Introduction Abortion is a controversial topic in today’s society as many opinions from different social groups on whether it should be legal or not create the big question: should the government be able to take away a woman’s reproductive right if it is to protect a fetus? In the United States particularly, much of the debate since the 1970s has focused on the Supreme Court case Roe v Wade, in which the court proclaimed women's’ rights to abortion but declared that the states could limit and regulate the procedure. That means that currently, the state of California allows abortions, but many groups against abortion, mostly called “pro-lifers,” still try to fight against it and want it banned. Women have a right to their own body and should …show more content…
Providing safe and legit abortions when made legal saves the lives of many women. People also have to consider the fact that poor women would basically be stuck and forced to have a child although she can barely provide for herself. While wealthy women could travel to anywhere that abortion is legal, poor women would be left in the dark and have to struggle on their own. In addition, an unborn fetuses’ life should not have more value than the woman herself. Governments should consider the rights, circumstances, and hardships that a woman has to go through during pregnancy and afterwards trying to raise a child. Abortion should stay legal in California and should be everywhere else as it is a woman’s constitutional right to decide what she wants to do with her body and whether she can handle providing for another life at the time other than her own; the government should not force a woman to have a child, that is not her required …show more content…
Many mothers would agree that having a child is not the easiest task, and the thought of nine months of pregnancy is scary, especially when someone simply is not ready for a child; so women taking desperate measures to end their pregnancy is somewhat understandable. Found in an informational database, an article states, “Statistics clearly show that when abortion is made illegal or inaccessible, women who confront unwanted pregnancies inevitably turn to other, typically very unsafe, avenues to end their pregnancies rather than carrying them to term. Out of desperation, they may seek help from unqualified, unregulated providers who work in unsanitary conditions and provide no post-surgical care” (Abortion: Guide to Critical Analysis; Database). This proves that banning abortion inevitably causes a danger to women who do not want to have children, but are being forced to. With abortion banned there would be no more demand and jobs for physicians or providers of the abortion procedure to do so safely, which result in those desperate women to end their pregnancy on their own or with dangerous methods. However, because California already allows abortions, this problem is not too serious. The state of California has actually broadened the types of providers for abortions, which give women more options to choose who they believe will give them the
Through out the history of the constitution of california there has been a number of attempts to change how abortion in teens is handled. Proposition 4 intends to give the parents the right to know when their unmancipated teens want to get an abortion. some supporters of this proposition argue that it will save lives and money for the state. People against it say is more dangerous to teens because they could be driven to use not regulated clinics and or to run away from home. In this research paper we will go through both points of view, and also the implications of continuing with the current constitution or changing it as the proposition 4 dictates.
No other element of the Women’s Rights Movement has generated as much controversy as the debate over reproductive rights. As the movement gained momentum so did the demand for birth control, sex education, family planning and the repeal of all abortion laws. On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision which declared abortion "fundamental right.” The ruling recognized the right of the individual “to be free from unwanted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the right of a woman to decide whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.” (US Supreme Court, 1973) This federal-level ruling took effect, legalizing abortion for all women nationwide.
Over the course 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 regard to her reproductive rights.
Today, an abortion is done by a professional in the field that has had the specialized training to carry out the procedure. Before abortion became legal and easily accessible to women, many women were using back-alley or self induced abortions to get rid of unwanted pregnancies. The result of these unsafe procedures can be very devastating for both the women and the baby. Back in the early to mid 1900’s, wealthy women requiring an abortion because of severe medical reasons were generally able to find a physician who could perform an abortion. However, the poor women had to turn towards illegal and unsafe abortions, which ended in countless deaths and mutilations. Between the years of the 1950s to 1960s, it has been estimated that there were around 200,000 to 1,200,000 illegal abortions performed each year in the United States. Up to about 5,000 of these abortions ended with the death of the women having the procedure done. Because of abortion now being legal and accessible to all women in the United States, the death rate from getting one is extremely low, about 0.6 per 100,000 abortion procedures. Having a safe, legal, and effective place and way to get an abortion has overall been safer for the women getting an
The current issues concerning a woman’s right to an abortion include the debates between pro-life and pro-choice groups that promote either restrictions or extensions to a woman’s ability to receive abortions respectively, along with debate about the role that the government should play in the process of limiting or extending rights. Pro-life groups argue many points against abortion including the beliefs that life begins at conception, adoption is a viable alternative to abortion, the procedures sometimes cause medical complications, a...
The debate of abortion continues to be a controversial problem in society and has been around for many decades. According to Jone Lewis, “In the United States, abortion laws began to appear in the 1820’s, forbidding abortion after the fourth month of pregnancy” (1). This indicates that the abortion controversy has been debated far back into American history. Beginning in the 1900’s, legalized abortion became a major controversy. In 1965, all fifty states in the United States banned abortion; however, that was only the beginning of the controversy that still rages today (Lewis 1). After abortion was officially banned in the United States, groups such as the National Abortion Rights Action League worked hard on a plan to once again legalize abortion in the United States (Lewis 1). It wasn’t until 1970 when the case of Roe (for abortion) v. Wade (against abortion) was brought...
Abortion may be one of the most controversial topics in America today. Abortion is defined as “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus” (cite dictionary). There are really only two sides on people’s opinion on abortion; pro-life which means abortion should be outlawed and pro-choice which means a woman should be able to decide whether she wants to keep her baby. Thousands of protests and riots have begun due to the fact pro-life activists believe abortion should become illegal. Both sides bring valid points to support their decision that could sway any person’s thoughts. The Roe v. Wade law has allowed abortion to be legal in the U.S since 1973 (Chittom & Newton, 2015). The law “gives women total control over first trimester abortions and grants state legislative control over second and third trimester abortions” (Chittom & Newton, 2015). Ever since the law was put in place, millions of people have tried to overturn it and still
Controversy and arguments that were setbacks in the ongoing battle for women’s rights, specifically the right to an abortion, were put to slight a rest with the landmark verdict of Roe v. Wade. The revolution in reproductive rights caused by Roe v. Wade evolved from a spark in the hearts of women everywhere. When women claimed their rights as humans, that was when the face of women’s equality in all aspects started to change. The case of Roe v. Wade was the official legalization of a woman’s constitutional right to get an abortion in the United States, but the aftermath of any case is what makes or breaks the future laws and regulations. Through all of the restrictions, regulations, and loopholes, Roe v. Wade’s verdict stuck and continued to
The right to choose, right to pursue and right of speech has been a natural right our founding fathers have strived to preserve since the day it was violated. Though, the right they fought to preserve only benefited if thou were a white male, we slowly have come to include the rest of our population regardless of sex or of racial orientation. Women, in particular, have come a long way since their debut in World War II and continue to dismantle the misogynistic traditions we have deeply ingrained into our society. However, women are facing another obstacle: the right to abort an unwanted child. The controversial topic of abortion has been touched upon by politicians, religious groups and the women themselves and although it has been marked
Abortion, defined as the intentional termination of a pregnancy, is one of the most highly debated liberties of all time. Approximately one to three million abortions are performed each year. Women receive abortions for reasons such as rape, teen pregnancy, and health concerns. Unfortunately, it is a liberty that some still wish to eradicate due to religious beliefs and misconceptions. Abortion should remain a legal option for women because illegal abortions result in far more fatalities, religion does not serve as grounds for a law, and most importantly, there is no conclusive evidence that a fetus is equal to a human being.
Since the early 1970’s abortion has been an important issue to the United States (Tietze 1). The problem begins with whether it is the woman’s choice to keep or terminate her pregnancy or the government’s choice. When this problem happens, a woman loses her right as a person. Most women argue about this issue, but if you look at it, it is the woman’s body, and she should do with it as she pleases. I believe that if a woman, under the right circumstances, should be able to make her own choices in life and not be influenced by family or the government.
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.
Abortion has been a complex social issue in the United States ever since restrictive abortion laws began to appear in the 1820s. By 1965, abortions had been outlawed in the U.S., although they continued illegally; about one million abortions per year were estimated to have occurred in the 1960s. (Krannich 366) Ultimately, in the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, it was ruled that women had the right to privacy and could make an individual choice on whether or not to have an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. (Yishai 213)
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.
While there are varying opinions on the subject, abortion should remain legal in the United States. First, the legalization of abortion offers immense protection for the health of women. For a large number of women that have ailments such as sickle-cell anemia, kidney disease, severe hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and other ailments that are life-threatening, carrying a pregnancy to full term can often be complicated. Indeed, a large number of pregnancies often render the women that have such conditions worse off than they were and place them in near-fatal circumstances. In essence, it is imperative that women are allowed to abort legally.