During the past quarter century, abortion has joined race and war
as one of the most debatable subject of controversy in the United States.
It discusses human interaction where ethics, emotions and law come together.
Abortion poses a moral, social and medical dilemma that faces many
individuals to create a emotional and violent atmosphere. There are many
points of view toward abortion but the only two fine distinctions are "pro-
choice" and "pro-life". A pro-choicer would feel that the decision to abort
a pregnancy is that of the mothers and the state has no right to interfere.
A pro-lifer would hold that from the moment of conception, the embryo or
fetus is alive. This life imposes on us a moral obligation to preserve it
and that abortion is tantamount to murder (Kolner 5).
In the United States about 1.6 million pregnancies end in abortion.
Women with incomes under eleven thousand are over three times more likely
to abort than those with incomes above twenty-five thousand. Unmarried
women are four to five times more likely to abort than married and the
abortion rate has doubled for 18 and 19 year olds. Recently the U.S. rate
dropped 6 percent overall but the rate of abortion among girls younger than
15 jumped 18 percent. The rate among minority teens climbed from 186 per
1,000 to 189 per 1,000.
The most popular procedure involved in abortions is the vacuum
aspiration which is done during the first trimester (three months or less
since the women has become pregnant). A tube is simply inserted through the
cervix and the contents of the uterus are vacuumed out. The most commonly
used type of second trimester abortion is called dilation and evacuation.
Since the fetus has bones, bulk and can move, second trimester is not as
simple. When as much of the fetus and placenta are vacuumed out then
tweezers are used to remove larger parts. After this, or the beginning of
the fifth month abortion is serious and actually induced as childbirth.
That is, the mother is given substances which puts her into labor and
delivers the fetus as she would a full-term baby. About 40 percent of
Americans believe that abortion should remain legal and 40 percent believe
it should be banned except when the pregnancy threatens the life of the
mother or is the result of rape or incest. Also 15 percent believe it
should be illegal in all cases. Although abortion is regarded as a women's
right, it should be banned with exceptions because it's considered murder,
has many psychological side effects and there is an alternative.
Abortion is a women's own right and choice. In 1973 the Roe v. Wade
decision proved this by recognizing abortion as a fundamental constitution
right and made it legal in all states. The law now permits abortion at the
request of the women without any restrictions in the first trimester and
some restrictions in the second trimester to protect the women's health.
The National Abortion Right Act League argues that without legal abortion
women would be denied their constitutional right of privacy and liberty.
The women's right to her own body subordinates those of the fetus and the
U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade argued that the women's "right to
privacy" overruled the fetus's right to life. If abortion was illegal it
would force poor women to bear and raise children they can't afford to
bring up. There would be a number of unsafe abortions in back allies. It
would also force women to give up their dreams and stay home to bring up
babies. Worst of all, it would condemn victims of rape and incest to ...