Maya Manian Abortion

The subject of abortion has created some of the most controversial, social, and moral debates in United States history. On Jan. 22, 1973, in the case Roe Vs. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that it was a woman’s constitutional right to have an abortion during the first trimester of the pregnancy (The Ruling). Still other interest groups argue that human life begins at conception and having an abortion is murder to an unborn child. These opposing viewpoints create a delicate political and social debate in which the lives of unborn children are placed in the center. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the RU 486 “abortion pill”, citing that the “overall safety of the pill is excellent”(Food

Before the 1973 ruling of the case of Roe v Wade, the estimated average number of illegal abortions every year ranged from 200,000 to 1.5 million. The methods used were violently dangerous including women ingesting toxic substances such as bleach and detergents which often times was ineffective. Women around the country were concerned that the anti-abortion laws conflicted with a person’s right to privacy and equal protection given by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. Gale University’s William Sullivan explains ”The right to abort unborn children is not specifically protected by the Constitution, and prior to 1973, abortion legislation had been understood to be limited to the power of the states per the Tenth

For thousands of woman with heart disease, kidney disease, and other sicknesses that can be life threatening, the availability of legal abortion has helped avert medical complication that could have resulted from childbirth. Before legal abortion, many women’s choices were limited to dangerous illegal abortions, or dangerous childbirth.

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

In the mid-1800’s, abortion was made illegal under most circumstances in most states. For decades following that decision, illegal abortions became the cause of death for many women in the United States. In 1930, 1940, 1950, and 1965, illegal abortions were the official cause of death for 2,700, 1,700, 300, and just under 200 women, respectively. Between 1950 and 1960, illegal abortion ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year. Leading up to the court case Roe v. Wade, the only circumstance to get an

Unlike the government in A Brave New World the United States government does not require anybody to take birth control pills or have an abortion. However, it is still offered to a variety of females. “Pro Life Actions” lets us know that 75.4% of females between the ages fifteen and twenty-nine get abortions once finding out that they are pregnant. This percentage would be higher if it wasn’t for the certain restrictions abortions had. Based on “Religious Tolerance’s” website, a female cannot have an abortion after her first trimester. If she does get an abortion after the first trimester, it is considered to be killing an actual human being. Although abortion clinics are available for all females, most of the females do not know who actually funds these clinics.

In the 19th century, after tremendous progress in surgical processes, abortions were then conducted by surgeons on a wide scale, while medical abortions are used concurrently. However, as abortion technology prospers, legal restrictions came with it. In 1803, a English statute abolished the previously-legal first trimester abortions. The act “condemned the willful, malicious, and unlawful use of any medical substance when used with the intent to induce abortion” (Stern, 1968). In 1821, Connecticut enabled the first statute in the United States regulating abortions. Within 10 years, states like Illinois, Ohio, New York, Alabama, and others enabled abortion restriction statutes, and by 1968, 50 of the 51 jurisdictions in the United States have prohibited abortion except in the case women’s life is endangered (Ibid., at 3). In 1965, Britain, however, legalized abortion for “medical conditions of the mother, for socio-economic reasons, for eugenic considerations, and for pregnancies which resulted from rape or incestuous intercourse”, which is still law today (Ibid, at 4). In Canada, abortion has been legalized since 1969 through Bill C-150 if “a committee of three physicians determined that the pregnancy was a threat to the woman's life or health” (Norman, 2012). In 1988, Canadian Supreme Court struck down bill C-150’s provision requiring committee approval to receive an abortion in its decision R v Morgentaler, legalizing abortion across Canada for any reasons (Ibid.).

Although the pro-life side claims they’re defending the women of Texas, they truthfully don’t need protecting: abortions are one of the safest medical procedures to date. According to the latimes, “There is a less than 0.3% risk of major complications following an abortion, and the risk of complications arising specifically from first-term abortions is 0.05%”. Also, there are less invasive ways to carry out abortions. In September 2000, the FDA approved the drug mifepristone, which is used to block the production of hormones that are needed for the development of a fetus. While there are a few reported deaths by the associated disease sepsis, the risk is only about 1/100000 in women undergoing medical abortion (FDA). The most important point is that the pro-life side claims to fight for the protection of women, but they truthfully end up hurting them because they take away their entire say in the matter. By rejecting the notion that abortions can be at all good, the decision is immediately taken from the woman who is carrying the unborn child and whose life is being deeply impacted by that choice. Therefore, any restriction on abortion is disrespectful and wrong.

Prior to the landmark case of Roe vs. Wade, abortion was legal in the United States under common law and with several stipulations. It was legal under the advice of medical personnel or in the attempt to save a mother’s life. Though abortion were widely available it was considered a secretive and “back alley” procedure that threatened the life of the patient and the persons conducting the abortion. In 1965, illegal abortions made up one-sixth of all pregnancy- and childbirth-related deaths. A survey conducted between 1965 and 1967 found that 8 in 10 low-income women in New York City who had an abortion attempted a dangerous self-induced procedure (planedparenthood.com).

In 2013, North Dakota state legislature passed a slew of regulatory laws with regards to abortion. (Davidson) Once a fetal heartbeat could be detected, abortion was prohibited. An abortion could not be sought solely because of fetal “genetic anomalies.” And, abortions could now only be performed by physicians who possessed admitting privileges at a hospital in the area. This last law threatened Red River Women’s Clinic, the state’s only abortion provider, as the three doctors they employed at the time commuted from Minnesota and Colorado. (Nelson)

A difficult dilemma exists today in the American healthcare system concerning the rights of healthcare and religious institutions, universities with religious affiliation, and private business owners who refuse to provide insurance that covers abortion related services and or medications pertaining to such services. This quandary also encompasses individual practitioners such as physicians and nurses who refuse to participate in this practice. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) now requires contraceptive coverage, and contraceptive counseling for those businesses and practitioners who participate in the Health Insurance Marketplace, (HealthCare.gov, 2016), and in some states, the ACA also requires that

In the 1880’s, abortion was made illegal unless a doctor deemed it to save a woman’s life. The criminalization of abortion did not reduce the numbers of women who sought abortions and between the 1880’s and 1973, many women died or suffered very severe medical issues after trying to self-induce an abortion, or by getting an unsafe “back alley” abortion. The right to have an abortion was only given to women in 1973, after the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Roe v. Wade case. The main dispute of the entire pro-life versus pro-choice debacle lies between those who believe it is against their religion. This brings up the dispute of separation between church and state. “Once a woman decides, she should be able to get the medical care she believes is right for her.” Congress must not play religious favorites and in no means must not follow any demands made by any church. It’s the government’s job to make sure women get safe care and that means ensuring them the right to decide what medical care is best for themselves. Although abortion is legal, the Supreme Court has been allowing many more restrictions on the subject. “Seventeen states are known to have state-mandated counseling, demanding that women who wish to have an abortion be given counseling on either 1) The link

The problems that Emilia Sanchez faces after her abortion is the loss of her social support system she had with her family. The mother and fathers strong religious values consider abortion as a major sin, therefore Emilia’s family do not want her in their home anymore. Without the grandparents the infant will be denied the extra social security and the roles grandparents can provide can decrease the likelihood of the child growing up to be a well-adjusted adult. The potential problems that could have happened if Emilia carried the pregnancy to term is with her present drug abuse the infant could possibly have complications with physical development such as low birth weight. The strength that is in present in this situation that Emilia wants

With abortion being a touchy subject, people will find themselves having some strong opinions on their morality, but there are instances where abortions are a medical necessity to save lives when threatening circumstances present themselves. For this reason, hospitals need to let medical knowledge take precedence over any religious ideologies. Ironically, in an article from USA Today there is a quote from the National Right to Life Committee, a leading group that opposes abortion, where they state abortions are necessary in limited circumstances to prevent the death of the mother (Painter, pg.1). Therefore, people today seem to agree on that the stance of abortions having some medical benefit. Most people would agree that even though abortions come with many ethical problems, they have a real benefit in medicine and are

Abortion is a very tedious act to remove a fetus out of the womb before it has the chance to live on its own. There are two different types of abortions, medical abortion and surgical abortion. Medical abortion is the act of taking “methotrexate or mifepristone, which may be followed by another drug called misoprostol within the first forty-nine days”(pamf.org, “abortion”). Surgical abortion is a procedure done by vacuuming out the uterine lining during pregnancy typically in the first trimester.(pamf.org,”abortion”). There have been problems with abortion for centuries. The most known case concerning abortion is a case called Roe V. Wade in 1973. The case ruled a Texas law banning abortions other than those to save a mother unconstitutional because it violated the right to privacy. A woman named Norma L. McCorvey (“Jane Roe”) “claimed that although her life was not endangered, she could