Whether or not abortion should be legal in the United States is one of the most controversial and heated issues to date. Abortion is defined as “a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus.” Abortion was made legal in the United States on January 22, 1973 as an outcome of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court case. In this case, the court recognized for the first time that if abortion were to remain illegal, the United States would be continuing to violate the constitutional right to privacy which “is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy” (Roe v. Wade, 1973). Though millions of safe and professional abortions have been performed since legalization, Americans still debate …show more content…
Pro-choice supporters believe that abortion should remain legal and a woman should be free to determine the future of her own body without the influence of religion or the government, while pro-life enthusiasts believe life begins at the moment of conception and therefore abortion is the immoral killing of innocent human beings. Abortion is a life or death matter and has no grounds for agreement between the two opposing sides of the dispute. Abortion should remain legal in the United States because it allows women to take control of their bodies by offering a second chance when a poor or misguided choice was made, when the life of the expected mother is in danger or the child is predetermined to be born with serious medical complications, or when the unwanted pregnancy is the outcome of a repulsive act of sexual violence or incest. It is clear that abortion should remain legal because while some people may find it to be immoral, abortion is often the best choice that a woman finds herself presented with when weighing her …show more content…
For a couple who is hoping to conceive and planning for a child, finding out their child will be born with a serious medical condition that will hinder their child’s quality of life is a devastating discovery. About 14 – 20 weeks into pregnancy mothers undergo a test known as an amniocentesis test which examines the amniotic fluid surrounding the developing fetus. An amniocentesis test can detect a variety of chromosome abnormalities, defects and genetic disorders. This medical test can be beneficial for parents who want to be prepared if they are having a child with a medical complication or for those who want to be able to decide if the pregnancy should be terminated. The decision of whether or not to terminate a pregnancy includes many thoughts about what kind of life a child with severe medical problems will live along with conflicting thoughts of expanding one’s family. It is never an easy choice for parents to terminate pregnancy, but it is always necessary for women to have the
Abortion, is a safe and legal way to terminate a pregnancy. According to the Guttmatcher Institute (2015), abortions are common, and approximately three in ten American women have an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45. Additionally, a broad array of women in the United States have abortions. Yet, abortion is a controversial issue and has been for decades. It is a topic that many people hold strong feelings for or against. The conversations surrounding the topic of abortion has resulted in protests, dangerous, unfair policies, and violence. The abortion debate heightened in 1973, when the U.S. Supreme court overturned state laws that banned or restricted women’s rights to obtain an abortion during the
As to any argument, there are two opposing sides when it comes to the matter of abortions. These two opposers usually refer to themselves as “pro-life” and “pro choice”. Pro-life supporters maintain that abortion is wrong and pro-choice believe that it is a woman’s freedom to choose her pregnancy decisions. When it comes to the topic of abortions, most of us will readily agree that it’s a woman’s choice to decide what her reproductive decisions are, i.e. pro-choice. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is in the question of whether or not abortion is a fundamental right granted to women by the Constitution. Whereas some are convinced that a fetus is considered alive at conception, usually citing the word of God, others maintain that
Pro-choice versus pro-life argues over the issue of what should be the right stance when dealing with the life of an unborn child. From the perspective of a person who is pro-choice, they believe that “individuals have unlimited autonomy with respect to their own reproductive systems, just as long as they don’t violate the independence of others.” Pro-choice also argues that the government should not have the right to decide whether a woman should exterminate her pregnancy or not. From their viewpoint, they believe that what should be legal in the eyes of the government is contraception use, celibacy, abstinence, and abortion for the first two trimesters of pregnancy. On the stance of pro-life, they argue that the government has a right
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 into this political issue. In this case Jane Roe (Norma McCorvey) was an unmarried woman who wasn’t permitted to terminate her unborn child, for 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 cases ruling they acknowledged that the lawful right to having privacy is extensive enough to cover a woman’s decision on whether or not she should be able to terminate her pregnancy.
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
Abortion is a very controversial and sensitive topic in today’s society. Two different sides to this argument is pro-life and pro-choice. Pro-life proponents believe in the right to life for unborn fetuses saying that abortion should be considered murder regardless of how far along in the pregnancy the woman is. Pro-choice advocates people who believe the woman carrying the fetus should be able to make her own decision on aborting the fetus.
There are many reasons to keep abortion legal. There is more to this than most think such as, “back alley” abortions and how dangerous those could be, even possibly causing death of the mother. With that said, in cases of rape or incest it most definitely should remain legal. At least in America, women have rights, which that include a say in what happens with their bodies. Everyone is responsible for their own physical well-being, as women are to decide the fate of his or her own bodies; even if it is to the extent of getting an abortion. Although these may all play an important role in the topic of keeping abortion legal, it’s important to have cold, hard, facts behind these bold statements.
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
One of the most debatable topics even in today’s society is the right to abortion. Some people believe that life starts at conception and that even an unborn child deserves the same legal protections as an adult. Pro-life advocates argue that ending its life is similar to murder (POLS210, n.d.). Mean while, others also known as Pro-Choice believe it begins at birth and that with laws that restrict abortion it gets in the way with the right of a woman to make a decision of what is in her own best interest (U.S. History, n.d.).
Nearly one in three women will have had at least one abortion by menopause, and 61 percent of women who have abortions are already mothers. An abortion is the act of removing a human embryo or fetus from the uterus of a pregnant woman prior to the completion of the full term of pregnancy. The two sides, pro-choice and pro-life, disagree on whether or not abortions should be legal. Pro-choice people are in favor of abortions when desired by the mother, and allow the mother to make all decisions regarding the pregnancy. In contrast, pro-life people believe abortions should be outlawed, and some within this category suppose abortion could be an option under certain circumstances, such as rape or health risk to the mother. Currently, abortions are legal before 24 weeks into the pregnancy at the mother’s request. Abortion should be legal in the first two trimesters, and allowed when health risks are present in the third trimester because supporting a pro-life stance
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.
Abortion has been a controversial topic in the U.S ever since it became legal in 1973 after the Roe v. Wade case. Abortion is defined as the, “the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.” Pro-life supporters believe that abortion is unethical and argue that it is the mother’s responsibility to own up to her actions. They also argue that there is always the option of adoption, and that abortion could be very dangerous. I am pro-life and believe that the government doesn’t have the right to decide what a woman can or can’t do with her body.
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)
Abortion has been accepted by the United States of America ever since the monumental Roe vs. Wade case in the early 1970’s, but is still a very controversial issue. Many people are for and against abortions. Some people say that the child inside its mother’s womb deserves the opportunity to live, while others believe that a mother has the right to choose whether or not her fetus can live or die. Other advocates for abortion claim that abortion helps keep the threat of overpopulation down. They also say that in many extreme cases, it is in the best interest of the mother and the child that the fetus be aborted. Abortion helps keep the crime rate low, so it should remain legal, they also say.