Illegal Abortion Essay

Throughout the 1950’s, an estimated annual figure ranging from 200,000 to 1.2 illegal abortions took place. These women would try to abort their pregnancies whether or not the procedure was legal in the states in which they resided. Women who seek to receive illegal abortions face serious and life-threatening side effects or even death. They are dangerous because the individual performing the abortion does not typically have the professional training or knowledge to keep the patient safe. Illegal abortions take place in environments with limited medical and safety standards (The Impact of Illegal Abortions, 2014). After one of the most significant court cases in the history of our country, Roe vs. Wade, women began to receive the benefits of the legalization of this procedure. Roe, a pregnant single woman from Texas, challenged the abortion laws of her state. The Texas laws did not allow women to abort their pregnancies unless the procedure could potentially save the woman’s life. As a result, the court decided that women could legally receive abortions in the first trimester of their pregnancies (Pichler, 2006). Prior to this historical court case, each year at least 5,000 women died from illegal abortions (The Impact of Illegal Abortions, 2014). After abortion was legalized, it became much safer. For example, the procedures take place in well-equipped clinics and hospitals; the death rate from abortion has significantly decreased to .6 per 100,000 procedures. Although the outcome of this court case has positively impacted the women of our country, this policy should be taken a step further. Legislation should be created that eliminates restriction on a woman’s right to an abortion on a national level for any trimester of preg...

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...esitate to fight back in various ways, such as sending messages through social media and getting involved in marches on governmental buildings. American women would live in a much safer society if legislation with pro-choice components because illegal abortions would be prevented. As a result, women would not risk their lives by receiving the procedure from unreliable sources. Therefore, fewer women would die from abortions because they would receive the proper medical attention that they need. Not only would a national liberal abortion law decrease the rate of illegal abortions, but it would also prevent poverty. Women living below the poverty threshold should not be expected to care for a child because they already struggle to survive alone. This policy should be enacted as soon as possible in order to give the women of our country the rights that they deserve.