Abortion is Woman’s Right to Choose

1524 Words4 Pages

Abortion is Woman’s Right to Choose

With so many women choosing to have abortions, it would be expected that it would not be so greatly frowned up, yet society is still having problems with its acceptance. Every woman has the fundamental right to decide for herself, free from government interference, whether or not to have an abortion. Today, more than ever, American families do not want the government to trample on their right to privacy by mandating how they must decide on the most intimate, personal matters. That is why, even though Americans may differ on what circumstances for terminating a crisis pregnancy are consistent with their own personal moral views, on the fundamental question of who should make this personal decision, the majority of Americans agree that each woman must have the right to make this private choice for herself. Anti-choice proposals to ban abortions for “sex-selection” or “birth-control” are smokescreens designed to shift the focus of the debate away from this issue and trivialize the seriousness with which millions of women make this highly personal decision. Any government restriction on the reasons for which women may obtain legal abortions violates the core of this right and could force all women to publicly justify their reasons for seeking abortion.

Most people agree that abortion should be a rare procedure. To accomplish that ideal, our society must proactively, by providing resources and support, offer pregnant women the hope that carrying their babies to term is not the end of their plans and dreams. Then their difficult decisions would really be true choices vice acts of desperation. After all, it is just as much “pro-choice” for a woman to take charge of her life and courageously carr...

... middle of paper ...

...h wish that there were better solutions that could make abortion unnecessary, or prevent pregnancies in the first place. We'd like to see the demand for the procedure reduced, by resolving women's problems and alleviating the pressure for abortion. We can go along this road together as far as we can, and there will come a time when pro-choicers are satisfied and pro-lifers want to keep going, but that doesn't mean we can't go together for now.

Bibliography:

Family Planning Council, 2000. http://www.familyplanning .org/

Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 1998-2000. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/

Periodicals:

Greene, H. Fields. “Conservatives fighting congressional battles over choice.” Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service 15 July 1998: 71-73.

Mathewes-Green, Frederica. “The Abortion Debate Is Over.” Christianity Today 6 Dec. 1999: 86

Show More
Related

  • Abortion Should be Illegal in the Untied States

    2279 Words  | 5 Pages

    Abortion, which is defined as a deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, is one of the most controversial issues in society. Many people believe that abortion is unethical and morally wrong, while others believe that it is a woman’s right to decide what to do with her body. According to www.census.gov, “the number of abortions performed annually in the U.S. has leveled off at 1.2 million a year” (1). This statistic supports how many women are choosing abortion. Although abortion is legal in the United States, many people continue to voice their opinions on how it is a human rights violation and should be illegal everywhere.

    Read More

  • Roe v. Wade

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    On January 22, 1973, a monumental ordeal for all of the United States had come about, which was that abortion was legalized. It was the Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade that made us take a turn on this political issue. In this case, Jane Roe (Norma McCorvey) was an unmarried woman who wasn’t permitted to terminate her unborn child, because the Texas criminal abortion law made it impossible to perform an abortion unless it was putting the mother’s health in danger. Jane Roe was against doing it illegally, so she fought to do it legally. In the court ruling, they acknowledged that the lawful right to have privacy is extensive enough to cover a woman’s decision on whether or not she should be able to terminate her pregnancy.

    Read More

  • Abortion: Pro-life!

    487 Words  | 1 Pages

    Every day, an overwhelming amount of human beings’ lives are terminated. The culprit: unwanted pregnancies. Many woman are (not by choice), becoming pregnant as a result of unsafe sex, rape, and other things. So what is one to do when they discover that they’re pregnant? They have some alternatives: (1) have the child and raise it (2) have the child, then give it up for adoption (3) get an abortion. Sadly, many women choose alternative three, unaware of what they’re getting themselves into.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Abortion

    2739 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Pro Choice

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    For over two centuries abortion has been an issue of controversy within the United States; furthermore, at the heart of this debate lies the standoff between advocates of pro-life and of pro-choice. Individuals who identify as pro-life strongly oppose abortion, believing it to be unjust and illegal. The argument pro-life advocates often put forth is that the fetus in question qualifies as a human being; therefore, to end its life prematurely is akin to murder. Pro-choice advocates, on the other hand, are strong supporters of placing the power of decision within the mother’s hands and allowing her to determine what is best for both her and her unborn child. (Hopely)

    Read More

  • Abortion In California

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Abortion

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being a mother is a lifelong job that requires copious time, energy, and money. There are myriad different reasons in which a woman would consider getting an abortion. The decision is often tragic and painful for the mother. It is one of the biggest choices a woman will make. Many people have strong beliefs about abortion, and if a mother makes a decision that they do not agree with they sometimes turn against the mother, and enkindle egregious feelings about their decision for the rest of their life. Indeed a woman may not get an abortion for selfish reasons or out of convenience, but out of a desire to protect certain important values such as her own health or a decent standard of living for the other members of the family. Additional intentions for having abortion include rape, financial difficulties, obligation by family members, or danger to the baby’s health (Roleff

    Read More

  • Abortion, Public Policy, & Texas

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Abortion Debate: It Will Never End

    2319 Words  | 5 Pages

    Even though the United States has ruled abortions to be legal, there is still controversy. One may say that this is a growing problem in our country. However, for every problem there should be a solution. Erika Bachiochi argues that: “The state's suppression of a woman's right to choose [was] simply a perpetuation of the patriarchal nature of our society...To free women from [the] gender hierarchy, women must have a right to do what they please with their bodies” (22). She says that women have always been suppressed of their rights, and men believe that they have more power than women. Bachiochi, as well as many other women, believe that they should have choice over something as simple as their own bodies. Having a right to their bodies helps make women feel free from the idea that men are superior to women. Women have always been told how to act in society, but when it comes to abortion they believe that their voices should be heard. If women have no other right, at least let them have a right over their own bodies. The solution may be simple, but getting there may not be so easy. On this issue Eileen McDonagh proposes that, “The right...

    Read More

  • The Morality of Abortions

    2714 Words  | 6 Pages

    Abortion’s legalization through Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade, has allowed for one in three pregnancies to end in abortion. This means that 1.5 million abortions are performed in the United States each year (Flanders 3). It ranks among the most complex and controversial issues, arousing heated legal, political, and ethical debates. The modern debate over abortion is a conflict of competing moral ideas and of fundamental human rights: to life, to privacy, to control over one's own body. Trying to come to a compromise has proven that it one cannot please all of the people on each side of the debate.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Abortion

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today, abortion has become one of the greatest controversies throughout the world. The debate on whether or not abortion should become a legal option continues to dismember not only Americans, but citizens of other countries. There are people who believe abortion is a women’s civil right, and those who consider it as an immoral act. There are those who believe personhood begins at birth, and those who believe personhood begins from the moment of conception. Many contradictory statements lead to the separation of two groups: pro-choice and pro-life. While a pro-choice supports a women’s “right to privacy”, pro-life supporters are against such an action considering it murder, but why force a female to go through such a dramatic change because of a pregnancy?

    Read More

  • A Stance on Abortion

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Abortion in the United States

    3510 Words  | 8 Pages

    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)

    Read More

  • Abortion Should Be Legal

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Abortion Essay

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    Abortion is an extremely controversial issue and one that is continually on the forefront of debates. Those who oppose the idea (Pro-lifers), thinks it is an act of woman playing “God” who live from who dies. Yet, whether an unborn baby constitutes a normal person is questionable; a pregnant woman, on the other hand, has the undeniable right to choose whether she wants to have a child or not. Therefore, the decision to have an abortion is the personal choice and responsibility of the woman, because prohibiting abortion impedes freedom of choice and endangers the physical and mental health of women.

    Read More

More about Abortion is Woman’s Right to Choose

Open Document