The right to obtain abortions has been a debated topic since the 1800s. It has been the subject of intense Supreme Court litigation and is publically debated during presidential elections. Abortion is defined as ending a pregnancy by removing a fetus from the uterus (“Abortion”). Abortion is also controversial because those who take a stance may have cultural and religious influences. There are many activist groups that argue pro-choice or pro-life. Pro-Life followers argue abortions should be prohibited or have major restrictions if allowed.
On the other hand, pro-choice believers argue that women have reproductive rights and it is their free choice on whether they wish to remain pregnant or terminate it (“Abortion, Debate”). There are numerous reasons as to why a woman may choose to end a pregnancy. Women may wish to obtain an abortion because of an unintended pregnancy, young age, social pressure, inability to care for a child, preventing birth defects, protecting the health of the mother, or even to prevent an unwanted pregnancy resulting from a rape.
Whatever reason a woman may choose to terminate a pregnancy, they have the fundamental right to do so because a woman’s privacy is protected due to the US Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade (“Roe”). Women should be given the ultimate choice as to whether they wish to remain pregnant or to terminate a pregnancy. Women who are able to participate in free choice of receiving an abortion are less likely to become unemployed and on public welfare, are able to obtain a safe procedure to avoid health complications, and enables women to retain control of their own bodies.
In 2014, approximately seventy-five of abortion patients were poor or low income individuals. Twenty-six percent of those patients had incomes of 100-199% of the federal poverty level and forty-nine percent had income of less than one hundred percent of the federal poverty level. When those women gave reasons for having an abortion, they commonly stated concerns for having parenthood responsibilities. One of the major responsibilities that people were concerned about was being able to earn enough money to afford providing for a child.
Raising a child may also mean that women’s’ plans could be interrupted in terms of being able to work or pursue secondary education. (“Induced”). If a woman is not able to work or attend school, then this may place her within the poverty level. If a woman was living under the poverty level before conceiving a child, then actually having a child will drag them even further into poverty. If a woman does not have a partner or much family to rely on for help then it would be difficult to remain employed, which would make an unpleasant situation for the child because the mother would be struggling to take care of it.
A University of California study showed that women who were denied an abortion were twenty-five percent more likely to report that they did not have enough money for food, housing and transportation over a two-year period. Women who were denied abortions because of the age of the fetus, were more likely in need of public assistance such as Medicaid, SNAP, TANF and other federal funded programs (Kurtzleben). Women who experience poverty would need to rely on public assistance programs which would also increase government spending and deficits.
For example, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would increase the deficit by seventy-five million between 2014 and 2018 and by 225 million from 2014 to 2023. A large amount of these costs are attributed to the fact that forty percent of all births are paid for by Medicaid and additional births increase the amount of funding needed to for hospital expenses (Covert). When the government places strict restrictions on abortion processes and qualifications, it actually hurts our economy more than it would be helping.
Also, if it were extremely difficult for a woman to be able to obtain an abortion, then they may resort in finding alternative means of obtaining the same services, even if it were illegal. If women did not have access to abortions performed by professionals, there would be increased chances for injury or death. Before abortions were legalized, women would terminate their pregnancies by drinking hazardous chemicals, causing severe injury to their privates by shoving herbs and objects into prohibited areas, or performing extreme measures by causing blunt force trauma to the stomach area.
Illegal abortions will sometimes succeed in terminating the baby, but will more often than not result in death or hospitalization. Ruptures blood vessels and bacterial infections are some of the leading causes of deaths caused by illicit abortions. If the woman survives an illegal procedure, then there are a significant possibilities of organ injuries, psychological trauma, or not being able to conceive when she she wishes to become pregnant again (Haddad). In 1967, researchers estimated that there were approximately 800,000 abortions performed each year, where most of the procedures were illegal.
Before the Roe v. Wade decision, it is estimated that 5,000 women died each year because of unsafe abortions (“The Impact”). After Roe v. Wade legalized abortions, the number of deaths and complications related to the procedures significantly decreased. Today, legal abortions must be performed before the fetus is considered viable which helps the mother remain safe during the procedure. Implementing a cut off period reduces the risk of complications that could occur if the procedure was performed illegally (Cates).
If women were not given the right to terminate their pregnancy then our generation may revert back to historical instances as woman may with try to perform illegal abortions, which were proven to be dangerous and sometimes lethal. Women should be able to make the decision of terminating a pregnancy because it is their body and their individual right. Women have been fighting for equality and individual rights since the since the first women’s rights convention was held in the mid 1800s.
Although since the mid 1800s there have been rights gained by women, including suffrage and equality, there seems to be one right that women are still fighting for and it is the right over their own bodies. It is important for a woman to be able to make decisions about their own body. There are numerous reasons why a woman may choose to have an abortion, and somebody not experiencing the pregnant individuals situation should not be able to make that important decision for them.
Men and women alike are free to decide if they wish to get a body piercing, amputate a body part, obtain a tattoo, or even control or alter their reproductive organs; the same choice should be given if a woman wants to terminate her pregnancy. One harsh example of why a woman may make this hard decision may be because a woman may experience an unfortunate event such as rape. If a woman is raped and a child is a result of the rape, society should not be able to determine that the woman must carry out the unwanted pregnancy.
The product of a rape growing inside the victim is a constant reminder of what happened, a loathsome memory triggered by glancing in the mirror at a growing stomach is just the beginning of a lifetime of torture. If the woman is forced to continue with the pregnancy then this could lead to abuse, neglect, and another child that would have to be support by the “system,” because the mother would more than likely not wish to care for the unwanted infant.
In order to protect a woman emotionally and to prevent the future of potential children, a woman should be given the free choice to terminate a pregnancy if they feel like it is the best decision for their circumstances. At this point in politics, abortions are legal and there are restraints in tact that protect the mother and the potential child. State and Federal restrictions ensure that women can not make reckless decisions when determining whether to terminate a pregnancy.
Since there are safeguards in place, a woman should be able to make the free choice of wishing to continue or discontinue a pregnancy. Some people may argue that abortion should not be legal because there is an unborn baby growing inside a pregnant woman that is considered a human. A fetus is considered a human once it reaches viability, fetal viability is the ability of a baby to live successfully outside of the mother’s womb if born prematurely. A fetus is considered viable between the twenty-third and twenty-fourth week of pregnancy.
A person’s age is not calculated from the date of conception, and unfortunately fetuses still developing in the womb are not counted as part of the US Census (“what”) According to the landmark case, Roe v. Wade, when the Fourteenth Amendment refers to a “person” this reference is not encompassing unborn children (“Roe”). After a fetus is considered viable you can no longer receive an abortion unless there are medical reasons such as the mother facing a life or death situation.
In many states, if a victim of a homicide is pregnant, the offender may not be charged twice. Throughout the United States there are varying fetal homicide laws that may prevent additional prosecution if the fetus has not reached viability (“fetal”). Due to the variations of different laws that encompass when a fetus is viable, women shall continue to be afforded the right to terminate a pregnancy until the fetus reaches viability based on their state regulations.
If women are afforded the right to remain independent when deciding whether to terminate a pregnancy they are less likely to live within the poverty level or need welfare assistance, can confidently obtain a safe procedure from a professional and can maintain control over her body. When women are following regulations and obtaining the procedure within the specified time allowance, they should be allowed to exercise their fundamental right.
