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Viewing abortion through a sociological lens
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Abortions are known as the termination of a pregnancy before the fetus is considered a “living human” often before the mother of the fetus is twenty eight weeks pregnant. Abortions were established many years ago, 500 B.C.E. to be exact. Many cultures have taken different approaches and methods to create “abortions”. The most common have been abortifacient herbs, the use of sharpened implements, abdominal pressure, cutting the fetus from the uterus, and other techniques. Being that abortions go back into the Roman time period, there is no telling who first discovered them but there are many great philosophers who expressed their thoughts, opinions, and gratitude on this touchy issue. During the Roman time period abortions were used to get rid of an unwanted fetus in many cases if the woman was pregnant out of wedlock, during adultery, or if a woman was considered “unworthy” of birth. Women who were prostitutes were often shunned and told and/or made to get abortions. Nowadays Women may use the same reasons to get an abortion with an extension of other social issues. For Instance, there are many teen pregnancies. It is a proven fact that teenage mothers are not capable to provide for a child better than if she had planned to get pregnant. Not saying that a teenager is not capable of being a mother nor a good one it is just way harder to care for a child and you still have to care for yourself as a child. Another reason women then and now could’ve been driven to get an abortion could be if they were raped at the time of the fetus being conceived. Many women know that they could not care for the child without being biased towards it because of the hurtful situation so they rather get rid of what they may consider “a remin... ... middle of paper ... ...destruction of the fetus or unborn child while the child is still here. Abortion proponents want to talk about the issue only from a women’s rights perspective. But surely the other life involved, the one abortion ends, also deserves consideration. The rest of us need to stand up for the nights of those without a voice. It makes me hopeful seeing a shift in public opinion that we are close to ending this period of blatant disrespect for life. The controversy within the biomedical ethics topic, abortion, has two main proponents. The first is the view against abortion, also known as pro-life. The other view, is rooted upon the belief of the being pro-choice, or basically for abortions. These two different views are like two mathematical principles, in that although these two views have many differences, they also have larger similarities in the background.
The topic on abortion gives a moral objection to a fetus’ right to life, while it is questionable whether or not the death of the unborn child is unjustifiable. Although it may seem as if abortion puts women in situations where it is necessary to save the mother’s life in some situations. Until both pro-life and pro-choice can come to a conclusion and an agreement, this debates on abortion will continually go on. Both sides need to be able to draw the line somewhere and balance each other’s weakness.
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).
Hiding behind the idea of “restoring” one’s menses, abortion was practiced throughout colonial America. However, abortions weren’t fully considered to be so until after the quickening in pregnancy. Quickening was marked by when the baby would kick, so in a time when not that much was known about the female body quickening was the only thing that confirmed if a woman was pregnant or not. The opinion on abortifacients changed over time and was dependent on who was taking advantage of them. People seemed to be more concerned about the fact that abortions were used to cover up the sin of fornication in the 18th century, whereas in the 19th century the more pressing issue was the fact that married upper- and middle-class women were now using abortifacients just to avoid childbirth.
Anger and heated debate have long fueled the controversy over abortion. Whether pro-life or pro-choice, both sides of the argument are convinced of the righteousness of their beliefs. There is, however, some confusion surrounding the term “pro-choice” – it does not directly pertain to the spread and use of abortion, but rather, “pro-choicers” advocate the continued legalization of abortion in order to make the choice available and to ensure that women’s fundamental rights are not subjugated. The stance that abortion should be available has its roots in economic concerns, psychological evidence, moral dilemmas, and the Constitution.
Abortion is an issue which separates the American public, especially when it involves the death of children and women. When an abortion occurs, the medical doctor removes the fetus from the pregnant woman. This particular act has separated the public. Many believe that abortion is not morally and ethically correct. On the other hand, some people believe that carrying and delivering the unborn child will hinder the safety of the mother, then an abortion is needed. Each view has its own merit in the debate. This debate has separated the public into two sections: pro-life and pro-choice. A pro-lifer opposes abortion, whereas, a pro-choicer believes that the decision to abort the child should be left to the mother because she is the one carrying the child. In this paper, there will be topics that will be discussed concerning pro-life and pro-choice. I hope at the end of this paper, the reader is able to gain more knowledge concerning each topic. Every woman has the right to control her own body.
Many people have their own opinions on abortion, that a fetus is a human being with a right to live so abortion is similar to murder. While other groups argue that a woman has certain rights, especially the choice whether to bring another life into the world. The groups that are for it think that abortion gives women the control over their own bodies, which it is their choice when and whether to have children or giving an option to choose to bring or not to bring a child with abnormalities to the world. Some children are born with severe disorders and some parents, being unable to care for their disabled child seek abortion as their one and only option because taking care of a child, especially born with abnormalities is tough work to do as a parent, so they decide whether bring a life into the world. They look ahead on what is best for them, and it is selfish. Or even having in mind that some do not want to become a single parent taking up two roles; a mother and father and they feel like every child should come into the world feeling wanted, loved and cared for. Another reason some women have an abortion is because they do not want to stop work or schooling, and these reasons are consistent across many countries, including America. Other reasons are because of societal pressures, women get little to no social support. But
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.
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).
The murder of innocents or, a woman’s right to choose; the Pro-Life/ Pro-Choice Debate, Which side are you on? The issue of abortion has been a topic of interest not only in the medical world but also in the political and religious worlds as well. The pro-life argument states that at conception the fetus is a baby and terminating it is taking a life. The pro-choice argument states that the unborn fetus, not baby, is just a blob of tissue and your terminating a pregnancy not a child. Both sides of the argument will be discussed in this essay along with the views of the church, politicians, women who have had abortion, and even a women who use to worked for Planned Parenthood.
According to Judith Thomson in her book “A Defense of Abortion”, a human embryo is a person who has a right to life. But, just because the human fetus has the right to life does not mean that the mother will be forced to carry it (Thomson, 48). Naturally, abortion may be seen as the deliberate termination of a pregnancy before the fetal viability. Though people have understood this, the topic of abortion has remained a controversial issue in the world. Individuals are divided into “Pro-choice” and “Pro-life” debaters depending on their opinion on the morality of the action. "Pro-life," the non-consequentialist side, is the belief that abortion is wrong, generally because it equates to killing. "Pro-choice," the consequentialist view, however,
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.
It is almost unanimously agreed upon that the right to life is the most important and sacred right possessed by human beings. With this being said, it comes as no surprise that there are few issues that are more contentious than abortion. Some consider the process of abortion as immoral and consisting of the deprivation of one’s right to life. Others, on the opposite end of the spectrum, see abortion as a liberty and a simple exercise of the right to the freedom of choice.
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.