Pro-Choice Abortion

Abortion: Pro-choice

One of the most prominent and highly debated topics in the United States is whether or not abortion should be legal. This controversial issue brings about a kind of war between the hypocritical government who is supposed to represent the beliefs and wants of the people, and the liberty-seeking citizens of our country. Our nation is now divided into those who are pro-choice, people who believe that a woman should have the freedom to terminate a pregnancy by having an abortion, and those who are pro-life, people who believe that abortion is morally wrong and should not be legal. In 1973, Roe, a pregnant woman, challenged the law of Texas that stated abortions were illegal unless it was to save the woman's life. As a result, the Supreme Court ruled that prohibiting abortion violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees "the right of privacy" and entitles everyone to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A person's decisions regarding his or her personal life are none of the government's business (Alexander 83). Today, there are proposals to close abortion clinics, and make abortions illegal once again. Our country is based on the Constitution, so why is the government jeopardizing it's meaning? Maybe it's because our so-called President loads the seats with people who will never understand what it's like to be pregnant (Quindlen 86). Or maybe it's because our government won't let go of their ego and realize that our world is not perfect, and it never will be. If the government is so concerned about having an ideal world, why are women's constitutional rights being challenged yet again? Is the government trying to make women inferior in society by taking away their rights (Taking Sides...Bioethical 3)? The war between pro-choice advocates and pro-life supporters will never end. There will always be abortion, legal or not. Abortion is not murder, nor is it in any way wrong. It is simply a woman expressing her freedom to make a choice.

One of the most argued issues dealing with abortion is the morality of the procedure. Pro-life supporters believe that human life begins at conception, as soon as the egg is fertilized, therefore considering abortion "murder." However, simply asking when life begins is the wrong question. The question asked should be when does that life become a person. If aborting a fertilized egg is considered murder, what about the tons of eggs and sperms that are wasted and die without being fertilized? Couldn't a simple egg and sperm be said to be life, for they are alive, active, and genetically human? Does this mean that every time we let an egg or sperm die, we are considered murderers? No, it is not what it means, for sperm and egg cells are only potential humans (Barans). An embryo is not an independent life because it is not yet able to live outside of a woman's body (Roleff 40). It does not have brain waves or sensitivity to pain, nor does it have thoughts, feelings, or consciousness (Roleff 42). What would life be like without goals and intelligence? An embryo only becomes a person when it, as the Bible states, inhales its first "breath of life." Maybe so many people are against abortion because pro-lifers load our televisions, magazines, and books with gruesome and graphic pictures of aborted babies who look to be fully developed. However, this is simply propaganda, for 90% of abortions occur within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy when the embryo is no bigger than the thickness of one of your hairs (Taking Sides...Bioethical 3;Roleff 43). Abortion is not murder, for murder is the killing of a human being, and clearly an embryo is not a human being.

Although abortion was illegal before 1973, women were still having them. However, these abortions weren't performed by trained doctors in sanitary and safe clinics. Women took the matter into their own hands, as they risked their health and lives by attempting uncivilized methods to rid of the embryo growing inside of them. These illegal forms of abortion were commonly known as back alley abortions, and were performed with such tools as coat hangers and knitting needles (Roleff 67). Because of the lack of safety, many women suffered serious medical problems and even experienced death. In 1965, 17% of all pregnancy-related deaths in the United States were the result of illegal abortions ("Is Abortion Right?" 189). In the early part of this century, every year an estimated 800,000 illegal abortions took place, resulting in 8,000 to 17,000 deaths. After the legalization of abortion, many lives were saved as women were given safer procedures and facilities to go to. In 1991, only 11 women died, compared to the thousands that died before 1973. Today one in 167,000 die from abortion, compared to the one in every 30,000 previously ("Is Abortion Right?" 192). If clinics are shut down again today, our society will be a replica of what occurred before 1973. Women will go back to having those illegal abortions, which will only put a negative effect on our society. Because women will do whatever it takes to get rid of the baby, they will be put in unsafe situations, which will result in a dramatically higher number of deaths.

Why do women have abortions? A survey was conducted in 1987 on the top six reasons why women go through with these procedures. The survey consisted of 1,900 women at 30 different abortion facilities. The results came out as follows: 1) Concerned about how having a baby could change her life, 92%; 2) Not mature enough or too young to have a child, 81%; 3) Can't afford a baby now, 73%; 4) Doesn't want others to know she has had sex or is pregnant, 42%; 5) Has relationship problems and doesn't want to be a single parent, 37%; 6) Is unready for the responsibility, 33% (Roleff 105). There are an ample amount of motives why a woman would not want to have a baby. In our society today, we are led to believe that only the materialistic yuppie who gets rid of her baby for a fancy vacation, or a promiscuous ghetto teenager who couldn't say no to sex, are the women who have abortions (Taking Sides...Political 286). However, these reasons prove that all types of women have abortions. People believe that since a woman was responsible enough to have sex and take the risk of becoming pregnant, she should be responsible enough to care for a child. But what happens when the contraception method fails? It is a fact that condoms fail three times out of four. Contraceptive failure led to 1.6 to 2 million of the 3.3 million unwanted pregnancies in the United States in 1987. These unwanted pregnancies constitute about half of the 1.5 million abortions performed each year (Roleff 104). Does this mean that a woman should be forced to have a child because of an unintended