Abortion - a Controversial Subject

"Abortion"

Abortion has been a controversial subject over these past few decades. Every time you pick up a paper or magazine it seems there is always some sort of protest regarding abortion, whether it is for fetal rights or women's rights. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the definition of abortion is "the expulsion of a fetus from the uterus before it has reached the stage of viability (in human beings, usually about the 20th week of gestation). An abortion may occur spontaneously, in which case it is also called a miscarriage, or it may be brought on purposefully, in which case it is often called an induced abortion.

"The American Abortion law is a very complex scene. According to the Supreme Court, the main focus of this Supreme Court litigation is the conflict between various states that want to make laws either protecting women or the unborn, and abortion rights advocates who want as little government restraint upon the abortion option as possible." The state will argue that there is no constitutional right to abortion, or if there is a right that it is not violated by the law the state wants to enforce. The abortion rights advocates argue that Roe vs. Wade protected a fundamental human right and that it must not be eroded by politics. In today's society, abortion is one of the most important issues bouncing around the legal system in this country. Killing an unwanted human's life is a sensitive concept and takes in much thought. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to make the rule that would ban on abortion unconstitutional, but would be legalized nationwide. The trial was Roe vs. Wade. Although abortion was made legal nationwide, many states still looked down upon abortion. These states included Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Prior to the 19th century, the United States still held on to their Common Law that it had adopted from England. In 1821, Connecticut was the first state to adopt the abortion law. Abortion was then labeled a felony in Connecticut; New York then was next in 1828. This then continued throughout the thirties, forties and fifties. In the midst of the19th Century, a movement began to tighten abortion regulations. Spearheaded by the medical community, by the late 1860's, this movement had succeeded in establishing uniform abortion prohibition in England and throughout most of the United States.

During the 1960's and early 70's, many states began to liberalize their abortion laws to some degree. This usually meant allowing abortion in cases of rape and incest, or for various health reasons. It was largely due to the influence of the 1962 Model Penal Code. In the state of Colorado, in 1967, it then became the first state to adopt the Model Penal Code. Its inclusion of "liberalized" features was a watershed for the loosening of abortion regulations, which had, until this time, usually banned all abortions excluding those to save the mother's life.

Pro-life is when one is totally against abortions. It is also someone who believes that unborn children should have a choice just like living humans have a choice and opinion. Pro-life is a universal psychology that is referred to regarding human life structure. A lot of times within Pro-life, religion becomes a main factor, as said in Exodus 21:22, "If men strive [fight] an hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit [fetus] depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine." This means that if a man causes a woman to have a miscarriage, he must pay a fine. In Isaiah 49:1, it reads, "The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name."

There are always two sides to every story. With Pro-life, you have Pro-choice. Pro-choice is "a common self-description used by people who believe that a woman should have the absolute legal right to have an abortion." Basically Pro-choice, gives the woman a choice on whether she wants to keep the child or not. According to a USA Today, CNN Gallup Poll in May, 1999 - sixteen percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during pregnancy and fifty five percent of American believes abortion should be legal only to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest. According to a Gallup Poll in January, 2001 - People who considered them to be pro-life rose from thirty three