Essay Sample on Legalize Abortion: Supporting Women's Right to Choose

Intoduction

Pro-abortion is the term used to refer to the need for people to access abortion services. Being pro-abortion means supporting people to make the best decisions for them as well as their pregnancies, and this is inclusive of terminating them if that need arises. Abortion should be legalized throughout the United States because the mother's choice should be the most important, especially in cases of unintended pregnancy, or any health-related issues that affect the mother or Fetus (Manninen, 50). Legalizing pro-abortion is important because the expectant women might settle for unsafe and illegal abortion procedures for the lack of a legal option.

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History of Abortion

The issue of whether a woman should have the right to decide if, to terminate a pregnancy or not, has been contentious for a long time. Abortion was made legal during the Roe v. Wade in 1973. In this ruling, the court stated that women had the right to abortions in the first and the second trimesters as part of the constitutional privacy rights. The states were, however, allowed to regulate abortions in the last trimester when the Fetus has chances of surviving outside the womb (Television Networks). This controversial and historic ruling resulted from a call from many American women who felt that they needed to control their reproductive processes.

Although the issue was defended several by Supreme Court, it turned into an emotional and intense public issue with the debate getting more intense in the 1980's.

In 1992, the Supreme Court issued threats to overturn 1973 ruling due to the republican rule that had destabilized abortion rights for 12 years (Television Networks). The threats led to a massive pro-abortion rally in Washington, which made the high court to leave Roe v. Wade ruling intact. Contradiction rose later when Bill Clinton supported anti-abortion legislation by his predecessors Gorge Bush and Ronald Reagan. It led to over a million pro-active activists hitting the Washington mall (Television Networks). The activists protested against President Bush's acts to take away this women's rights, and the ban on abortion clinic aids the contention that has been ongoing for some time.

Pro-Abortion Enhance the Mother’s Choice

The government should not have any say on whether a fetus lives or not. Rather, this should be fully decided by the pregnant woman. A woman's choice on the timing and the need to have children is key as it determines the woman's ability to plan her future as well as her independence. Pro-abortion is, therefore, a reproductive decision that gives women control over their body empowering them to have a voice.

Sandra Day O'Connor, a supreme court judge, argued in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that the capacity of women to equally take part in the social and economic life of the nations is enhanced by women's capacity to decide on their reproductive lives (Pennsylvania et al.).The right of the mother to make a choice is also supported by Justice Ruth Ginsburg Bader, who wrote in Gonzales v. Carhart that excessive abortion restrictions infringed the autonomy of women in deciding their life course. Besides, Jeffrey Toobin also stated that Roe v Wade was the beginning of the absolute sense of women liberation (Procon). The mothers should, therefore, be left to make that decision freely and legally.

Rape/Underage Pregnancies Should Be Terminated

Unless intended, a child should not come to this world because some pregnancies result from either rape cases or careless mistakes of underage girls. A good example is a case of in Ohio of an 11-year-old girl who, according to the police report, was raped several by a 26-year-old leaving her expectant (Smith, B2). Pro-abortion allows such a girl to terminate the pregnancy rather than keeping a rapist's child.

The girl would not have the opportunity had the law that had been passed in Ohio Prohibiting women from carrying abortions after detection of the fetal heartbeat had been into effect. Heartbeat is detected at around six weeks even before some women realize they are expectant. The bill will affect many women in the future, considering that the number of raped women exceeded 4000 in 2017(Smith, B2). So many women will be prohibited from getting rid of rapists' pregnancies by the "fetal heartbeat bill" hence pro-abortion should be allowed to give the underage and the raped a chance to terminate the unwanted pregnancies.

Health-Related Issues

The mother of the child should not be required to give birth to the child if there is a health condition that could affect the life of her or the child. Abortion is at times a necessity in saving the lives of some women. National Right to Life Committee, which is a great opponent of abortion, issued a statement that allowed abortions in instances where it saved a mother's life. The necessity of saving a woman's life is further emphasized by the American College of Gynecologists and obstetricians. Several conditions may need the pregnancy to be terminated to save the life of a woman, which includes heart failure, severe preeclampsia, and severe infections (Painter). The opponents of abortion should look into this matter and reconsider their stand.

Counter-Argument: "Abortion is Murder"

The main argument of the opponents of abortion is that it is a murder. They argue that it is wrong to kill a human being even though they have not been born yet. The US government considers unborn babies as human beings under the Unborn Victims of the Violence Act. The Act states that there should be a punishment for anyone who attempts to kill or kills an unborn child (Procon) as the unborn being is a member of Homo sapiens species.

Unlike the arguments of abortion opponents, the Fetus does not feel pain. Though Utah passed a law requiring doctors to administer anesthesia while aborting Fetus at 20 weeks and beyond, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists stated that Fetus does not feel the pain till the third trimester which begins at 27 weeks (Miller). Pain is always present in almost every medical procedure, but that does not make it necessary to avoid the procedures. The Fetus is not a fully formed human, yet hence the issue of murder should not be considered in abortion (Miller). Though there are many people against abortion, the arguments for it are much stronger and more educated.

Conclusion

The above facts show that abortion should be legal throughout the United States because the mother's choice should be the most important, especially in cases of unintended pregnancy or any health-related issues that may be affecting the Fetus. Every woman should have a right to choose whether to have a baby or not without being restrained by unnecessary restrictions that do not consider women's independence, career, parenting choices, or health risks.

Works Cited

Manninen, Bertha A. "Why I am pro-choice." Civil Dialogue on Abortion, 2018, pp. 11-64.

Miller, Sara G. "Do Fetuses Feel Pain? What the Science Says." Livescience.com, 17 May 2016, www.livescience.com/54774-fetal-pain-anesthesia.html. Accessed 22 Mar. 2020.

Painter, Kim. "Doctors Say Abortions Do Sometimes Save Women's Lives." USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2012, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/19/abortion-mother-life-walsh/1644839/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2020.

Pennsylvania, Planned P., et al. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992). 1993.

ProCon. "Should abortion be legal?" Abortion, procon.org, 9 May 2019, abortion.procon.org/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2020.

Smith, Kate. "A pregnant 11-year-old rape victim in Ohio would no longer be allowed to have an abortion under new state law." CBS News, 14 May 2019, p. B2.

Television Networks. "Abortion rights advocates march on Washington." History, A&E Television Networks, 28 July 2019, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/abortion-rights-advocates-march-on-washington. Accessed 22 Mar. 2020.