Choice Of Abortion example essay topic

Abortion The right to have an abortion is a woman's right not to have a conceived child. According to Compton's Encyclopedia, an abortion is the loss of a fetus before it is able to live outside the womb (1). Induced abortion is regarded as a moral issue in some cultures, but to others it is seen as an acceptable way to end an unplanned pregnancy. In the Supreme Court case of Roe vs. Wade (1973) women of the United States "have been granted the right to have abortions" (Sutton, 1). Many people, such as myself, believe that it is a woman's right to have an abortion, and no man, organization, or any form of government should take that right away from her. However, many people choose to argue that the choice of abortion should not be granted to women.

Many anti-abortionists believe that women do not bother with contraception because abortion is available. One source reveals that Americans have a high level of contraceptive use. In 1995, 58 percent of the women who had abortions used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2). Since no contraceptive is perfectly reliable, abortion is usually the last decision a woman will come to. Abortion is not seen by women who elect it as a preferred, or desired, form of contraception (Planned Parenthood, 4). Another anti-choice argument from the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortions is that since the majority rules in a democracy; there should be a national referendum on abortion so that the people can decide (3).

Contrary to belief, there is no national referendum in the United States. Everyone has Constitutional rights and should not be subjected to the vagary of the electorate. The right of freedom of choice should be protected from the tyranny of the majority. An abortion is a way to stop an unwanted pregnancy. Parents can both emotionally and financially limit their families to the number of children they want. In cases of rape, abortion is a good choice.

It is wrong to force a mother to bear a rapist's child. That in it self is further torture of the victim of a heinous crime. Many women become pregnant accidentally and are not ready to care for a child. Statistics from the Alan Guttmacher Institute show that 49 percent of pregnancies among American women are unplanned. Of the 49 percent, half of those pregnancies will end in abortion (32, 33). This is one case when a girl or couple might decide having an abortion is in the best interest of the child.

Another factor to support legal abortion is the dangers of illegal abortions. Until abortion was legalized women's choices were limited to dangerous childbirth and illegal abortions. Legal abortions help ensure the health of the woman. When trained professionals perform abortions in sanitary conditions, the risk to the woman's health is greatly reduced. The safest abortions are those that are performed early in pregnancy by well-trained doctors using medical or surgical methods.

The conditions in which the abortion is given must be hygienic and the procedure must be legal with legal protections enforced. Finally, abortion is a fundamental concept for women. As Margaret Sanger said, "No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her own body", (Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, 2). Many battles to ensure both political and economic battles have been fought by women. If the right of reproductive choice is denied, these battles will have been worth nothing. In conclusion, to ban abortion would be a step back for society.

Women have fought for hundreds of years to gain equality in society. To take away her rights over her own body would lead once again to back alley abortions in unsafe conditions. If men, organizations, or government took the choice of abortion away from women, they " ll want to continue to take away rights. The court decision of Roe vs. Wade (1973) was correct to have granted women the right to have abortions. It gave women control of their bodies and the ability to make decisions for what they believe are for their own good.

Bibliography

Alan Guttmacher Institute "Abortion in Practice: Safe and Unsafe Conditions for Women" Abortion web Guttmacher Institute "Facts in Brief: Induced Abortion" Abortion web induced abortion. htmlCompton's Encyclopedia Online Abortion web A. html Planned Parenthood "The Emotional Effects of Induced Abortion" Abortion web 01600. html Sutton, Kathy "Abortion in the First Trimester" Abortion web 199110, 11.
html (11 November 2000) Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion, Inc.