Abortion has been an option for women since 1973 after the case of Roe v Wade. Roe v Wade was filed by Norma McCorvey in 1971 who enforced a law in Texas prohibiting abortion with the only exception being to save a woman’s life. The supreme court got involved when the question came out asking if the Constitution supported the right for women to have an abortion and annulling the Texas prohibition. The final decision of the supreme court decided in a 7-2 vote that under the Fourteenth amendment women had the right to an abortion. In 2003, McCorvey filed a motion to have the case overturned showing the panel stories of one thousand women who regret their abortions, however, her case was dismissed in late 2004. Overall, the decision of Roe v Wade gave women the right to terminate a pregnancy and decided to leave it up to different states to regulate it in the second and third trimester. Post Roe v Wade women’s groups were excited but The Roman Catholic church had an opinion against it. The National Right To Life Committee was formed with the complete opposite goal of Roe v Wade. Thus, the pro-life and pro-choice movements started. Since the uproar of both groups, there have been many protests and marches supporting each side. In 1976 the Hyde Amendment was established banning Medicaid funds to be used for abortions. In 1992 during the case of Planned Parenthood V. Casey it was decided that states have the right to make laws on whether or not parental notification is required before an abortion takes place. From the case of Roe V Wade, from 1973 to 2011, about fifty-three legal abortions have been performed. (Procon.org) Still to this day the topic of abortion strikes convincing debates on each side of the argument. There is so much that goes into deciding whether or not an abortion is the answer for each woman who is pregnant and there is so much a woman need to be aware of before they have one.
Depending on how far along a baby is in the womb, doctors have different abortion procedures. In the first trimester, if it is only a couple of weeks in, women can take a pill that will abort the baby on its own and if it is later in the trimester, a doctor can vacuum the baby out of the womb. Since the baby is under-developed at this point in time the baby will not be able to feel pain. Once the woman enters the second trimester, things change for the baby. During the second trimester, doctors only have the option to surgically abort the babies in order to terminate the pregnancy. During this surgery, the doctor will rip each of the baby’s limbs off and take it apart piece by piece. When a baby is twenty-weeks old they can feel pain just as every other adult, therefore, the baby will feel that the abortion is happening to them and that their legs and arms are getting ripped from their bodies. In the third trimester, there are surgical procedures where potassium chloride is injected into the womb so the baby will die and is then removed. Third trimester abortions are also referred to as late term abortion because in most cases the baby is considered to be able to live outside of the womb. Most babies are able to survive on their own after 24 weeks, late in the second trimester, but Roe V Wade left second and third trimester abortions up to the states so the availability is limited.
After taking the procedures and progression of the baby’s development Senator Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, proposed a bill called the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. If the bill passed it was ensure no abortions could be performed after the first trimester, 20 weeks of pregnancy. There are some exceptions in the bill with rape and incest as long as the case is reported to the police and the women go through counseling. Most Republicans support this bill, like the president Donald Trump, and since both the House of Representatives and Senate are dominated by Republicans so the bill is making progress however, in the off-year elections if the democratic party takes over either the house or the senate the bill will not get passed. This bill lies ultimately in the hands of the voters and what they chose to support.
Pro-Life supporter and former President Ronald Reagan once said “I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.” Some of the Pro-Choice supporters might not have even been born if it was not for the laws protecting their life in the womb. There are also other ways around abortion. If the babies have a chance to live they can go through the adoption process. Nearly 100,000 children are adopted in the United States every year. The demand for abortions is higher than the amount of abortions there are yearly and even if a child goes through the adoption process and has a rough time they will not automatically go into a default of depression and misery. If they want to be happy and content, they can be it is as much of a choice as misery and sadness. Natural selection also comes into play with abortion supporters. Egotistic genes will eventually be yielded out since they are choosing themselves over their offspring and if their offspring is terminated there will be no offspring to follow and they will be deleting themselves from the gene pool. Having an abortion also carries health risks no one speaks about. Mentally, the emotional burden of an abortion can be detrimental in their life and might go through depression, have problems developing and sustaining a relationship, or seek therapy and physically a woman could increase her risk for breast cancer, Pelvis Inflammatory Disease, damage to internal organs and many more. (Studentsforlife.org)
Pro-Choice supporter Lisa Harris wrote an article discussing abortions in the second trimester. Only about twenty percent of doctors will still perform abortions after the first trimester. Harris also went into detail on the parts of abortion that most people do not like discussing. Even though there is violence in second trimester abortions Harris claims, denying a woman of her right to have one is also “an act of unspeakable violence.” Abortions are violent and do carry a heavy load on everyone who has one but not having a right to have one for your own body is like not having personal freedom. A woman’s body is her own body therefore she should be able to make her own choices. It is time for men to stop dictating the actions of women. The government is dominated by men and since they do not have the problem of getting pregnant or carrying a child for nine months they should not be able to tell a woman she is allowed to abort it or not. There are also so many children in the orphan system across the United States and worldwide. There is the argument saying to give the child up for adoption rather than aborting it, however, since there are so many kids already in the system, there is no guarantee they will have a good family or life.
Pro-Life states, naturally, have more and more restrictive laws for abortion compared to pro-choice states. In a table from “Pro-Choice versus Pro-Life” it demonstrates all the states and points on how strict they are with their laws regarding abortion with 0 being not strict at all, Pro-Choice, and 100 being most strict with tight laws, Pro-Life. Modern cities like California and New York have extremely low scores of 3.75 and some states including Hawaii, Oregon and Vermont have a score of zero showing no restriction on abortions. Southern states however like South Carolina, Louisiana and Kentucky all have scores in the high 70s and Mississippi has the highest score at 80.00. Another table shows the correlation between an infant’s health of states with high abortion restrictions. Pro-Life states are less likely to be covered by health insurance or receive mental health care and have higher death rates. Children in Pro-Life states are also more likely to repeat a grade and not attend early childhood schooling. Overall, these pro-life states care for the baby when they are in the womb but overlook the needs after they are born. Although correlation does not show causation, it does show pro-life states guard the baby in the womb but the care stops after birth.
The case of rape is a spot I think is similar on both sides of the argument whether someone is Pro-Life or Pro-Choice. For Pro-Life believers, that generally have a religious background, it states from the Bible Luke Chapter Six Verse forty-three “for evil cannot produce good fruit.” (Welton 156) If a rapist or an incestuous person impregnates a woman then technically speaking according to the bible, the child will be considered evil as well. Pro-Choice standers will obviously believe in abortion in this case as well since their side is about having the choice to determine whether or not a woman wants an abortion. Looking at both sides though, rape and incest have so many emotional effects on a woman whether she shows them or not.
Pro-Voice is an argument proposed to by Aspen Baker with the mission to hear others. Pro-Voice is a new way to discuss sensitive topics like abortion. By reflecting language other people are using, nothing offensive will be said. If someone is using the term baby, it is okay to use the term baby. If someone is using the word fetus, it is preferred to use the term fetus as well. Sharing stories of personal abortion stories also helps in this movement. Sharing stories makes everything more applicable for other people to understand what they are going through. Baker shares a scenario where a woman who is an active feminist might regret her abortion and think it was the worst decision of her life and a devoted Catholic woman might be extremely thankful for hers. Everyone has a different story with their pregnancy and should be able to share their story with others, without receiving hate. It is important to have an open mind when discussing abortion because all cases are different when a woman gets pregnant and they need to think about what would be best for themselves and their families.
All in all, the sides to this argument both have valid points depending on how someone looks at it. Each scenario for a woman is different and her choice to or to not have an abortion is ultimately up to her, for at least the first trimester, according to the Fourteenth amendment. Since babies can feel pain after the first trimester, many states have laws against them. The Supreme Court is also stepping trying to pass a law prohibiting abortion after the first trimester. Roe V Wade has already attempted to be overthrown once and it failed but bills have been added restricting abortion little by little already. Both pro-life and pro-choice supporters are committed and very keen of their own ideas but it is also important to recognize pro-voice and to be aware and listen to others. Deciding whether or not to receive an abortion or not takes a lot of time and has a heavy burden, neither of the choices are easy. Both choices are committing to a life of raising a child or the what-ifs if they would have gone through with the pregnancy. Statistics have proven that pro-life states generally tend to only car about a baby’s life inside the womb and forget about it when they are born which is a problem that should be looked at. It has also been proven that a baby in the womb can feel pain just as any adult at the time of the second trimester. There are pros and cons to each side of the argument but what it really comes down to is: How would one react if they found out they were pregnant today or if a woman told a man she was pregnant with his child? When is it morally wrong to abort? Should abortions become illegal after the first trimester? Ultimately the decision is up to the people; with the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act abortions can still happen but also have a limit to protect an innocent life from feeling each of their limbs ripped from their bodies.