Should Women Have a Choice?

Should Women Have a Choice?

Over the past few decades, abortion has been an extremely controversial issue in the United States. Pro-life and pro-choice are the two opposing views on abortion. According to Operation Rescue, there are about 1.21 million abortions performed each year in the U.S. Abortion is a very selfish act. It ends a human life without allowing that human a choice in the matter. Three of the most common reasons women give for justifying abortions are: lack of financial stability, not ready for the responsibility of raising another human being, or health issues which makes having a child unsafe for the woman. There are no justifiable reasons why anyone should end a life. If people are ready to participate in sexual relations, they need to be ready for the possible results.

In the United States alone, about half of all pregnancies are unintended, and about 4 in 10 or 40% are aborted (operationrescue.org). There are many ways pregnancies can be prevented. Abstinence and birth control are two forms of contraceptives. Birth control comes in many forms. Some forms are condoms, foam, spermicidal gel, "the pill", IUD, birth control ring, and Implanon. The only foolproof forms of birth control are abstinence, vasectomy, and hysterectomy. Combining two forms of birth control can help improve the effectiveness of many methods. Plan B is a pill you take within 72 hours after having sexual intercourse and it will prevent pregnancy. Taking the Plan B pill too many times within a year can harm a woman's body and that woman could be more likely to become pregnant because the effectiveness might start to wear down. The use of birth control can be an important part of preventing unwanted pregnancies. Even with all of the many options available, about 85% of sexually active woman who does not use a form of birth control, become pregnant (womenweb.org)

The gestational ages that many fetuses are terminated are, 61% by 9 weeks, 10% by 11-12 weeks, 7% by 13-15 weeks, 3% by 16-20 weeks and only 1% by 21 or more weeks (operationrescue.org). Many Planned Parenthood facilities are in minority neighborhoods. The percentage of abortions by race are 37% black, 34% white, 22% Hispanics, and 8% others (operationgrescue.org). Since the election of Obama, many people have changed their viewpoint on abortions and take the side of pro-life. In 2009, a poll was taken to view people's ideas on abortions. The results were 51% took the side of pro-life and only 42% took the side of pro-choice. Since 1995, this is the first time a majority of adults have been found to be pro-life (operationrescue.org). Many teenagers around the world a careless with their actions and are immature when it comes to sexual relationships. They think they don't need to use contraceptives because they feel it won't happen to them, and they won't get pregnant. Often this action results in a pregnancy, and many know that they cannot support this child, or their families won't support their choice to have a baby and they seek an abortion. Many women who are trying to get pregnant and cannot, see careless young teenagers getting pregnant all the time get frustrated because they are throwing away this child like its not big deal while they are struggling every month. Instead of receiving an abortion they should check out adoption agencies so women who struggle for babies can have an opportunity. The percentage for teen pregnancy has gone down quite a bit from the highest peak in 1990. In 2010 an average of 614,000 pregnancies occurred and out of those pregnancies from ages 15-19 a rate of 57.4 pregnancies out of 1,000 were aborted. This shows a 51% decline from 1990 and a 15% decline from 2008 at a rate of 67.8 abortions (gyttmatcher.org).

There are many billboards posted across the United States about pro-life. One billboard states that in just 18 days from conception, the heart begins to beat, and at 28 days from conception a baby's eyes, ears, and tongue begin developing (prolifeacrossamerica.org). Many people don't take into consideration when the life of a fetus begins and only think of it as being human when it is fully developed and born. "Anti-choicer's believe a fetus has an inherent right to life" (prochoiceactionnetwork-canada.org) because they believe that life begins at conception.

In 1973, the case of Roe v Wade came into effect. Roe V Wade was the Supreme Court's ruling on the legalization of abortion. Along with legalizing abortion, the Supreme Court hoped to reduce the rate of over 1 million abortions