Arguments Against Fetal Welfare

(Antevil, Jeffrey. Supreme Court rules on Roe vs. Wade in 1973. New York Daily News. print.) So the court analyzed abortion laws and its history from then till now, and with that they found 3 justifications for outlawing abortions: "a Victorian social concern to discourage illicit sexual conduct"; protecting the health of women; and protecting prenatal life.” (McBride, Alex. Roe v. Wade (1973). The Supreme Court. December 2006. Print.) The Court denied the first two as they were pointless but as for the third, the Court disputed that fetal life wasn’t necessarily a "person" as said and guarded in the U.S. Constitution. Culturally, although a few associations view fetuses as human beings that justify full rights, no general agreement exists. The Court than stated that Texas was thus capturing that only one "view" of many individuals. Securing all fetuses beneath this outlook of prenatal life wasn’t amply valuable to explain the state's prevention of roughly all

Abortion denies the embryo the right to life as a safeguarded in the US Constitution.By aborting these unborn infants, they are not allowing themselves to meet these new identities and unique personalities that one day they will become. These unborn infants are our new future, they are presidents, doctors, firefighters, soldiers who could be saving peoples lives, and the wellbeing of our country, but if we don’t save theirs, how are we setting the example to our society that killing is wrong, when abortion is still legal? The 14th Amendment protects the unborn children from harm. Jennifer Mason, communications director from the pro-life group Personhood USA, explained, “requires, equal protection under the law for everybody”, she asserted, “and so we believe that every human being regardless of their location,

But anti-abortion activists have also scored big when it comes to blocking new medical research that may lead to better contraceptives and earlier medical abortions; like RU 486, as well stem cell research for the treatments for numerous diseases. “Fetal tissue research, for instance, has led to advances in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, diabetes and leukemia. Despite the fact that organs from the corpses of murder victims can be donated, antiabortion activists believe tissue donation from aborted fetuses encourages abortion and should therefore be prohibited,” (Hontz,1998) .

Laws and added politics restrict freedom during pregnancy. Rights toward the mother are infringed upon while “fetal rights” are enforced by judicial interventions. It is all about quantity of life not quality of life, they feel supporters are not practicing pro-life but in reality it’s more pro-birth (Jost).

Since Roe v Wade, there have been major advancements in the maternal-fetal world of medicine. Advanced technology and science have shown us that there is “life” to a fetus before the last trimester, leading to many regulations and laws to prohibit abortion for the life the fetus. Discussed in this paper are the policies, court cases, and executive decisions affecting legal abortion in the US and the ethical implications that debate them.

Abortion is one the most controversial topics in the United States. The issue at hand is should abortion be legal or not. It is highly debated with in both media and politics. According to History Channel, “Supreme Court legalizes abortion”, in 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court Case Roe V. Wade ruled that women have the constitutional right to privacy, thus legalizing abortion. This law gave women the right to terminate a pregnancy during the first two trimesters. This sparked huge controversy between pro-life and pro-choice believers. Both pro-life and pro-choice have numerous arguments to justify their opinions. In a report done by WebMD, “Abortion-Reasons Women Choose Abortion,” nine out of ten abortions are performed within the first twelve weeks. Abortion should be legal because it is a women’s constitutional right, mental and physical health, and other.

The population that is skeptical of the approval of abortion is primarily concerned about the fetus. Fetal rights are primarily used to argue against the fact that while women have the right to abort, fetuses also have the right to life. The term originated after Roe v. Wade as a defense for fetal life, following the Court rule that a fetus is not a person under the fourteenth amendment (Fetal Rights 1). However, some pro-choice activists argue that fetal rights should not even exist. According to the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law, “Historically, under both English common law and U.S. law, the fetus has not been recognized as a person with full rights. Instead, legal rights have centered on the mother, with the fetus treated as a part of

Unless we start talking about ethics and morality, the courts have the legal authority to interpret controversial issues (Devine, 1984). Therefore, the fetus should not be considered as a person protected by the constitution, and the constitutional rights to privacy and choice of the mother should be protected over the rights to life of the fetus.

In 1992, a new abortion procedure was introduced to the United States public. It was first performed by Dr. James McMahon and explained by Dr. Martin Haskell (Scully). It was used during the second and third trimesters (around twenty to twenty-four weeks along) and involved partially delivering the fetus so the doctors could remove the baby’s brain with suction (Wagner). The term “D&X”, which stands for “intact dilation and extraction,” was used to refer to this procedure (Hoyt). It was not until a few years later that debates about this procedure came about. In 1995, “Representative Charles Canady (R., Fla) introduced the Partial Birth Abortion Act”

It is obvious that abortion is a topic that includes many grey areas. Whether an abortion is a right guaranteed to the mother, or if it is considered taking away the rights the of the unborn baby is one of these grey areas. Pro-choice supporters agree with the Roe v. Wade supreme court decision because of the way it applies abortion to the constitution. According to the Internet site Pro Con, the court case presented the idea that abortion fits under the “right of privacy” (1). By this, the court system is saying that each woman should be granted the ability to do what she wishes with her body. Although this right was not directly created for abortion, there are differing opinions as to whether or not an abortion could fit into one’s “right of privacy.” The term “right of privacy” is extremely broad, but refers to the privacy granted to an individual from the government. However, pro-life supporters do not think this should be applied to an abortion, especially because another human being’s life is at stake. They believe that the fetus should also be granted rights, as if they were a living human outside in the real world. Which is why many pro-life advocates make the argument that an abortion is killing a human being who cannot defend themselves. Due to this belief, there are many states who have passed “fetal homicide laws” (1). These were created to respect the rights of the child. As a woman who has become a mother, it is one’s responsibility to protect the human growing inside the womb; killing this growing human being, who is yet unable to defend themselves, has no other definition than murder.

The issue of abortion is notoriously controversial. Since the Supreme Court’s 1992 ruling in Casey v. Planned Parenthood, states have enacted different restrictions on the procedure. These restrictions vary from state to state. Nineteen states currently have laws prohibiting partial-birth abortion, and forty-one states strictly prohibit abortions except in cases of life-endangerment. One particularly incendiary area of abortion law is that of public funding. However, as of this year there are only seventeen states that cover abortion procedures through public funding. In this paper we will discuss federal abortion legislation, while describing the laws and political ideologies of the following states: Texas, California, New

“Pro-lifers believe doing anything with an aborted fetus is morally wrong, because abortion itself is wrong; pro-choicers say that since abortion is both legal and inevitable, why not use discarded fetal tissue for research that may relieve the suffering of millions of people?” Even this is an inaccurate representation of the facts. The fundamental purpose of the research is to save and improve lives, but in attempting to do so, millions of other lives are lost. A recent report estimates that a staggering 42 million abortions are performed each year worldwide. Do the math; this equates to over 2 billion abortions in a 50 year span. Thus, the argument that this research is done to save lives is completely duplicitous and

Fetal movement count is how many times you feel your baby move during a certain amount of time. This may also be called a fetal kick count. A fetal movement count is recommended for every pregnant woman. You may be asked to start counting fetal movements as early as your 28th week.

The right to life is the most basic and important right that we have. In the past two hundred years, over one million Americans have died for their country. Monuments have been built and speeches have been delivered, honoring these American heroes. America is now engaged in a war where there are no heroes, no monuments or tributes - only victims. Our society has declared war on its most helpless members - our unborn children. Since that war was declared on January 22, 1973, there have been over 35 million deaths.

Many argue is it the women’s or the foetus’ rights and values that are being trampled on? “Pro-choice movements sometimes fall back on an abortion rhetoric that seems to dehumanize and trivialize the death of a foetus as a way to humanize and make important the reproductive rights of women.” (Wolf p54) “Women can treat an unwanted foetus as a violation of her civil rights and is therefor justified tin using force to expel it” (McMillan pA12) The decision is not up to the mother because she is not God. Only God, the ultimate creator has the right to choose who may live and who shall die. Humans do not have the right or the power to control the quality of life and to avoid suffering. “The issue of abortion is not just life, but how life is created and the extent to which human intention and control the process, both before and after birth.