academic argumentative research paper PRO CHOICE

Abortion Pro-Choice

Literature review

Extensive research has been conducted on abortion pro-choice , as it has been a topic of debate since way back. This chapter offers, through selective references to some of the literature, a comprehensible description of abortion and the perspectives on safe abortion. The chapter will also give a thumbnail sketch on previous research findings on abortion and abortion pro-choice, what justifies it and the dangers associated with abortion pro-choice, according to different scholars and researchers.

Ruibal (2014) defines abortion as the termination of a pregnancy by getting rid of an embryo or a fetus so that the fetus does not survive outside the uterus. At times, abortion can occur spontaneously, and when this happens, it is referred to as a miscarriage. Abortion pro-choice is a woman’s right to decide whether to keep a pregnancy or cut it short. Abortion has been carried out for thousands of years. Back in the 1800s, surgical procedures such as abortion were deemed as highly risky. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities were not so popular and antiseptics were not well known. Women were procuring abortions from illegal practitioners which was extremely dangerous and deadly. As time progressed, especially with the advancement and domination of scientific technologies in medical practices, abortion started being advertised openly and abortion became a norm. Thereafter, states started passing laws which illegalized abortion.

Making abortion illegal, however, did not impede women from seeking abortion services. A vast number of women suffered from severe health complications from self-induced abortions. According to Boyle et al (2015), The drive to illegalize abortion was linked to doctors who wanted to create for themselves full rights to practice medicine. They wanted to stop unqualified practitioners from competing with them for customers, in this case, patients. These doctors were also doing so to stop the untrained doctors from competing with them for patients fees and charges. As a result, abortion stopped being criminalized and was successfully changed into a procedure meant for qualified physicians only. A historical survey on abortion pro-choice reveals that it was highly scrutinized because a woman who decided to cut short the life of their unborn baby was said to be no different from a murderer. Moreso, staunch Christians opposed abortion in any circumstance, which meant that a lot of condemnation was thrown at women who felt the need to terminate their pregnancy. Weitz and Weitz (2015) State that an unborn baby is like property and the mother is the property owner. Therefore, she is at liberty to dispose of the ‘property' during any time of her pregnancy. Abortion pro-choice has widely spread in this century, as it is seen necessary that women are given the go-ahead to end a pregnancy if it posses as a risk to their health, especially when it comes to a matter of life and death.

Weitz(2014) reveals that abortion pro-choice is a woman's act of self-defense.In normal cases, a person has the right to defend themselves from any sort of danger, even if the danger is being caused by a person who is entirely innocent. Therefore, if it a fetus (which is completely innocent) that is endangering the life of the mother, then it is okay for the mother to terminate the pregnancy. According to Rao (2015), a woman has the right to kill even if the danger will not cause actual death, but rather severe harm. Hence, it is okay for the mother to abort a pregnancy if the pregnancy will cause permanent damage, even if not actual death. A woman should be given the right to abort if the pregnancy will damage her career, financial prospects, her life plans or even her family. In addition, cases such as rape or incest do justify abortion. A woman who got pregnant through rape has the right to abort because the pregnancy was unwanted. It would be very unfair if a rape victim was coerced to raise a child that they did not intend to have in the first place.

Nevertheless, abortion pro-choice has still been widely criticized. Religion portrays abortion as an act of sin, whether pro-choice or not. Christian teachings talk about committing murder as breaking one of the ten commandments. A woman should not get rid of a baby because babies are a gift from God, regardless of the circumstances revolving around their conception(Castuera,2017). Abortion is thus immoral and cannot be justified whatsoever.An infant is a human being, and it is unfair to choose a person's convenience over another person's life. Pregnancy does not necessarily mean that the life of a woman has come to a stop. It is still possible to further education, careers and chase after one’s dreams even when one falls pregnant without having planned to. According to Boyle (2014), in reference to rape victims, a baby is not the worst thing that can happen to them, but rather, abortion is. Women who abort are also at a higher risk of developing depression and having suicidal thoughts, because of guilt.

Conclusion

A review of the research findings mentioned above reveals that Abortion prochoice is a controversial topic that has sparked debate and continues to raise questions from people all over the world. Abortion should be a woman’s choice, and if a woman has concrete reasons for not wanting to keep a baby, then they should be allowed to abort their pregnancy as they wish.

Introduction

Abortion is a medical procedure that involves ending a pregnancy using medicine or surgery (Beckman, 2017). When a woman gets pregnant, it is upon them to decide if they will take care of the child or get rid of the unborn baby. Abortion is a woman’s choice and so the government should not have a say on what a woman should do with her body. Abortion pro-choice also has its consequences, which might turn out to be long term. Making abortion legal protects the health of women as it gives them the chance to go through a clean and normal termination procedures, and not seek ‘back-alley’ abortions. Abortion pro-choice also prevent the birth of children who might grow up feeling unwanted as the mother might create a hostile environment for the child to live in. When a woman is forced to keep a pregnancy, even when the baby is born, it will take time for them. mother to come to terms with the situation and accept the baby. The baby will grow up without a mother’s love, which is not fair because the baby is innocent. It is important to bear in mind that having an abortion does not put an end to a woman’s problem.

A woman who has procured an abortion will most likely experience psychological distress. They will live in constant fear and guilt will always eat them up, and this might take a long time to disappear. Abortion pro-choice has faced criticism owing to the fact that the bible is against murder. The Bible points an accusing finger at anyone who kills, and people argue that there is no difference between abortion and murder. Therefore, anyone who kills a fetus is branded a murderer. Nevertheless, legal abortion lowers morbidity rates as the availability of legal abortion reduces the number of unsafe abortion-related deaths. Women who abort, however, should first be informed of the health risks and fatalities as one can even bleed to death during an abortion procedure. As for me, I hold the opinion that a woman should be allowed to make the decision as to whether they keep a pregnancy or get rid of it. The government should be vocal about safe abortions.

References

Beckman, L. J. (2017). Abortion in the United States: The continuing controversy. Feminism & Psychology, 27(1), 101-113.

Boyle, E. H., Kim, M., & Longhofer, W. (2015). Abortion liberalization in world society, 1960–2009. American Journal of Sociology, 121(3), 882-913.

Boyle, M. (2014). Re-thinking Abortion: Psychology, Gender, and the Law. Routledge.

Castuera, I. (2017). A Social History of Christian Thought on Abortion: Ambiguity vs. Certainty in Moral Debate. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 76(1), 121-227.

Rao, R. (2015). Selective Reduction: "A Soft Cover for Hard Choices” or Another Name for Abortion?.

Ruibal, A. (2014). Movement and counter-movement: a history of abortion law reform and the backlash in Colombia 2006–2014. Reproductive health matters, 22(44), 42-51.

Weitz, R., & Weitz, R. (2015). A history of women’s bodies.

Weitz, T. A. (2014). Rethinking the mantra that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare”. In Reproduction and Society: Interdisciplinary Readings (pp. 87-94). Routledge.