Abortion; legal or illegal?

 

Abortion has not only become a moral issue but a legal tug-o-war since it was made legal in 1973. The famous “Roe v. Wade” court ruling stated “a woman and her doctor may freely decide to terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester”. Yet Pro-life (which are the people which are fiercely oppose abortion due to political and/or religious reasons) and Pro-choice (people who are for the women’s right to abortion) advocates face off with what they believe should and shouldn’t be a law.

Abortion has grown to be quite a trend in the past 30 years. Some see it as a legitimate answer to a problem, and others see it as taking an easy way out at another’s expense. Whatever your opinion we have to accept that its happening, about 25 percent of U.S women choose to end their pregnancy in abortion. An excess of 90% of all abortions are done because of personal reasons, reasons like economic problems, relationship uncertainty and the parents may be to young to parent a child. Another 6% is done because either the woman or the fetus has a medical problem and abortion would be in the best interest, complications like genetic defects in the fetus. Surprisingly enough only 1 percent of all abortions done in the U.S. are sought because of abusive sexual acts like rape. No one would think it was such a small amount since it is one of the Pro-Choicers’ most heard comments.

Abortion was legalized because making abortion illegal would be in direct violation of a woman’s right to privacy and the right to do with her own body as she pleases. They state that a woman should have the discretion to choose the roles they play in their life, whether it is mother, career woman, etc. The right to privacy was interpreted from the 14th amendment in the constitution. Many cynics are outraged at this, saying that there is no direct mention of any justification for abortion. Section 1, states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law, which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” As you see there is indeed no mention of the right to abortion but there it is said “No state shall make or enforce any law, which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States...” and maybe abortion falls under a privilege.

Worldwide Pro-life association’s main and probably the best argument is the same, each fetus is considered a human life and abortion therefore is murder. Well how does one specify when life begins? Not even doctors can positively identify this, so how can we be sure, well pro-lifers think that they have an answer to this and it is that personhood begins right at the moment of conception. “Shortly after conception a unique DNA code is formed, which will remain unchanged through the life of the fetus, and the throughout the potential life of the fetus. They might say that the presence of a unique DNA code converts the egg into a human person.” Pro-choicers reject this idea and say that life may begin later in gestation and as to the DNA argument; a just fertilized egg contains the same DNA information as a hair follicle or a skin scrapping, yet they are not treated as a human person, so they both should be given the same status. Both are very interesting and valid points, but still leave us with the same question, when does life begin? Is it when a heart starts beating, when limbs begin to develop, or is it when the egg is just fertilized? Reva B. Sigler, a professor of law at Yale, talked about abortion in a lecture, there she read from 1880 medical journals that emphasized the separateness between the woman and the fetus. Meaning that a fetus has its own life, which deserves equal right and protection. If this were to be true, then whose rights are more important, that of a woman or an unborn child?

Women with illnesses like heart disease, sickle-cell anemia, sever diabetes, etc. whose complications can worsen if they give birth no longer have to because of abortion. In these days we see people becoming parents at very young ages, now should teenagers have to suffer poor jobs, and education because of one mistake, or an action that was done on the spur of a moment? Well abortion has made it possible for many of these teens to live life as normal as possible. Abortion can also lower the number of abandoned and mistreated children. These unwanted children are seriously disadvantaged and can grow up to treat others with violence and hate, but abortion can solve that problem.

Some skeptics about the legalization of abortion say that there are many hidden motives behind this. One of the theories is that abortion was purposely legalized for population control. Population has become an increasing problem and there is really no other way to control it other than to limit reproduction. Another increasing problem is the threat of global warming, which we also think can be solved by limiting the number of people that are on the world. Even one of our more respected politicians, Vie President Al Gore, has said that “over population fosters global warming” and went on to suggest expanding birth control and abortion programs in developing countries to help reduce the environmental threat. Whether these ulterior are just pure skepticism or not, they are sure something to think about.

Maybe abortion does have its strong points, but every issue has its positive and negative effect. It is our job to figure out if the negative effects are worth risking so that we can have a good outcome. Though all the points made by the opposing sides are equally matched, we are still left with the question, should abortion be legalized? Maybe it’s a personal choice that we make on our own with the help of our own moral beliefs, and something that the law should not meddle in.