Women Have the Right to a Safe Abortion

Women Have the Right to a Safe Abortion

The Supreme Court decision in 1973 on the case of Roe v. Wade was supposed to mark the beginning of privacy and safety for women facing unwanted pregnancies. But, as Anna Quindlen states: "The right to choose became the right to convince a judge that you should have an abortion because you couldn't dare tell your parents. It became the right to walk through keening demonstrators, strangers begging you not to kill your baby. It became the right to be treated by a doctor who the next day could end up dead, murdered because of his work" (Quindlen, 86).

The Christian Bible is silent on the topic of abortion. Why? Some suggest that it is because it would be unthinkable for to an Israelite woman to terminate a pregnancy. However, it is known that abortion was practiced in the ancient world. In Assyria, Israel's neighbor, there were rules concerning self-induced abortion. In both the Old and New Testaments, the Israelites condemn the unsavory practices of their neighbors, such as idol worship and sacred prostitution. But no mention of abortion is made. The commandment that "Thou shall not kill" also has holes in it as Biblical proof against abortion. The commandment did not apply to all living things indiscriminately; the Israelites were expected to kill animals for food and sacrifice, as well as to end the existence of their enemies, such as the Philistines. The answer, then, is not so cut-and-dried. A good question to ask: is the fetus a person, or when does it become one, and of what value in comparison to the woman who carries it (Ward)?

A zygote, or fertilized ovum, is a potential human life, but not yet an actuality. It is a cluster of cells far less deve...

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...at misses the bedrock fact about abortion: it's never just about science" (France and Rosenburg, 30).

In the United States, the question is not between abortion or no abortion, but of safe, legal abortion or unsafe, illegal or self-procedures. A question that real live women deal with. "You don't know them. You don't know what's in their hearts or their minds or their wombs. And, frankly, it's none of your business. The biggest mirage of all is that it is" (Quindlen, 86).

Mifepristone puts the choice literally in the woman's hands. However, a better solution would be to prevent conception altogether. In France, where RU-486 was discovered, surgical abortions are still more popular than the pill. But places, such as the Netherlands, where contraceptives are readily available and covered by health insurance, abortion rates are dramatically less.