Abortion Debate

The Abortion Debate

Abortion has been a heavily debated topic in different societies throughout the world in past and present years. Unfortunately many do not see eye to eye on this subject, often causing outrage and extreme opinions by people across the nation (although it has been debated throughout the globe). There are various viewpoints of abortion (different degrees of opinions), due to personal experience, family values, religious beliefs, etc. Although beliefs on abortion vary in their extremities, the main beliefs of abortion are pro-life, pro-choice, abortion under the circumstance of rape and incest, and abortion under the circumstance of physical danger of the mother. Those most involved in the abortion debate are women of all ages, the government who passes the laws, and men who would take on responsibility of raising a child if abortion was outlawed. Currently the constraints to the topic of abortion are the laws passed by government and personal and religious beliefs of many people in various societies.

The argument over abortion has been around for years. However, in the past couple of decades the debate has gained much attention, with some feeling that women should have the choice to terminate a pregnancy and take control of their own bodies. Some women who become pregnant feel that they are not ready to have a child and would not have the resources to support a family. Others are afraid of the health risks that can come along with pregnancy, determining that the life of a mother is the most important factor in a pregnancy. Past and present concern has been based on the government's decisions to make abortion only illegal in some states. One of the most important past decisions was Rowe v. Wade in 1973, which legalized abortion in the United States (Associated Press 1). This was considered a landmark case in the United States' history when dealing with abortion. However, despite the Supreme Court's firm ruling, it has not stopped anti-abortionists from continuing to voice their opinions. Today the debate over abortion is still a large controversy. Currently South Dakota is attempting to pass a law forbidding abortion. Those who break this legislation can face up to five years in prison for performing illegal abortions (Associated Press 1). Since we will never live in a society where everyone absolutely agrees with one another, the topic of abortion will continue to find its way into the media and government debate.

The first side to the argument involves those who are against abortion under all circumstances. Religious individuals with strong values on human life are often against abortion. The Catholic religion, for instance, do not believe in taking the life of an unborn child, considering it murder to terminate the pregnancy. The religious see pregnancy as a gift, an opportunity given by God to have a child for a reason, and it is not something to be thrown away ("Pro" 1). These are the individuals who believe that the growing fetus within a pregnant woman is a human life, and killing that child is considered murder. The pro-life belief states that everyone has an inherent right to life ("I Am Pro-Life" 1). Those against abortion believe that violence inside and outside abortion clinics is morally wrong and should be stopped. Unfortunately some women use abortion as their form of birth control ("Pros" 1). This means that some women sleep with men and do not use protection, thinking nothing of the situation. This group of individuals also believes that while rape and incest pregnancies can be devastating and hurtful crimes, punishment to the rapist should be served without killing the conceived child ("I Am Pro-Life" 1). For those are pro-life based on religion, they believe that the Bible backs up their views to abortion. Supporters of pro-life feel that there are other options to abortion. Instead of killing an innocent child, a mother can look towards adoption as an alternative. These are the main reasons that individuals continue to stay pro-life and push for the illegalization of abortions.

Pro-choice is the second main argument to the abortion debate. The group of people who are considered pro-choice believes that it is a woman's right to choose what to do with an unwanted pregnancy. They also believe that the fetus growing inside of a woman is not a human, but rather a mass of tissue ("I Am Pro-Choice" 1). Supporters in a woman's right to chose feel that a woman's life is more valuable than a fetus. They also believe that abortion is safer than childbirth. Pro-choice individuals say that every child born should be a wanted child ("I Am Pro-Choice" 1). A fourth belief is that the number of abortions is relatively small, that not a significant amount of women are terminating their pregnancies. Pro-choice individuals also believe that a woman should have the ability to control her own body. Another factor is that some people are not ready to have children. Every year, nearly 19 percent of teens that have sexual intercourse will become pregnant ("Know" 1). Some feel that in most circumstances it would much easier to terminate a pregnancy than have to raise a child. Many pro-choice supporters believe that if abortion is ever outlawed, women will be forced to go to unsafe back-alley abortion clinics to terminate their pregnancies. By aborting unwanted children, this will in turn reduce the number of abused children by adults ("I Am Pro-Choice" 1). Unfortunately abortion can be discriminatory towards the poor since the wealthy can afford to travel to other places to have an abortion, while the less fortunate will have to do illegal abortions, putting their lives at risk ("Pros" 1). A last argument of those who are