Analyzing Abortion Essay

Abortion has been a heated debate in the United States for decades. Since before the ruling on Roe v. Wade, it is clear that this is an issue that is far from ever being decided upon. Between those who are pro-life and those who are pro-choice, scholars from both sides work on disproving the morality of the other side. With the evolution of abortion laws and regulation through the decades, it is difficult to imagine the United States without conflict pertaining to abortion. Despite pro-life and pro-choice agendas, the country is in ever-changing opinion when it comes to abortion.

Abortion has been a debate that has always been a sensitive subject that continues to divide Americans in the United States. In our society there is a division of beliefs between pro-choice and pro-life. Pro- choice advocates for women’s rights ultimately to decide, for pro-life fundamentally is totally against abortion, the fight for preserving all human life regardless of the saturations and concerns. Substantially, abortion is a topic that has risen more controversial throughout the years, even in politics it has been a debate for the nation, in the Republican and Democratic party. In my point of view, abortion should always remain legal in the United States for women, neither the government nor any law should decide and deny the right

Abortion has been a complex social issue in the United States ever since restrictive abortion laws began to appear in the 1820s. By 1965, abortions had been outlawed in the U.S., although they continued illegally; about one million abortions per year were estimated to have occurred in the 1960s. (Krannich 366) Ultimately, in the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, it was ruled that women had the right to privacy and could make an individual choice on whether or not to have an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. (Yishai 213)

Women may have an abortion for a variety of reasons, but in general they choose abortion because a pregnancy at that time is in some way wrong for them. “Abortion is the removal of a fetus from the uterus before it is mature enough to live on its own” (Kuechler 1996). When this happens spontaneously we call it a miscarriage. Induced abortion is brought about deliberately by a medical procedure that ends pregnancy. Legal abortion, carried out by trained medical practitioners, is one of the most common and safest surgical procedures. “About 1.5 million American women choose to have induced abortions each year. Less than 1% of all abortion patients experience a major complication associated with the procedure” (Kuechler 1996).

The issue of abortion is one of the most controversial topics of our time, but recently the amount of public interest has grown exponentially. A number of bills regarding this policy issue such as Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015 and Child Interstate Notification Act have both greatly influenced the public’s opinion of abortion. Although, the issue of abortion hasn’t always been like this; according to Timeline of Abortion Laws and Events, an article from the Chicago Tribune, “The earliest anti-abortion laws were intended to protect women from untrained abortionists.” (Timeline) Since the 1973 passing of the Supreme Court Case, Roe V Wade, women have been able to obtain the abortion procedure in all 50 states, 46 of which were

Abortion has been one of the biggest controversies of all time. However many People agree to disagree on whether abortion is a legal or illegal matter. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy through removal of the embryo or fetus. I support abortion for the following reasons. Birth control failure, unable to support or care for a child, to prevent a child with birth defects or medical conditions, and a pregnancy in resulting from rape or incest. A woman should have the right to do what she pleases with her own body. For example, say a woman is pregnant with no desire of keeping the child and there was no clinic to help her remove the fetus. She’s most likely going to obtain matters into her own hands and figure a way to abort the fetus herself. Why put women in that situation when they have highly trained doctors who can remove the fetus using the proper tools with no harm done to the mother?

The issue of abortion is one of the most sensitive and controversial issues faced by modern societies. This issue leads to topics of whether abortion is right or wrong, if it is the actual killing of a person, and what actually defines the moral status of a fetus. In this paper, I will be arguing against Bonnie Steinbock, who believes that abortions are morally acceptable. So I will be supporting the view that abortions are not morally acceptable.

The decision of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United States, had a very evident and profound impact on the social and political climates of the United States. Before the case, it had seemed that abortion was a settled issue in America: a majority of people opposed the practice, and a majority of states had abortion bans. However, by the 1960’s, political factions and campaigns were rising up and stirring the waters of reproductive rights. Abortion had changed during the courses of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, morphing from a private practice of the people into a great political divide. Abortion was actually easily accessible during the Nineteenth Century, but the rise of religious fundamentalism compelled citizens to become involved in either the protection of the fetus or the defense of reproductive rights. Roe v. Wade had been either labeled as the legal settling of the abortion issue or the igniter of change in regards to abortion. The decision not only affected the minds of the people, but the decision had also set a legal precedent that affected more than thirty Supreme Court cases that later dealt with abortion (Planned Parenthood).

The decision in Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United States, had a very evident and profound impact on the social and political climates of the United States. Before the case, it had seemed that abortion was a settled issue in America: a majority of people opposed the practice, and a majority of states had abortion bans. However, by the 1960’s, political factions and campaigns were rising up and stirring the waters of reproductive rights. Abortion had changed during the courses of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, morphing from a private practice of the people into a great political divide. Abortion was actually easily accessible during the Nineteenth Century, but the rise of religious fundamentalism compelled citizens to become involved in either the protection of the fetus or the defense of reproductive rights. Roe v. Wade has been either labeled as the legal settling of the abortion issue or the igniter of change in regards to abortion. The decision not only affected the minds of the people, but the decision had also set a legal precedent that affected more than thirty Supreme Court cases that later dealt with abortion (Planned Parenthood).

Public opinion presents an important part when deciding a stance. Class, location, beliefs, age, and political affiliations contribute to the difference of opinion among people. According to an article printed in Political Behavior, authors Wlezein and Goggin suggest that public opinion on abortion varies little through the years with a large increase in the 1980’s that resulted in the majority of the public being in favor of abortion “as it is now” (Wlezien, 381). Since the decision of Roe V. Wade in 1973, approximately 23% of adults believe abortion should be legal in all cases, 19% believe it should be illegal in all cases and a majority of 56% believe it should be legal in some cases (Wlezien, 381). Wlezein and Goggin conducted a general social survey that indicated that an overwhelming majority of at least 81% proved that a legal abortion should be possible if the woman’s health is seriously endangered by the pregnancy, if she became pregnant as a result of a rape, or if there is a strong possibility of a defect in the baby (Witwer). Though this data is from 1989, a poll conducted in 1999

Abortion is a controversial topic that has plagued the country for decades. Even after the 7-2 Supreme Court trial (Roe vs. Wade) made it legal for women to choose to get abortions. This decision was based off the right of privacy coupled with the agreement between the woman and the state. Due to this decision abortion rights vary from state to state, in fact, about 85% of United States counties do not provide abortion services. Even though, abortion is ten times safer than the actual process of giving birth and 68,000 women died from resorting to “back-alley abortions.” Knowing all this, there are still two main groups arguing

It is 2016 and with the anniversary of “Roe v. Wade” past us, the citizens of this free country continue to oppose on the issue of whether abortion should be legal in the United States. Because many people argue that termination of pregnancy is murder, they believe that it is just to penalize those who support pro-choice law, however it is unjust to prevent a woman from making her own decisions when it comes to her body. Most of these arguments are advocated because of philosophical beliefs, and, or those with extremist views. Abortion, like homosexuality is not accepted in many religions; both are often times associated with sin, therefore these conservatives do not agree. Oppositions by extremists are heard of throughout society because of their lack of compassion and education. Both women and men must take into consideration aside from their passionate emotions and morals, that “Pro-Choice” does not mean “Anti-Life”

The United States has been divided now over the issue of abortion for thirty-three years since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade in 1973. As of today, over 45 million legal abortions have been performed in the United States. Pro-choice advocates hold these 45 million abortions as being 45 million times women have exercised their right to choose to get pregnant and to choose to control their own bodies. To pro-life, or anti-abortion, advocates these 45 million abortions constitute 45 million murders, a genocide of human life in the United States propagated by the court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade. The debate over abortion in the United States is thus a debate of two extremes. One side argues from the personal liberty of the mother. The

Abortion has remained a controversial issue since the 1970’s with Roe v. Wade being passed. Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case, states that as a person in the United States, one is given the right to privacy of any personal medical decision which includes whether a woman decides to receive an abortion or not. Over forty years later, opinions on abortion has remained relevant. We can see a politician’s stance, being pro-life or pro-choice, is a necessary question asked by American voters. The side politician’s take on the matter can make or break their popularity within certain religious groups or political affiliation (i.e. party preference). In recent years, Republicans have tended to agree with pro-life and Democrats have been pro-choice (Adams 1997). The revived and revamped feminist movement has taken strides in speaking up about abortion and women’s rights. The rise of influence from social media and mass media have also educated and exposed young adults to the issue of abortion. So, we see how many factors have contributed to young and old people, including males, to form opinions on the matter.

     Abortion is the surgical termination of a pregnancy. How odd that people are able to define something, that is such a controversial issue, so easily. There are hundreds, thousands, and even millions of things to say about abortion. When it comes to abortion, I find myself thinking like a symbolic interactionist. Abortion is a personal social issue and it needs to be seen on a micro level first. Although abortion can also be seen on a macro level, seeing abortion on a micro level lets people see the different symbols of abortion. No social condition creates the same symbol. If abortion is seen on a macro level, all the myths and stereotypes of abortion seem more realistic. For example, some of those myths