Abortion is a topic that a lot of people either shy away from and do not want to talk about or are very quick to fill you in on their opinions and has been a highly debated topic ever since the Roe v. Wade Supreme court decision in 1973. Even before Roe v. Wade, most people had a clear view of where they stand on the issue. In recent years this debate has been growing more and more popular. Whether one considers the fetus or is on side of the mother, the Constitution can be related back to abortion. The pressing question is, is the procedure constitutional? According to those who are pro-choice and the Ninth Amendment which protects all rights not specifically named earlier in the Constitution, then yes, it is. What is not …show more content…
Not only is this formation of the neuro connections a process, but it can also occur at different rates in each fetus. Because of this, making fetal sentience the cut off for abortions restricting since no one knows at what point the fetus starts to feel pain. Not only does creating laws to restrict abortions past twenty weeks into a pregnancy restrict the mother’s rights, but it also goes against the current abortion laws established by the Supreme Court and can be challenged in court. According to the Roe v. Wade court case, abortions are considered constitutional until the fetus is viable (Steinbock). So only after the fetus is viable, which is between twenty-four to twenty-eight weeks into the pregnancy, are states allowed to ban or restrict abortions. This means that some states are banning this procedure as early as a month sooner than what the Supreme Court decided was constitutional in 1973 as a result of Roe v. Wade. This can have catastrophic consequences for those like Christy Zink, who at twenty-one weeks found out the child she was expecting would have severe brain abnormalities and would have an extremely difficult life that would include constant seizures and living in a hospital (Ludden). Zink did not want to subject her child to that kind of life, and luckily she did not have trouble getting an abortion where she lived. But if she had
These claims are false. According to a review conducted in 2010 by Britain’s Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “most neuroscientists believe that the cortex is necessary for pain perception” (procon.org). According to Dr. Mark Rosen, the pioneer of anesthesia for fetal surgeries, “The cortex begins emerging around the 23rd week, is not functionally developed until the 26th or later, and continues developing after birth.” (Pam Belluck). This study was also endorsed by the American College of Obstetricians and
Every individual defines pain differently, so “without interrogation, we cannot know for sure what the fetus feels” (British Medical Journal). As we know, asking a fetus if it feels pain is impossible, and assuming that they do could be wrong. Considering these statements, abortion cannot technically be called murder. Fetuses are not self-aware, rational, or attentive like humans. From a religious standpoint, I understand why people consider abortion murder. A fetus has the potential for life, and that they consider that potential life a real life. However, stretching this idea farther, sperm also have the potential for life, but many of these people are not against sex or masturbation. Fertilization has not yet occurred, but the potential is still there. According to scientific evidence, a fetus has a fifty to seventy percent chance of becoming a feasible human being. These chances are relatively high, but not a guarantee, and not yet a life. One cannot kill something that is not yet alive.
As seen by the most famous and important supreme court case relating to abortion, Roe vs. Wade, the federal government has been challenged in the past regarding the constitutionality in depriving a woman's right to an abortion. The ruling of this case found it unconstitutional for any state to deny the right for an abortion during the first trimester. Additionally, the ruling banned the idea that would have allowed a state to regulate many processes during an abortion performed in the first trimester. Stated as a “right to privacy” under the Ninth Amendment to the Constitution, an abortion falls under an unenumerated right protecting a woman's fundamental right and liberty to privacy. However, the state does have the power to regulate an abortion during the second a third trimester of pregnancy due to the health risks that can jeopardize the mother's life in these stages. These restrictions include certain procedures that can cause damage to a woman's reproductive system, which is why abortions should be kept as a legal right, but limited to an
The debate over abortion has been around long before the Supreme Court ruled it legal in the Roe v. Wade supreme court case. The history of abortion in the United States dates back to the 1800’s, and has remained a controversial topic for over two centuries. In the 1860s, over 20 States made abortion illegal, and it wasn’t until the 1970’s that the Supreme court began targeting states that made laws against it. The case was in reaction to the cultivating pro-choice movement, arguing that it is a woman’s right to decide what she wants to do with her body. The Supreme Court Case decided in favor of abortion by upholding the 14th Amendment, justifying abortion because it is a woman’s right to privacy.
When talking about abortion, there are so many things that come to mind, it is hard to stay focused on what the issue is really about, but in the end it really all boils down to some of the most basic rights we as individuals living in this country start with from birth. “…That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety” (SparkNotes: The Declaration of Independence (1776))The practice of abortion goes back to ancient times, and to this day,
Since the legalization of abortion in 1973, over 58 million babies have been terminated. This number will only continue to grow. Abortion is one of the most controversial topics out there. Two people come into play, pro-life and pro-choice supporters. If someone is pro-life, they don’t agree with abortions. However, if someone is pro-choice, they like the idea of a women being able to choose. These two people are like oil and water; they don’t mix well. Abortions should be illegal in the United States because innocent babies are being killed, babies are individuals, and babies should have rights to their own bodies.
I believe that statutes that make partial birth abortions murder or feticide are wise public policy because women should know and understand this circumstance to the full extent. As said before, there is a strong possibility some women who have gotten an abortion would have reconsidered upon understanding all the facts about abortion. With all these given issues as outcomes, a woman may begin to consider if an abortion is worth the potential outcomes and if it outweighs all of them. The statutes should help contribute on the thought of going through with this act. At the end of the day abortion is ultimately wrong, because it is the taking of another’s life. Although, I also feel that when determining if abortion is illegal or legal, the phases of pregnancy should be considered. During the first four weeks of pregnancy, the nervous system (brain and spinal cord) begins to form, the heart begins to form, arm and leg buds begin to develop, and the baby has now become an embryo at this point. At weeks of pregnancy, all major organs have begun to form, the baby’s heart begins to beat and pump blood, the arms and legs grow longer, fingers and toes have begun to form, sex organs begin to form, the face begins to develop features, and the umbilical cord is clearly visible. By the end of the eighth week of pregnancy, the
Abortion is the termination of a human pregnancy by choice. A U.S Supreme Court case on January 22, 1973(Roe v. Wade) ruled that unduly restrictive state regulation of abortion is unconstitutional. Although this court case essentially decriminalized abortion, the morality behind it is still heavily questioned 44 years later. Movements such as pro-life and pro-choice have both made strides in converting their beliefs into legislation. However despite the legal progress both sides have made, abortion continues to be an ethnically divisive topic.
In 1973 the supreme court case Roe vs. Wade made abortion legal. Abortion is one of the safest surgical procedures for women in the United States, with less than one percent of women having complications post procedure. People claim that abortions are inhumane and unethical but so is putting a fetus’s life that hasn’t been born yet before the mother. Although a lot of people are against abortion and claim it’s unconstitutional, the abortion bill is necessary for mothers because of irreversible birth defects, emotional wellness, and traumatic incidents.
According to an article in Time, “The battle for abortion rights has become, in recent years, a losing war of attrition, … [and] lawmakers have steadily chipped away at women’s rights and women’s dignity.” Since the 1800s, the laws surrounding abortions have been debated, arguing whether conception provides the basis for life and therefore human rights, or whether the right to abortion lies solely with the mother. Another argument revolves around whether or not a woman has the right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy or if she should carry it to term. Abortion must be a protected legal right because the decision lies with the mother, as described in the Fourteenth Amendment and interpreted in Roe v. Wade, since the embryo does not have protected rights and in order to maintain the fundamental right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” in the case of terminating an unwanted pregnancy.
92 percent of all abortions take place in the first trimester. At this point in the pregnancy, the baby’s health depends on the mother to survive. With this said, the baby cannot exist outside of the womb, therefore it cannot be qualified as a separate entity (Lowen, 2016). If a baby does not qualify as a separate entity, then it does not have inalienated rights from the Constitution. Hence, abortion is not murder, and the rights of women should not be restricted. Thus, women deserve to make the decision to have an abortion, because it is constitutional according to Roe v. Wade, the baby feels no pain, many cannot financially support a baby, it is a safe procedure, and it empowers women with regards to their bodies. For that reason, all restrictive
Abortion is a controversial subject that most people will never be able to agree on. The reason for that is because there are people who are against abortion, while we have others who believe that the only ones who have a say on what they do to their body is the women. Since recognizing a woman's constitutional right to abortion in Roe v. Wade case, the U.S. Supreme Court has been reaffirming that right. The Court has held that a state cannot ban abortion before viability which is the point at which a fetus can survive outside the uterus, and that any restriction on abortion after viability must contain exceptions to protect the life and health of the woman. Statistics show that around forty percent of all women will end a pregnancy by
How many times has the topic of abortion come up in one of your conversation? One minute you could be talking about a party and the next everyone is giving their opinions on abortion. For those who are not aware, abortion is the “removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy.” Abortions are one of the many topics people always debate about. Laws against abortion first appeared in the 1820’s, “…forbidding mothers to get an abortion after their fourth month of pregnancy (Lewis, par. 1)”. Most abortions in the US had been outlawed by 1900. By 1965, all fifty states had banned abortions, with some exceptions that varied by state. In 1973, the Supreme Court declared existing state abortion laws unconstitutional. While
Abortion is a highly debated topic that has been highly controversial, especially in recent times. Pro-life, Right To Life, and other anti-abortion groups are fighting to deprive women of a basic medical procedure that should be available to all women. Abortions should be provided and available to all women who wish to get them, and even to those who don’t.
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.