In the article Stop calling abortion a ‘difficult decision’, Janet Harris suggests abortion isn't a burdensome decision to make individuals over think. Relating a Harris’s own experience on abortion, her only question was “How quickly can I get this over with?” Harris proclaims advocates on both sides of the issue forms statements by using “difficult decision” which depicts the meaning of the situation. Harris lists, surveys on women in relation to abortions to emphasize the choices was not a perplex decision. The author's purpose is to reveal seeking an abortion is straightforward in order to end dehumanizing women on their options. Janet’s annoyed tone desires the advocates on both sides of the abortion debate.
Susan Sherwin’s view on abortion is primarily focused through the lens of feminist philosophy. Her article focuses primarily on how the feminist view provides more holistic, and less cold view on the topic of abortion that is more inclusive of the mother. The feminist view of abortion is primarily focused on looking at the factors that affect the mother through the process of the abortion, such as a woman’s feelings around the fetus, is conception, her partner, and her obligations. These are all factors that are not usually thought of by non-feminist thinkers. This is usually because the discussion around this topic is, as the author puts it “generally grounded in masculinist concepts of freedom (such as privacy, individual choice, and individuals’ property rights with respect to their own bodies)” (Sherwin.1997, 100). This view, as she puts it, primarily focuses on the morality and legal aspects of abortion. The basis of Sherwin’s paper centers around a feminist model from which to look at abortion. This model takes into account the emotional impact that an unwanted pregnancy has on the woman, who will be impacted most by this event. It gives sole power of design to the woman, who “may make mistakes in their moral judgements, but no one else can be assumed to have the authority to evaluate and overrule their judgements”. (Sherwin.1997, 102) Sherwin also advocates against the division of the mother and the fetus as separate entities during bioethical discussions. This also
In this article Jessica Valenti (2015) provides a supporting argument in a pro feminist direction, against the criminalization of women who seek out abortions within the US. As the author explains, women in desperate situations will do whatever they feel is necessary to end a pregnancy when they have decided that is what they want to do. It is necessary to provide support for these women, instead of alienating them further when they are in a vulnerable state.
In a time fraught with hot button issues, one that polarizes perhaps more than any other is that of abortion. Unfortunately, it is also an issue that is difficult to write about while remaining unbiased. Paul Stark’s “How Abortion Hurts Women” and Sarah Barnes’ “The Long Term Effects of Abortion on Women” both set out to prove that abortion has serious side effects on the affected party. Both Stark and Barnes cite several studies done in both America and abroad to support their claims, as well as, in Barnes case, offering their own insights on the matter. It seems that both authors purpose is to enlighten their audiences on the under-reported effects of abortion on women in order to spark a new conversation that doesn’t center around the unborn
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
Anna Quindlen describes in the essay “Abortion is too Complex to Feel one Way About” the different situation that we as a human race are put in everyday. She talks about the topic of abortion in a way that one feels they have had to make the decision of whether or not a person is pro-choice or pro-life. She uses references that are of different personal experiences in the essay that are vital to the audience. Quindlen is writing to state her point that one should never put their self in this situation because one should take the proper responsibility. In this paper you will read about the conflict with abortion and what Quindlen thinks about this issue.
In today’s society, abortions are seen as a sensitive topic; which has resulted in critical debates as to whether it is human or not. Throughout history, abortions have been seen as shameful which caused many women to conceal their stories. Society has put external pressure on women, which leaves the impression that they must regret their decisions. This is seen in the March 2016 Mashable article “I am sick of being silenced': 14 women share their abortion stories” as fourteen women acknowledge this external pressure when sharing their stories. Society has progressed to the point where we must silence our thoughts and beliefs in order to please others ( Quote MASHABLE). To understand how this happened, we must reintroduce the works on influential sociologists who focused on societal growth, such as
Within the spheres of Politics and religion one of the most controversial issues is abortion. The ongoing debate as to whether women should have access to abortion clinics, or if aborting a pregnancy is immoral has turned a private matter into a social and political dispute. Even though most individuals have their own strong stances regarding the topic of abortion, this black and white thinking fades to gray in Sallie Tisdale’s personal account as a nurse performing hundreds of abortions weekly in “We Do Abortions Here”. Throughout the essay, Tisdale describes the internal conflict she faces everyday: feeling sympathy toward the struggling women, and also the guilt and brutality of performing an abortion. At the end of her essay, she states
Abortion is never an easy decision, but women have been making the choice for thousands of years. It has become a large dilemma since 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court passed a law making the procedure legal, and an even larger controversial issue. The controversy is divided into “Pro-Choice” and Pro-Life” views. Pro-Choice supporters believe that the woman should have to choice whether to abort or not. Pro-Life supporters believe that it should be illegal to abort and preformed. However, there are many ways for this procedure to be performed. Abortion still remains today a controversial issue, by who should determine if it is the right thing to terminate a pregnancy or not and by how the procedure should be preformed.
“Deciding to have an abortion was easy for some and wrenchingly difficult for others. For some women, choosing abortion was the decision they wanted, both at a gut level and intellectually. For others, however, abortion was not their preferred decision; while logically they understood the reasons for this decision, part of them wished they could have chosen to carry the pregnancy to term”(Kimport et al
In our society, there are many ethical dilemmas that we are faced with that are virtually impossible to solve. One of the most difficult and controversial issues that we are faced with is abortion. There are many strong arguments both for and against the right to have an abortion which are so complicated that it becomes impossible to resolve. The complexity of this issue lies in the different aspects of the argument. The essence of a person, rights, and who is entitled to these rights, are a few of the many aspects which are very difficult to define. There are also issues of what circumstances would justify abortion. Because the issue of abortion is virtually impossible to solve, all one can hope
An incredibly prevalent subject in the media today, abortion and a women’s right to choose has graced newsstands, social media platforms, and even the presidential debates. As such a controversial topic, abortion has a certain stigma attached to it. Viewed often as this “black and white” topic, many philosophy articles have been written about the grey area that seems to surround this argument, writing either for or against the topic. A particularly well known piece that does just that, argues that a fetus’s right to life does not trump a woman’s right to have control over her own body. “A Defense of Abortion” by Judith Jarvis Thomson Pro life versus
A small number of issues have promoted such debate as has the topic of abortion. The contributors in the abortion debate not merely have definitely-fixed beliefs, but every group has a self-designated designation that plainly reflects what they consider to be the necessary issues. On one side, the pro-choice supporters see personal choice as fundamental to the debate: If a woman cannot decide to end an unnecessary pregnancy, a state which affects her body and perhaps her whole life, then she has lost one of her most fundamental human rights (Templeton 2011).
Abortion is an extremely controversial matter today because every year, in the United States, 6.4 million women get pregnant, and half of these pregnancies are unintended, half of these unintended pregnancies end in abortion. (Indiana University Press) In the United States there are two real perspectives on abortion, there is the pro-life, and the pro-choice. This essay will focus on the ethical perspectives of both sides and the reasoning behind them. Abortion should be kept pro-choice because of the multitude of reasons women want them. In a recent study, 89% of women gave at least two reasons for wanting an abortion, 72% gave at least three, and the median number was
When discussing women and health, one can’t talk about the subject without eventually approaching the inevitable topic of women’s right to have an abortion. The right for a woman to have a safe abortion is a controversial topic for many who view abortion as a killing of a child. Meanwhile others, citing the science, argue that it is a woman’s choice to choose
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