Preview

Abortion: Should It Be Declared Illegal?

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1273 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Abortion: Should It Be Declared Illegal?
Abortion: Should it be declared illegal?

A dilemma is brewing for the society as a whole today in the name of abortion which has become a controversial issue that faces everyone countrywide. Abortion is defined as the forcible removal of a developing baby from the womb of his or her mother, using surgical, involuntary, or chemical means. Nowadays, abortion has been a very popular and debatable topic because of the moral and ethical issue associated with it. The most momentous moment in the history of abortion in America was the Roe vs. Wade case, which allowed the option of abortions legal to women across the nation. Today struggle still remains on the moral ethics behind it and the question is asked, “Is abortion the murder of an unborn child?” and the other question asked today is, “should abortion be declared illegal?” The debate over abortion in the United States historically holds ground both politically and socially. America is split into two sides; pro - choice and pro – life, both sides have their points that they stand on. To sum it up, either a living human is or isn’t being killed, and case between life or liberty is born. The differences make it hard to settle the two sides. Though it looks like both sides will never compromise they do share some similarities. Both sides to the abortion controversy share a common objective, which is to make abortion safer, and the overall number of abortions should reduce. There is much debate whether this is an action of life or death, and the difference is rather large. Our nation is split over the legal and moral status of abortion. The two sides of abortion, are the "pro-choice” and the "pro-life." In simple terms, a pro-choice individual believes that the choice to abort a pregnancy is to be made only by the woman; the state should not interfere. A pro-life advocate believes from the second of conception, the fetus is alive; and has rights thus abortion is the



Bibliography: Bissonnette, Joe. "Abortion: Conscience, Crisis & the Church." Human Life Review. 35.4 (2009): 13. Print. Dudley, Susan. "Safety of Abortion." Prochoice. National Abortion Federation, 2006. Web. 28 Apr 2011. . Griffith, Stephen. " The Moral Status of a Human Fetus: A Response to Lee." Christian Bioethics: Non-ecumenical Studies in Medical Morality. (2005): 57. Print. McGuinness, Sheelagh. "Abortion: Prohibitions and Exceptions." American Journal of Bioethics. 9. (2009): 70. Print.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    From 1973 to 2015 the United States of America’s population increased by about 109, 533, 231. In that same amount of time, about 43, 800, 000 abortions took place (Lang). This statistic helps show that abortion has always been a problem, but only recently has became one on a national level with the two sides forming. One side, the Pro-Life one, wants laws that will help protect the fetus. The other side, the Pro-Choice one, supports the belief that abortion should be the choice of the mothers. “Abortion, in its many different forms, is when a pregnancy is ended; therefore, it does not result in the birth of a child (“What is”).”…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Abortion is an extremely complex and highly debated public issue that has consumed much of the American social and political arena in the late twentieth century. People on both sides of the debate present strong arguments that establish valid points. Society clearly states that child abuse and the murder of one's child is illegal, but does allow abortion. Regardless of whether it is right or wrong, the fine line that exists between abortion and murder will be discussed and debated for decades to come.…

    • 1629 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The issue of abortion is by far, one of the most controversial topics in American History and everyone seems to have an opinion on the topic. Although there are many sides to the topic, the issue has divided the majority of people to the two extreme views of the topic --Pro-choice Vs. Pro-life. We can see the main arguments of each side just by analyzing the titles given to the two sides. Those who are pro-life believe that they are in fact Pro-Life and that abortion is murder. Those who are pro-choice believe that they are Pro-choice and that outlawing abortion would take the women's freedom to make a choice about her own body. Feelings and emotions about such an issue are very powerful and it has been the case that both sides will go to extremes to defend what they believe in. Such was the case Rosalie and Hector Zevallos, owners of an abortion clinic who were kidnapped and threatened with their lives, if they would not close down their clinic. (Glover, CC, 22)…

    • 2088 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    In industrialized world, abortion is not a criminal offence until a series of law against abortion were passed during the nineteenth century. The proponent prohibition of abortion globally has stressed the medical dangers of abortion. Moreover, it is also argued that fetuses are human beings. Deliberate abortion is therefore considered a form of homicide crime (……..). In popular rhetoric in the USA, abortion issue is considered as a purely women’s right that helps them in maintaining their bodies. Therefore, if women possess the moral right to abort their unwanted pregnancies, the law should not prohibit them from practicing the act of abortion. However, the arguments for this right cannot entirely solve the moral issue of abortion. It is one thing to have a right and another to morally justify when exercising that right. Since fetuses are considered to have equal rights to life like any other person, women’s right to abortion should therefore be exercised only on extreme…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Abortion is a term used for the termination of the pregnancy by removing of the embryo or the fetus from the uterus of a woman. The abortion takes place in two ways. It can be induced abortion or it can be spontaneous abortion. In the induced abortion, the pregnancy is aborted intentionally, but the spontaneous abortion take place of its own due to some natural or accidental reasons. But whatever be the reason, the word abortion is always a burning issue in the society and politics. In the United States, abortions were legalized after the case Roe v. Wade, 1973 ruled that laws banning abortion were unconstitutional. Since then, groups supporting the right to abortion (“pro choice”) and groups against abortion (“pro life”) have continued to have ideological battles over which argument should be the law of the land. However, a woman is best capable of deciding whether or not she is able and willing to care for a child. Thus, she should similarly be able to decide whether or not she wishes to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Law Paper

    • 1747 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Bibliography: Baird, Robert M., and Stuart E. Rosenbaum. The Ethics of Abortion: Pro-life! vs. Pro-choice! Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus, 1989.…

    • 1747 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abortion Vs Government

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The issue of whether or not abortion should be illegal has been a challenge in America for many years. It’s caused a divide between Americans-those who are prolife, and those who are prochoice. Those who are prolife feel abortion should be illegal in order to save the lives of babies. Those who are prochoice believe that the government shouldn’t have the right to make any decisions regarding a woman’s body or health. Many facts prove that abortion should be a personal decision made between the woman and her doctor based on her health and the impact this would have on her life.…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    b. These exceptions were included in the bans on partial birth abortion proposed by Congress (Source)…

    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the western world's most controversial ethical issues in today's society is the act of abortion and its legislation. Abortion is the process in which a baby is killed whilst still in the mother's womb. This is performed for a variety of reasons. Due to the severity of the consequences of an abortion and the moral and religious elements involved, this is an ethical controversy and has divided people for decades.…

    • 1936 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abortion has been a heavily debated political, ethical, and moral dispute continuing for more than a decade after it was legalized in the United States in January 22, 1973. This decade long debate between “pro-life” activists and “pro-choice” activists usually stem from ones ethical and moral values of whether it is right to surgically or medicinally terminate a fetus and the extremes, like death of the mother, which could occur from the pregnancy. In this debate, I would view myself as a “pro-choice” activist because I firmly believe that abortion should continue to be legal to decrease the number of unintended mothers, broken or single parent families, and family poverty.…

    • 1233 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Luker, Kristin. "The War between the women." Readings on Induced Abortion: Articles from Family Planning Perspectives, 1974-1999. Vol. 1: Politics and Policies. New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2000. 22+. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Abortion is one of the most controversial and frequently debated topics in the world. The fact that the topic involves a persons right to choice, the ethical and moral question of what's right or wrong as well as what the definition of murder constitutes, it can easily be rejected or approved by a wide variety of people depending on their personal beliefs. Over the past few generations there have been much advancement in women's liberation and their right to choice. They have been granted the right to vote, females are much more accepted and now even welcomed into the workforce, they have the right to an education, and there are much more women in business and politics now than there ever was. Unfortunately, due to the many ethical issues that are brought up in the abortion debate, the fight for women's rights has not yet been settled. It has been suggested that abortion should not only be banned, but that the act of aborting a child should be considered as equally harmful as murder as it is suggested to be the deliberate killing of a human child. This paper will argue that allowing women the right to abortion is vital to their rights as a human being and their self determination. Furthermore it will explain that the ethical issues when dealing with abortion should not be solely focused on what is right or wrong but based on circumstance of the conception and whether or not the woman is prepared to bear a child.…

    • 2505 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Abortion, is the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is capable of independent life. When the expulsion from the womb occurs after the fetus becomes viable (capable of independent life), usually at the end of six months of pregnancy, it is technically a premature birth.…

    • 1513 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The issue of abortion is one that has been at the recent forefront of many political discussions in the United States and around the world. There are people spread across both sides of the argument whose opinions vary in intensity and depend on different sources of information to back up their points of view. For the purpose of this paper, abortion will be defined as the deliberate termination of human pregnancy. It is my opinion that abortion, completed early enough in a pregnancy, is not an unethical act and should not be considered to be a decision that is immoral. My argument is based on ideas that are rooted in both utilitarian and deontological ethics as I will show throughout the essay.…

    • 1113 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Should Abortion Be Legal

    • 1766 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Should Abortion Be Legal Cristina Gonzalez PHI 103 Informal Logic Anthony Biduck June 27, 2011…

    • 1766 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays