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An essay on why abortion should be legal
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History of abortion
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Abortion Has No Excuse
Abortion has taken the lives of more than 50 million babies since 1973 (“About Abortion”). The issue of abortion is one of the most common controversial issues in American politics and culture. In modern society, many women that have an unintended pregnancy and they result to abortion without researching other options. Abortion is not a substitute for birth control and this issue should be taken seriously. The individual woman needs to understand that by agreeing to have an abortion she is agreeing to kill an innocent fetus. Abortion rips the unborn child from his or hers right to life. Society needs to let women see through the eyes of the fetus and find alternative ways to raise the baby. Abortion should be illegal because childhood begins at conception, not at birth.
Abortion History
According to Google, abortion is derived from the latin root aboriri or abortio, meaning to miscarry, and is defined as ending a pregnancy by the removal from the uterus of a fetus or embryo before viability. Abortion techniques developed as early as 1500 BC when an Egyptian doctor suggested the idea of an induced abortion. Because abortion is the removing of a human embryo, abortion is considered homicide. As early as the 13th century, abortion has been treated like a crime, punishable by hanging. Well into the 19th century abortion remained an offense because you are killing off an innocent embryo that is the cause of certain actions you decide to partake in.(“Abortion Procon.org”). Later on in the 1840’s, the number of abortions among married women skyrocketed ("Transactions of the Washington Obstetrical and Gynecological Society"). Soon many U.S states began to ban abortions as they realized the medical implication...
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...ference Center. Web. 25 Apr. 2014
Roe v. Wade , US Supreme Court, lp.findlaw.com, Jan. 22, 1973
"Should abortion be legal in cases of rape and incest?." The Premier Online Debate Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014.
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"StandUpGirl: Changing hearts and saving lives through abortion alternatives." Live Action News RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. .
"Transactions of the Washington Obstetrical and Gynecological Society."Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014.
Wilson, Brian. "Counterpoint: Outlawing Abortion." Points Of View: Abortion (2013): 6. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
In Lucinda Almond’s book, “The Abortion Controversy”, she gives us an excellent resource for research and debatable topics that will rouse students interested in the contemporary and controversial topic of abortion. Her book also allows us to explore many of the social, political, and economic controversies over
Ever since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973, abortion has changed its course in society. With the new decision made by the United States, abortion is now legal. Many abortions were performed before the Supreme Court decision, but the settlement made it less risky for the doctors involved. Abortion has caused society to be divided between a pro-choice group and pro-life group. Two groups with struggles that will never end.
Abortions have been performed for thousands of years. In the 1800s abortions began to be outlawed. The reasons for anti-abortion laws varied for each state. Some people did not want the world to be dominated by newly arrived immigrants. Abortion in the 1800s were very unsafe due to the fact that the doctors had a limited educations and hospitals were not common. The outlawing of abortions from 1880 to 1973 led to many woman attempting illgeal abortions. (add author). Almost two hundred women died from attempting illegal abortions in 1965. Between two hundred thousand and one million illegal abortions were given each year. In states where local laws restrict the availability of abortion, women tend to have the lowest level of education and income. Additionally, in those states, less money goes toawrds education, welfare, fostercare programs, and adoption services. (Anderson, 5).
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...
Before 1820 abortion was legal and practiced, despite the fact that it was a dangerous procedure and more often than not resulted in the death of the mother. it wasn't until after 1821 that abortion started to become regulated and laws were set in place (lewis 2011). in 1879 the first law to be set up was in Connecticut, it was targeted towards merchants that sold poisons to cause miscarriages and drugs to prevent pregnancy and banned the use of the products. By the late 1800s even though abortion was illegal in most states it was still done under the table. Most people didn't get persecuted for illegally performing an abortion, mostly because of a lack of proof that the abortion was performed. the fetus was often disposed of and without it there was no proof of an abortion. most of the time the only way an abortionist could be convicted was if the woman was injured or died during the procedure, other than that it was next to impossible for someone to be convicted (Macadam 2001). in 1967 colorado and callifornia became the first states to legalize abortion, and in 1973 the supreme court made abortion legal across the united states (McBride 2006).
Among the Nations leading controversy’s, the bilateral issue of abortion seems to be a popular yet, contentious debate. For several decades, abortion has been a never ending conflict that has caused a division among society. This bitter political brawling has created a pointless stalemate that has left the abortion issue unresolved. What is right and what is wrong? Should a woman be allowed to have an abortion and deprive a child from life or should she be forced to forfeit her right to make her own decisions? Society is caught in the middle of this controversial topic because a portion of individuals believe that it should be a woman’s choice whether she has an abortion while others consider it to be murder.
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by destruction of a fertilized egg, embryo or fetus before birth, prior to the time when the fetus attains viability, or capacity for life outside the uterus (Encyclopedia, 1995, p.43). Currently almost twenty-five percent of pregnancies in the United States are aborted. About one forth of people who abort are teenagers, fifty-seven percent are younger than 25, and almost eighty percent are unmarried. During the first trimester is when most of the abortions take place. Only about ten percent are performed later in the pregnancy (Slife, 1998, p.329). Abortions go back as far as Ancient Greece where it was used as a type of population control. Then in the Roman Times men had total control over the procedure. “Man could give law-enforced command that his wife have an abortion, or he could punish or divorce his wife for having one without his consent” (Encyclopedia, 1995, p.43).
One of the most controversial issues in this day and age is the stance people take on abortion. The two main positions that people take are either of pro-choice or pro-life; both sides, although polar opposites, tend to refer to both the issue of morality and logical rationale. The pro-life side of the debate believes that abortion is an utterly immoral practice that should be abolished. On the contrary, abortion should remain a legal procedure because it is a reproductive right; its eradication would not only take away the pregnant person’s autonomy, but would also put more children in financially unstable homes and the adoption system, and would cause an increase in potentially fatal, unsafe abortions.
Kaczor, Christopher. The Ethics of Abortion: Women's Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice Routledge Annals of Bioethics. Routledge, 2013.
Why Abortion Is Evil & Not a "Pro-Choice"" TFP Student Action. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014
Carmen, Irin. “Abortion Bans with Exceptions for Rape Are Hypocritical.” Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 2012. Web. 13 Jan. 2014
Through every choice in life, there is a decision that must follow. Abortion is a woman’s individual choice; therefore, must be a legal part in todays society. Individual rights have an outstanding role in the controversial topic, on whether abortion should become legal in the United States . The individual rights for abortion show rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. As well, women should be able to have the choice to choose to have an abortion for several important reasons. The right to make these decisions should lie in the hands of the “mother” to make decisions concerning their own to make decisions concerning their own bodies. In addition, women should be given the choice to have an abortion if they are too young and unable to take care their child financially or emotionally. Additionally, the right to have an abortion is if the pregnancy negatively affects the woman's or the baby's health. Without abortions as a choice for the “mother” to resort to while she is going through hardship on deciding whether to keep the baby or not, the endless possibilities could negatively influence the mother to put her and the baby in a dangerous positions.
Abortion has been accepted by the United States of America ever since the monumental Roe vs. Wade case in the early 1970’s, but is still a very controversial issue. Many people are for and against abortions. Some people say that the child inside its mother’s womb deserves the opportunity to live, while others believe that a mother has the right to choose whether or not her fetus can live or die. Other advocates for abortion claim that abortion helps keep the threat of overpopulation down. They also say that in many extreme cases, it is in the best interest of the mother and the child that the fetus be aborted. Abortion helps keep the crime rate low, so it should remain legal, they also say.
Abortion in the United States is a legal form of murder. Each and every year over a million babies are murdered and it must be stopped now before it will continue to get out of hand each and every day. We have discussed in this essay that a fetus is a living humans and not something that can just be thrown away. An unborn child is still a child and he or she needs an opportunity to grow and live a long successful life just like the rest of us have gotten the privilege to do. Abortion cannot go on any longer. More and more live are lost every day.
Abortions can be traced back to ancient times; some were done by using sharp objects as tools, applying pressure on the lower abdomen, the use of herbs as medicine, and, beatings focusing