Societal Attitudes Toward Abortion
Public opinion varies based on the situation surrounding the pregnancy. Whether it may be an unplanned pregnancy or a rape, the topic of abortion always receives different extremities of reactions. In situations where a privileged couple gets pregnant and simply does not have time for a baby and gets an abortion, the public may react differently than from a situation where a 15 year old girl is raped by her stepfather and gets pregnant. There appears to be a spectrum of acceptable situations for abortion and depending on where a person may fall, society will have a varied opinion.
Studies and surveys have shown that every year in America approximately 2% of all women aged 15-44 have an abortion. Within this 2%, less than 1% are caused by pregnancy from rape/incest, and 8% of women have an abortion simply due to the fact that their, “children are grown [and]; she has all [the kids] she wants” (“America”). These statistics show that many of the situations that lead to abortion are not what society sees as acceptable. Society as a whole sees abortion as an understandable option/choice when “there is a real risk of serious damage to the mother [when] a pregnancy is the result of a crime [...or when] the child of the pregnancy would have an ' unacceptable quality of life ' such as cases where the child would have…physical or mental handicaps” (“Reasons”).
Following the virtual spectrum of acceptability for abortions in society from worst to
Abortion is the deliberate killing of the weakest and most defenseless among us. Unfortunately, for the last few decades, the practice has been recognized as a fundamental human right by the highest court of the land. American culture has become increasingly accepting of traditional values and principles being compromised. Political correctness now replaces ethics, self-reliance is replaced by dependency, and crudeness now takes the place of knowledgeability. Today’s culture is corrupt and morally depraved, and there is no other topic that demonstrates this better than abortion.
In the United States alone, over one million babies are aborted, making the counties abortion rate one of the highest among other countries. This means that one out of every four pregnancies end in abortion, one out of three American women will have an abortion by the time they are 45, and half of women seeking to abort a baby have already aborted one in the past (“U.S. Abortion Statistics.”). Since the 1930’s, the population growth in America has been the lowest because of abortion. Two generations of Americans have technically been murdered because the aborted children will not be able to have the families and lives of their own (Steven Ertelt.).
Many people think that abortion should only be an option when the conception of a fetus is an outcome from rape or incest. Actually, polls show that three-quarters of the public support legal abortion when a woman's life is endangered by pregnancy or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. But support drops dramatically when the justifications seem frivolous or an unplanned pregnancy is the result of perceived carelessness. (Singer) However, abortion shouldn’t just be an option when something horrible happens to a woman, abortion should also be a possibility when a woman isn’t ready for a child or doesn’t want to raise a child. Furthermore, the public fails to realize that being pro-choice doesn’t mean one has to be pro-abortion. When the public support for abortion drops because of a woman’s irresponsibility emphasizes that abortion shouldn’t be an option unless
One reason why abortion should not be legal is because it allows selfish and irresponsible people to take the easy way out of the situation. This causes people to avoid the responsibility sexual intercourse exacts because, after all, sex is in fact for reproduction. This type tactic to evade responsibility is portrayed best in the documentary “Abortion Diaries” by Penny Lane. This documentary is surprisingly facetious and acts as if the people interviewed did no wrong to get into the situation in the first place. In this documentary, Penny Lane interviewed several women who had gotten an abortion due to an unwanted pregnancy, and most of their stories, unfortunately, revealed their immaturity. Many of them were having plenty of safe sex, or surprisingly, plenty of unsafe sex, when they were financially unstable. One woman, named Bridget, even graphically says “he asked me if I was on the pill. I said ‘no.’ We had
As an example, there are approximately 100,000 abortions performed per year! That is an insanely large number and the reason for this outcome is because individuals are utilizing this method if other forms of contraception fail to work. Additionally, society has maintained that abortion should be kept in case of any medical complications such as saving a mother’s life. The fact is that less than 1 percent of all abortions are performed to save the mother's life. This validates that there are stronger reasons for why the woman wanted an abortion. As a matter of fact, communities will question about in the cases of rape or other forms of sexual assault. According to Abortions Rights Coalition of Canada, women’s decision (on abortion) is based on the reality of everyday practicalities (such as
An Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy. According to Linda Lowen’s research, The World’s Health Organizations estimated that around fifty million abortions happen each year. Since they happen as frequently as 125,000 per day, they have become one of the most talked about topics in the United States (Lowen). Many people have different opinions on this topic. In an overview of the results of a survey conducted, it was found that even though there are that many abortions, twenty-five percent of the students that were surveyed disagreeed with them, forty-four percent are debatable, leaving only thirty-one percent of agreeing with them (Daley). More than half of the United States population thinks that most mothers who have abortions are
The pro-life movement took a major loss on January 22, 1973 when a Supreme Court ruling made abortion legal (History.com Staff). This case was Roe v. Wade (History.com Staff). Before this case,It is not just the law letting people have abortions people's morals have shifted in the last couple of years. I feel that society has changed and that the secular world has become more accepting of abortions and I think this is just plain wrong. I think that if society rejects abortion and euthanasia. We can save many lives if society stands up and rejects abortion. This will people understand the evils of abortion. I think that everyone should be able to see that God loves everyone, even unborn children. I believe that God wants us to stop abortions.
All around the world people are affected by problems in our society; social problems. Social problems are defined as being, “ Some aspect of society that concerns people and would like to be changed.” Depending on values and regions of the world you live in, these aspects and values vary. What one country views as an issue may not be the same for a different country, and so on and so forth. Research has shown that one problem still remains constant all over the world, and that is the societal issue of abortion. What is abortion?
Along with this, rigorous antiabortion laws were passed in England and in the U.S. Soon attitudes towards the subject became more liberal in the 20th century, and by 1970 abortion was legalized in most European countries. In the United States abortion was legalized via the famous Roe v. Wade court case. Roe was a single pregnant women fighting the state of Texas, where the law pronounced she was not allowed to receive an abortion, Roe went on to win the case; legalizing and permitting abortions during the first six months of a women’s pregnancy. Although each side to this diverse social issue contains valid points to argue, there is a long-term impact for the rights of the mother, the personhood of the fetus, and the effect on society to consider. There are hundreds of explanations as to why a woman would want or need an abortion. These reasons may include; the fetus is a result of rape or incest, the women is financially unstable and incapable of having a baby, the fetus has a health problem, the mother has a health problem, the woman is currently in a violent relationship, etc. These factors distinctly reason why abortion should remain legal and be determined by the decision of the women, and the women only(Schwarz, Stephen D).
“Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence to get what they want,” by the religious sister Mother Teresa. This quote shows that places where abortion is legalized women have the freedom to make abortion behind the name of law without feeling pity on their unborn baby. Based on USA abortion statistics, women give three reasons why they choose abortion. The statistics show that, “3/4 say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities; about 3/4 say they can not afford a child; and 1/2 say they do not want to be a single parent”(Loxafamosity Ministries). However, these reasons are not enough
The simple fact that a woman is able to carry a fetus in her womb, and that it will develop into a baby in the course of nine months is miraculous. Being able to procreate is a blessing that not every woman has the privilege of possessing. However, it appears to be that people are forgetting how precious the gift of life truly is. They do not take into consideration the consequences of their actions because they believe that all their problems will disappear once they dispose of the results of their negligence. In this case, people use abortion as a method to escape their obligations. This situation, however, does not apply to all women that feel that abortion is the best option. For instance, the baby might be the result of an abuse.
Today’s society is full of health concerns, unsolved, and controversial issues. Many of these can be viewed in relation to one’s moral, ethic, and religious beliefs, thus creating a society divided by opposing viewpoints. Today in the U.S., abortion is one of the most controversial discussions concerning women simply because it has been said for many years now that abortion should not be legal. Many who oppose abortion do not know what an abortion is, or even why a woman might choose to have an abortion. This research essay will discuss why it should be a woman’s choice to have an abortion and attempt to discuss the many reasons behind choosing an abortion.
In our society today, the word morality is taken as derogatory. Society views it as being bound by rules and regulations with no freedom or happiness. A great example of this view is the 10 commandments given to Moses by God as a guide for the Israelites to get into the promised land. While the commandments are laws, their goal is not to enslave us, but rather guide us into true freedom and happiness, leading us to God who is our ultimate end. An example of one of the commandments is the fifth, ‘you shall not kill’. It brings out our true freedom as it frees us from making the hard decision of whether or not someone’s life is worth saving.
A majority of abortions today are not due to health risk or rape. According to Abort72.com, “3/4 say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities; about 3/4 say they cannot afford a child; and 1/2 say they do not want to be a single parent” ("U.S.”). Getting pregnant is most definitely the mother and father’s fault. They knew what could possibly happen if they engaged in sexual intercourse, but they irresponsibly chose to do it anyway. Getting an abortion is just an excuse for laziness in “87%” of the cases (“U.S.”). There is no excuse to murder the child because they did not just suddenly appear in the Mom’s womb. Abortion is growing more and more common because our country is getting lazier and more irresponsible. If the parents cannot possibly take care of the baby, there are other ways to go about it besides killing the unborn child. For example, they can take it to an orphanage or ask their parents to help out. However, it is understood that taking away abortions will make orphanages even more
The practice of abortion is an issue that has sparked controversy for many years. One of the initial problems that lead to the debate about abortion is the fact that, the definition of the term abortion varies from one field to another. The controversy arises because the language used to describe abortion “is a reflection of the societal beliefs of the people in that area” (McFarlane & Meier 65). Generally, the World Health Organization defines abortion as induced or spontaneous termination of pregnancy before the fetus is due for birth. The issue of abortion causes a two-sided divide where those who support cite the reason for their support as the mother of the fetus should have a right to choose what happens and does not happen to their