1000 word essay

English 102

07 April 2019

Abortion Legalization-

A Matter of Social Justice and Human Rights

From religious beliefs on morality, social backgrounds on ethics, and societal stereotypes, abortion has been for a long time considered a crime in many parts of the world — the debates associated with the issue focus on its right and wrongs. Religious fanatics have always argued that God is the giver of life and that no man has the power to end it. On the other hand, policymakers have termed the fetus as having the rights to enjoy life. The early developmental process during the neonatal should not be confused with the aspect of the fetus lacking a potential to grow into a fully developed child. Therefore, anyone who commits an abortion has been stereotyped as murder because of ending a pregnancy before a normal birth.

Laws, mostly in advanced nations such as the United States, have become liberal regarding abortion despite opposition from many stakeholders. The topic of abortion and its process serves as a painful issue for women and men who face the moral dilemma of whether or not to eliminate pregnancy. The situation has made the topic to become polarized as people take different sides concerning their status and outcome. With the above knowledge, the paper supports abortion and perceives it as social justice and human rights issue.

Background Information concerning Abortion in the Society

Zane et al. (2015) provide comprehensive data regarding the abortion incidence in the United States. In the last five years, more than 36 abortions that have occurred annually, affecting close to 1000 women between the age of 15 and 44 years in developing countries. The developed nations have only experienced 27 abortions. Compared to the region between 1990 and 1994, it is evident that abortion has significantly dropped (Zane et al., 2015). When it comes to developing nations, there is no significant change regarding abortion rates. In regions whereby abortion is frequent in areas where the law has banned it. In areas with the least-restrictive category, there have been cases of decline in the last few years (Wu, Maru, Regmi, & Basnett, 2017). On the other hand, Ananat & Hungerman (2012) describes the significance of abortion laws in controlling the issue. Laws are concerned with permitting abortion without possibilities of restrictions as to the reason.

As of two years ago, over 42% of women with reproductive capacity live in 125 nations where governments restrict abortion. The laws are known to focus on the safety of women (Ananat & Hungerman, 2012). In countries with highly restrictive contexts, women have a high likelihood of experiencing safer clandestine abortions. Women have the opportunity to use medication abortion techniques-mostly the combination of mifepristone and mistropol to ease the pain and for successful undertakings of the process. In such nations, the women who undertake abortions experience 55% safety possibilities (Assifi, Berger, Tunçalp, Khosla, & Ganatra, 2016). The main reason is because of the standards that are met by the methods and medical providers. Approximately 14% of abortions lead to adverse outcomes among women (Assifi, Berger, Tunçalp, Khosla, & Ganatra, 2016).

Supporting the Legalization of Abortion in Countries

Concerning the above, it is evident that more restrictive policies and regulations are the nutrients to unsafe abortions among women. When the government fails to permit it, it means that women will seek for alternatives which may endanger their lives. Zane et al., (2015) show positivity when it comes to the legalization of abortion in different parts of the world. As reiterated above, he provides statistics relating to the decline of abortions. According to him, restrictive laws should not be encouraged because they lead to the more adverse impact of abortions. Abortion serves as the right of a woman. She should have the capacity to decide the time and the possibility of having children depending on their age. The opposers are the ones that look into stereotyping women as individuals that need guidance. Such people view women as being followers and that society should dictate to them about how they should live their lives (Wu, Maru, Regmi, & Basnett, 2017). Financial and relationship stability may serve as the main reason for women choosing to have their children during their preferred period. The government does not have any strength of power to legislate against the choices of women.

Secondly, it is important to note that raising a child is the most challenging issue for one to undertake. It combines needs such as financial resource, emotional, and social commitment to raising a child. Assifi, Berger, Tunçalp, Khosla, & Ganatra (2016) creates a definition of a scenario that involves a woman forcefully having to live a life that she has not decided. If a woman is not ready to have a child, the situation means that she does not want the pregnancy. Therefore, she may not allow a fetus to develop into a child because this may be a problem compared to having the abortion. The child will be needed, and it would be a significant task handling the needs of the child. The child may also grow in an environment whereby there is a lack of stability, love, and care. This means that the child will lack all unnecessary factors to support positive growth and development.

Abortion’s argument based on a moral framework serves as a personal interpretation, and no one should legislate against it. The supporters of abortion should have the capacity to conduct it. The ones who oppose abortion should be left to do so. According to science, a fetus cannot be categorized as a human being. Therefore, an abortion may not have a similar equation to murder since the fetus does not possess life in it. Robertson (2015) supports the fact that abortion serves as a plan through which women avoid unwanted pregnancies that prevent possibilities of child neglect considering that the mother does not want to have children at that moment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, abortion should be left as an individual choice for women to undertake. Therefore, no law should be used to stigmatize them due to the choice they make against unwanted and unplanned pregnancies. It is a fundamental human right and social justice for them to become democratic about the issue. This means that the laws in the society should permit them to carry out the process when necessary but with a little bit of control. With the above approach, they become more responsible, and this may create a decline in the number of pregnancies occurring in society.

References

Ananat, E., & Hungerman, D. (2012). The power of the pill for the next generation: oral contraception's effects on fertility, abortion, and maternal and child characteristics. Review of Economics and Statistics, 94(1), 37-51.

Assifi, A., Berger, B., Tunçalp, Ö., Khosla, R., & Ganatra, B. (2016). Women’s awareness and knowledge of abortion Laws: a systematic review. PloS one, 11(3), e0152224.

Robertson, J. (2015). Legal change and stigma in surrogacy and abortion. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 43(2), 192-195.

Wu, W., Maru, S., Regmi, K., & Basnett, I. (2017). Abortion care in Nepal, 15 years after legalization: Gaps in access, equity, and quality. Health and human rights, 19(1), 221.

Zane, S., Creanga, A., Berg, C., Pazol, K., Suchdev, D., Jameson, D., & Callaghan, W. (2015). Abortion-related mortality in the United States 1998–2010. Obstetrics and gynecology, 126(2), 258.

�This information is not in the Zane article, and also appears to be incorrect as more than 36 abortions are performed in a given year. The Zane article doesn’t have information for the years 1990-94, but in 1998 there were 673 553 abortions performed in America. See Table 1.

�This information is not in the Wu article, which is exclusively about Nepal.

�This data is not in the cited article.

�This information is not in the Zane article, which is about legal abortions in the U.S.

�This information is not in the Wu article.