves, the concept of choice would become a core value in constitutional law.” (Hull & Hoffer
Abortion cannot be discussed unless you know the origin of the debate. In December 13, 1971, the argument of abortion surfaced (“Roe v. wade,”). The class action suit was brought by a pregnant single woman who challenged the constitutionality of the Texas criminal abortion laws, which proscribe or attempting an abortion except on medical advice for the purpose of saving the mother’s life (“Roe v. wade,”). Proceeding Roe v. Wade, abortion was illegal in almost every State. In 1973, the courts ruled and abortion became legal again.
The debate of abortion continues to be a controversial problem in society and has been around for many decades. According to Jone Lewis, “In the United States, abortion laws began to appear in the 1820’s, forbidding abortion after the fourth month of pregnancy” (1). This indicates that the abortion controversy has been debated far back into American history. Beginning in the 1900’s, legalized abortion became a major controversy. In 1965, all fifty states in the United States banned abortion; however, that was only the beginning of the controversy that still rages today (Lewis 1). After abortion was officially banned in the United States, groups such as the National Abortion Rights Action League worked hard on a plan to once again legalize abortion in the United States (Lewis 1). It wasn’t until 1970 when the case of Roe (for abortion) v. Wade (against abortion) was brought...
Roe v. Wade and the Right to Abortion. (2013, January 18). Retrieved April 21, 2014, from
There are a lot of debates surrounding the term, “Abortion.” Some believe that abortion is a choice, while others groups like conservatives believe that it is a Sin, and should be illegal. Individuals have their own reasons to why they want to get an abortion, and that should not be limited by legislators. Abortion should be legal because it is the individual right whether to have a baby or not regardless of their situation. The second reason is in the case of rape and incest, the third reason is, whether the individual is capable of caring for the baby.
Hinman, Lawrence. “Abortion: A Guide to the Ethical Issues.” May 13, 2010. University of San
... Although, the media and the government often try to convince women otherwise, the only person who has a right to your body is yourself, not a baby nor a man. Pro-life advocates use guilt to convince women that a fetus, which is nothing more than a lump of cells, takes precedent and has a greater right to your body than you do. Thompson’s many examples throughout her paper provide strong evidence towards proving her stance and have convinced me to have an elevated understanding of a woman’s right to her body.
Warren, Mary Anne , and Mappes and D. DeGrazia. "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion." Biomedical Ethics 4th (1996): 434-440. Print.