Oklahoma's Argumentative Essay: The Abortion Debate

One of the most frequently debated topics in bioethics is the morality of abortion, or the ending of a pregnancy without physically giving birth to an infant. Often times abortions are categorized into either spontaneous, a natural miscarriage; induced or intentional, which is premeditated and for any reason; or therapeutic, which albeit intentional, its sole purpose is to save the mother’s life. It seems however that moral conflicts on issue mainly arise when discussing induced abortions. In general, people universally agree it is morally wrong to kill an innocent person and in some people’s eyes induced abortions are the intentional killings of innocent persons, thus making them immoral. However not all individuals view fetuses as persons and consequentially argue it is not morally wrong to kill them.

Abortion has been around for quite some time. Laws have been set allowing it and banning it during different periods of time. The procedures that can be done are all very different. There is a medical abortion involving drugs and there are surgical abortion involving a more invasive procedure. There are also different points of view on it. There are those who fully support the termination of a pregnancy and those who are completely against it. There are many factors to consider and very different ideas out there.

One of the first moral issues addressed by both sides of the abortion debate concerns a pregnant woman’s so-called natural “right” to make “reproductive choices.” (“The Rights of Pregnant Women”) Anti-abortion advocacy groups claim that “the only way to actually protect the mother’s rights will be by enforcing laws that secure her child’s right to life,” (“Argument 2”) whereas pro-abortion groups contend that these laws “create a dangerous precedent for wide-ranging government intrusion into the lives of all women.” (“The Rights”) With two fundamentally contrasting viewpoints at odds with each other, it is apparent that one of the core issues concurrent with abortion is a woman’s rights versus the rights of her unborn fetus.

Women, for centuries, have not been allowed to make decisions regarding their bodies. Finally, when the end of the fight is within reach, steps backward are taken. Oklahoma recently passed a bill requiring the father to approve an abortion procedure, the only time that the father’s permission is not required is in rape cases, and fetuses that have been diagnosed with down syndrome cannot be aborted. When asked about the bill, Oklahoma Rep. Justin Humphrey stated:

To be pregnant under the age of 18 is a controversial issue. As minor, she may choose to give up the child. As a minor, she may choose to give the child up for adoption, keep the child, or undergo an abortion. Many are opposed to the latter option, which is the early termination of a pregnancy. The root of this issue began with the Supreme Court’s decision on the legality of an abortion in Roe v. Wade and has stemmed into a debate of pro-choice or pro-life. The decision led to the polarization of the public, since the conservatives were against abortion being a constitutionally protected right. Pregnant women should have control over their body, and yet through case law conservatives are able to pass restrictions on when the abortion procedure would be done (Henretta, J. A., Hinderaker, E., Edwards, R., & Self, R. O., 2014).

While the fight to legalize abortion, for reasons other than a mothers health concerns, was won, states such as Texas are now reconsidering the regulations, which go along with such right. In 2004 the State of Texas introduced the Woman’s Right to Know Act, which “requires that all abortions at or after 16 weeks’ gestation be performed in an ambulatory surgical center (ASC)” (Colman, S., & Joyce, T. (2010), p. 775). Roe V Wade’s Supreme Court decision makes it federal law that abortion be legal, therefore the state of Texas cannot make a law specifically prohibiting abortions around this time. However, they can implement acts such as the one discussed above to hinder a women’s access to such rights. By implementing the Woman’s Right to Know Act, the state of Texas is allowing abortion, however it makes access to it within the state of Texas out of reach for the majority of women. In the time following the effect of this law “not one of Texas’s 54 nonhospital abortion providers met the requirements of a surgical center” (Colman, S., & Joyce, T. (2010), p. 775. Following that, a

An Oklahoma bill is currently making it’s way through the senate right now that could drastically affect the way abortion is by residents. State Senator Joseph Silk, plans to abolish abortion in the state of Oklahoma with his bill titled, SB 1118. SB 1118 would consider the act of abortion to be first degree murder. The bill has recently passed through the health and human services committee, and the first degree murder penalty was added after. Silk states, “Life begins at contraception,” and believes the embryos have every right to be protected as a one-year-old child would be. Unfortunately for Silk, the bill is currently stuck, held by the republic committee, and refusing to let SB 1118 be heard on the senate floor. Senate leadership believe Silk has gone to the extreme, and considers SB 1118’s penalty to be going too far. Silk

One of the biggest reasons why many are against abortion is because the idea of taking away the life of a potential baby away is simply immoral. Ertelt states that Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said she is

In the United States there are more than a billion abortions performed each year. Since the court case Roe vs Wade in 1973 more than 56 million babies have been murdered in the United States before they had the chance to take their first breath (Snyder, Michael). These statics along with many more show the huge injustice that is happening in the country I call home.

As early as 1550 B.C., Egyptians were performing abortions. Egyptians documented the techniques they used to perform abortions and by the Middle Ages, the concept of abortion had spread globally (PRB). Knowing the idea, of terminating a pregnancy, was being performed in 1550 B.C., the number of babies lost to this horrific death will never truly be known. Since 1969, the CDC started documenting the numbers of legal abortions obtained in the United States. Roe vs. Wade was the infamous court case that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1973, that assisted abortion in becoming completely legal. The United National Library of Medicine published that since that day in 1973 abortion rates peaked but remained continuous through the

In the past few decades, the issue of abortion rights has created debates and controversy within the United States. Those who criticize the act of abortion – pro-life – argue that the act of abortion is equivalent to the murder of a baby. Those who support the legalization of abortion – pro-choice – argues women should be able to choose whether or not they want to have an abortion. Currently, abortion is legal in all states – a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe vs. Wade. However, it has become increasingly common for states to create anti-abortion laws, which makes it more difficult to have an abortion. In 2014, Missouri state representative Rick Brattin proposed H.B.131, a house bill that would require women to receive a written consent from the biological father in order to have an abortion. This bill serves to prevent women from having an abortion.

The controversy within the biomedical ethics topic, abortion, has two main proponents. The first is the view against abortion, also known as pro-life. The other view is rooted upon the belief of being pro-choice, or basically for abortions. These two different views are like two mathematical principles, in that although these two views have many differences, they also have larger similarities in the background. For example, when pro-choice activists support abortions due to unwanted pregnancies, the activists are not rallying behind the idea of sexual incompetency (pregnancies due to lack of birth control). Rather, they are supporting the idea that women have the right to choose what to do with their own bodies. In order to understand

In the article Ethics of Abortion, much of the pro life argument seems to be

Abortion is defined in several ways all of which stop a pregnancy. There are different ways of abortion, which are spontaneous abortion, surgical abortion, and medical abortion. Abortion has been arguable topic for decades. One can neither believe abortion to be good nor bad. The idea of individuality and human life is not quite the same. Idea of human life has come from conception; simultaneously on the other hand, fertilizer eggs used for in vitro fertilization are also human lives but eggs unable to implant are routinely thrown away. Would you like to call it a murder and if not, then how is abortion a murder? Arizona is known as a state that is very much against abortion. In 2012; Arizona was named Americans United for Life’s “Pro-life All-Star.” Since 1995, center for Arizona policy has supported 30 bills that have been signed into law that promote pro-life.

Abortion has always been an incredibly controversial topic. It has been one of the most widely discussed issues in the American culture for decades. Abortion is a discussion of human interaction, in which emotions, ethics, and law all come together. In many cases, people on both sides of the argument have valid points and take moral positions. A pro-choice position would assert that the decision to terminate a pregnancy lies the mother and that the government has no right to interfere or step in and make that decision. On the other hand, the position of pro-life advocates argue that life begins at the moment of conception. They believe that because the embryo or fetus is a human life and that one has no moral right to abort it. This theory argues that this human has no power or say in the matter and is rendered helpless from advocating for itself. Although abortion is a morally and emotionally charged issues, it is ultimately protected under the 14th amendment. The most common reasons for abortion include but are not limited to, teen pregnancy, rape, and health issues.