Terminating the life of a child without allowing it to even be born has been one of the most controversial topics for centuries. Abortion is the term used to identify the act of intentionally interrupting pregnancy and not allowing the embryo (first stage of development) or fetus (eight weeks and on) to continue its normal process. Each woman has different reasons to decide to commit abortion and is either willing to put an end to their child’s life or permit it to live, even if it is unwanted. If it’s right or wrong, just or unfair is the main argument of the continuous controversy.
In past centuries, before the mid 1800s abortion was legally, commonly, and freely practiced. Yet, around twenty states started to pass laws to make the practice of aborting illegal. The states reasons included the danger of abortion occurring with little medical education in the time. Between the mid 1800s through 1973 abortion was illegal, but statistics say that even the year before 1973 abortions were as high as about 1.2 million per year (National Abortion Federation). The 1973 court case called Roe v. Wade opened up the possibility for women to decide to legally and safely abort or not. Jane Roe was the representation of all the women that wanted to have the right to abort in a legal and safe manner and her voice was heard and acknowledged. In the other hand, the attorney Henry Wade defended abortion being illegal, yet his point of view on the subject was not able to overcome in the final court decision. Abortion was no longer illegal and the practice of it was safer and women were now able to confidently enter a facility to act upon her final decision (Glazer). Recently, the abortion controversy is starting to spark up again with it being lab...
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...ter those who stand firm and convinced on what side they incline to. In a definite matter, it is disturbing to know that 42 million abortions occur a year worldwide. Anyhow, the decision is personal and setting the difference disregarding the surrounding conditions is up to the parent.
Work Cited
Glazer, Sarah. "Roe v. Wade At 25." CQ Researcher Online. CQ Press, 28 Nov. 1997. Web. 5 Mar. 2011.
"History of Abortion." National Abortion Federation. NFA. Web. 5 Mar. 2011.
Jost, Kenneth. "Abortion Debates." CQ Researcher Online. CQ Press, 10 Sept. 2010. Web. 5 Mar. 2010.
Johansen, Jay. "Pro-Choice Arguments." Pregnant Pause. 04 Sept. 2000. Web. 05 Mar. 2011.
Reardon, David C. "Rape, Incest and Abortion: Searching Beyond the Myths." After Abortion. 1993. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. .
Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before birth; it causes the termination of the embryo or fetus inside the women. There are two different types of abortion, a spontaneous abortion, which is also known as a miscarriage, and an induced abortion, where the embryo or fetus is purposely removed from the women’s body. The topic of induced abortion has been widely debated for hundreds of years. The issue of abortion was argued way back in the time of the ancient Hebrews. In the United States it became illegal around the mid 1800’s and not until the 1960’s was the argument for the right to abort brought back to the table. In 1973, the Supreme Court case “Roe vs. Wade” made abortion legal. The case stated that abortion was legal in the first trimester (three months) of pregnancy (O’Brien par. 17). Since that day over 30 years ago, there have been many cases in which abortion has been disputed. Congress has passed many laws restricting abortion rights, including in cases such as Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services and Stenberg v. Carhart (O’Brien par. 18). There are many other cases like these and each time is seems more likely that a woman’s right to choose could be overturned (“Reproductive Rights” 26). There are many different ranges of beliefs about the morality of abortion, whether or not one should have an abortion, and under what conditions the termination of pregnancy is acceptable. Many argue at what point in the process of pregnancy a human person comes into existence. People disagree about whether anything from an ovum to a fetus is a form of human life. No person knows this information, but it is debated among the two major sides on this issue. The first side are those that believe abortion should be forb...
"Background on Abortion." OnTheIssues.org - Candidates on the Issues. On The Issues.org. Web. 23 July 2011. .
Frohock, F.M (1983) Abortion: A Case Study in Law and Morals. United States of America: Greenwood Press. Retrieved on June 9, 2008.
Abortion, which is defined as a deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, is one of the most controversial issues in society. Many people believe that abortion is unethical and morally wrong, while others believe that it is a woman’s right to decide what to do with her body. According to www.census.gov, “the number of abortions performed annually in the U.S. has leveled off at 1.2 million a year” (1). This statistic supports how many women are choosing abortion. Although abortion is legal in the United States, many people continue to voice their opinions on how it is a human rights violation and should be illegal everywhere. The practice of abortion should be banned in society because it terminates the life of an innocent unborn child, causes long-term emotional effects, as well as major health risks for women who opt for abortion.
Warren, Mary Anne , and Mappes and D. DeGrazia. "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion." Biomedical Ethics 4th (1996): 434-440. Print.
As one knows, some unwanted pregnancies could often be harmful and distressing for a woman. Women should have the right over their body to choose to sustain the fetus or not. In the past decades, women did not have their freedom of abortion in many countries of the world. There have always been controversies going on about abortion. Each individual has dissimilar views on the legality of abortion. Some people are against abortion for personal religious purposes and beliefs. For those who don’t believe in abortion, it is because they see it as killing a fetus, which is a human being. Others support abortion because they believe in women’s rights. Laws of abortion vary in each country, and abortion is not legal all over the world. It is illegal under any conditions but only permitted to save woman’s life if in countries such as Brazil, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, and Ireland. However, abortion is legal without any restrictions in countries like Canada, Albania, and Italy. It the past decades Abortion was considered as criminal act in Canada. “If an abortion was carried out without such approval, the woman was liable for imprisonment for 2 years, an...
Over the duration 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 consideration to her reproductive rights. The drawback, however, is that there is no agreement upon when life begins and at which point one crosses the line from unalienable rights to murder.
Baird, Robert M., and Stuart E. Rosenbaum. The Ethics of Abortion: Pro-life vs. Pro-choice. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus, 1989. Print.
Reardon, David C, “Rape, Incest and Abortion: Searching beyond the Myths” Reardon, David C. published in; The Post-Abortion Review 2(1) winter 1994. Paragrah3. 12/13/09. http://www.afterabortion.org/rape.html
3. Kingston Women’s Centre, 1995, Abortion in Law, History, & Religion Toronto; child birth by Choice Trust
Abortion is one of America’s most controversial subjects. The participants in this debate have fixed beliefs on the matter at hand. On one side of the debate are people who believe in pro- choice. They argue that choice of a woman is more important than an unborn fetus. They point out that an unborn child is not on the same level of importance as the mother. Also, the pro-life group declares that choice is the sole purpose behind their argument. They believe that if a woman cannot chose to abolish a pregnancy, then she looses one of her basic human rights. The other side of the debate is the pro-life group. Their main concern is that the fetus is a person; therefore, having the same human rights as the mother. As a result, when states pass laws that enable abortions, these states are legalizing murder. When considering an individual’s ethics and values, killing is morally wrong. Therefore, the termination of unborn children is wrong, as well. Abortion, the unethical expulsion of an embryo or fetus, in order to purposely end a pregnancy, should be forbidden because human life begins at conception, economics is not a justification for abortion, and an unwanted child does not justify abortion.
Carr, Jessica. "Project 6 - Blog Roll." Project 6. Abortion Inhumane, 19 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
Abortion is an extremely controversial issue and one that is continually on the forefront of debates. Those who oppose the idea (Pro-lifers), thinks it is an act of woman playing “God” who live from who dies. Yet, whether an unborn baby constitutes a normal person is questionable; a pregnant woman, on the other hand, has the undeniable right to choose whether she wants to have a child or not. Therefore, the decision to have an abortion is the personal choice and responsibility of the woman, because prohibiting abortion impedes freedom of choice and endangers the physical and mental health of women.
Abortions have always been a very controversial topic. Over the years we continue to fight for or against it. One can say that is one of the most talked and argued topic in the United States. An abortion is when a woman terminates her pregnancy before the fetus is viable using various of methods. Some argue that abortions should be illegal and considered murder, while others, from a religious point of view, say that no one has the right to take away the life of a person, in this case the fetus. However, others insist, that abortions are a basic women’s right.