Political Issue

The Right Kind Of Choice
Composition lll/English2001
South University Online
Chad May
December 10, 2012

Abortion is one of the most controversial and debated topics of this day. Abortions; the practice of removing a fertilized egg from a mother has become a highly debated issue in American culture. The reason for this is whether or not the induced expulsion of the fetus is considered murder or whether or not it is up to the mother and her interests. People that are pro life suggest that all life is considered innocent and deserves a chance at life, and it is not up to the mother whether or not she wants to keep the baby. With the altering moral standards of society, abortions are becoming ever more justified. I believe abortions should be accepted because of the numerous health risks a mother endures, religion is not a foundation for law, government should not oversee medical procedures, and lastly a pregnancy can lead to poverty. Abortion began in the late nineteenth century when Connecticut found it necessary to ban contraception for women to use. It did not ban the sale or the manufacture but it did ban the use of contraception. According to Meister, “Over the past twenty five years since the Roe decision, the Court has clearly chipped away at Justice Blackmun 's open framework of the Roe case. Maher v. Roe 432 U.S. 464 (1977) was brought before the Court as a challenge to Connecticut 's limitation of state Medicaid funding to medically necessary abortions and refusal to fund "elective" abortions. However, the court held that the law is constitutional. It declared, the state need not fund a woman 's exercise of her right to choose abortion even though it pays the costs of childbirth.”(Meister 2012). The court ruled in favor the right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th amendment. This extended the decision for a woman to decide whether or not she wants to have an abortion. This law contains two restrictions; protecting the life of the fetus, and protecting the health of the mother. The court later rejected the restriction of the fetus’s trimester and has the right to abortion until the fetus can leave without the uterus. The Roa part states that the woman can have an abortion up to seven months. In not allowing these laws today, this is what the debate between the different states continue to have. The fact that the court was unable to decide when the fetus becomes a child is the reason we are still having this problem today. This law has been challenged several times and still there is no solution. Activists believe that God should choose the fetus’s life and death and it is not the mother’s decision. People that are “pro choice” often argue the fact that the ninth amendment, which contains the freedom of choice, is very important to them. Many people argue that mothers use abortion as some sort of “contraception” instead of being responsible and taking the precautions to avoid getting pregnant. I am for abortion, but only if the fetus is not living and does not contain a heart beat. After the eighth week the fetus can kick and is developing fingers and toes and once it has reached that point I do not agree with an abortion.
The United States is all about freedom of privacy, and being able to do what you want to do to a certain extent, as long as it is within our laws. This is tied into the 14th amendment. In that being the case, our country has developed several parties. Conservatives, believe that from conception the fetus automatically has the right to life. They argue the point about development stages because they believe that there is continuity in the development of a human being. “The conservative party believes that the fetus has absolute right to life at conception.”(Hiller 2003). The liberals argue the counter argument. They believe that until birth, the fetus has no moral status and lacks the right to life. Liberals do believe that if there is a family that would like to provide and care for this child then that is a better option than to abort the fetus. People will argue the fact that there are thousands of people wanting to adopt so than there should be no need to have an abortion. The reasons mentioned above are are reasons that a person might want an abortion, and this is why our country struggles with solving the abortion problem. Women are the ones that abortion mainly affects. Abortion can cause increase susceptibility to breast cancer, increased miscarriages, they are less likely to get pregnant again and if they do it is possible that the baby will not be a healthy baby. Abortions cause women to have psychological problems. “Many women feel guilty, angry or they become depressed because of the amount of regret after the abortion is completed.” (E noted 2011).
In Canada, abortion is neither legal or illegal and it is just a simple medical procedure and is covered by most health care. In Canada, abortions are performed at hospitals and are free. I believe that Canada has some laws that are entirely too strict, and some laws that need to be reinforced(Gunter 2012). Being an American, I know that if Americans are given too much leeway they tend to take advantage of certain things. In America before you abort, you are required to obtain an ultrasound and then wait 24 hours after that ultrasound. It is the complete opposite in Canada. According to Jill Gunter, “Put another way, the teen birth and abortion rate is more than 50% higher in the United States versus Canada and the abortion rate is about 25% higher in the Unites States.(Gunter 2012). If the United States could bring down their numbers, the laws would become increasingly more lenient and the controversy could decrease on the topic of abortion. Having the freedom to abort gives women the ability to control their own fertility. It takes two to tango. Why do men get to make a baby, and then run away when they do not want it? Having more options such as abortion, gives women the right to become more equal to men, instead of the full responsibility being put on the women. If the problem is not solved, the United States will continue to be controversial on this topic. Until they can come to an agreement that a women 's right to decided whether or not she wants to keep the fetus, abortion will remain legal.
One of the things that sets America apart from many other nations is the separation of church and state, and freedom of religion. Many countries have churches that citizens are required to pay taxes too. In America, most churches just accept donations and nothing is mandatory. This separation has helped our country grow as a whole, and makes us different from other countries. One of the most groups against abortion is the Roman Catholic church. This church is associated with a strict anti-abortion position. The bible does not condemn abortion and the catholic religion does not address abortion. Early church beliefs are that abortion is accepted if it is 3 months or earlier, but as the years have passed that is no longer the case. The Protestant church believes that abortion rights are necessary. There are certain Protestant followers that believe abortion is against their religion, but that mainly focuses on the older generation. The Jewish church believes that there is no soul within the first 40 days. They believe that even as a fetus they have less rights than the mother and ultimately it should be the mothers decision. “In some cases with this religion it could be considered a sacred duty.”(Cline 2012). The Islam religion believe that abortion is allowed in the early stages of pregnancy and only with the condition that there is a good reason for it. This religion believes that if having this abortion is a better opportunity for this baby than they prefer to abort. The Islam wants what is best for the mother and the fetus. They realize that certain cases of a pregnancy can lead to worse conditions for the mother or the fetus. The Buddhist religion believe that life begins the minute that baby is conceived. This means that Buddhist are anti abortion and they believe that fetus has just as much a say as the mother has. In this religion if you take the life of another you are immediately send to hell. Taking the life of a fetus would lead to the same consequences. This religion also believes that if you are having an abortion to save the life of a mother and this women is doing this for reasons other than selfish, then they will consider abortion an option.
Abortion is a choice given to women to reflect the first amendment; freedom of speech. If this right is taken away from women then changing the constitution might be more suitable for the United States. First of all, doctors should always be the people to make medical recommendations and opinions. The government is not certified to tell women what is good or bad for their bodies. Would you allow the government to tell you that you need a blood transfusion? Most people would not listen to the government if they told you that. The fact that people consider putting our health in the governments hands is not only foolish but inappropriate. The choice to reproduce can be the only thing that stands between a woman and death. Many women become pregnant and later find out that if they have this baby it could be a choice between her dying, her baby dying, or even worse losing them both. For many women the choice to abort has to do with their financial stability. If a women has a child and is denied welfare, medicaid, or food stamps, and does not make enough money to support herself and the baby, what is that baby and her suppose to live off of? The government does not take this into account when trying to regulate abortion. Women who become pregnant through incest or rape should be given a choice whether or not they want to have this baby or not. “1 in 3 women will be victims of sexual violence in her lifetime.”(Phoebe 2009). Does this mean that 33% of women are forced to have a child from this violation? There are plenty of unwanted children in this world, and adding onto the numbers would be absurd. Many people who are highly against abortion have never even become pregnant, and have never been in the situation to become a teen parent, or bring a child into this world who will be abused and unwanted. Many people believe that Religion should not play a role in the law in any way. Not everyone believes in some sort of religion, or that there is a higher power. Millions of people simply go off of the fact that when you die thats it based off of evolution. If people want to stop abortion, more work should be done so people can be informed to practice safe sex. There should be an increase in sex education and contraceptives should become cheaper. Many heath care providers do not pay for birth control. That plays a huge role in the fact that people are not being safe. Lastly, creating laws against abortion do not stop abortion, they make abortion become less safe, and people are finding ways under the books to abort a fetus. This is causing an increase in our death rate, and people are guilty of committing murder when in their eyes they were saving a life.
In retrospect, there have been very few issues that have stirred up such controversy as abortion has. Pro choice people feel that if a women cannot choose to terminate her fetus, which can cause terminal health problems that affect her body, than she has lost all of her basic rights as a human. These people believe that the fetus has the potential to have its own life, it cannot be put on the same level that a woman is on. People that are anti abortion feel that the fetus is a human and it should be given the same rights as a women. They believe that when abortion is made legal, that they are also legalizing murder. In todays society, the technology has increased so much that the procedure is safe, secure, and simple. Technology has also affected the knowledge of the fetus through an ultrasound. They can see exactly how pregnant you are, whether or not the fetus has a heart beat, and the exact date you got pregnant. In doing so, this has caused many women to change their minds about going through with an abortion. There is a potential life that we must handle with care, love, and compassion that is at the heart of this debate.

References
10 Arguments in Favor of Pro-Choice Policy - Amplify. (n.d.). Amplify - A Project of Advocates for Youth. Retrieved from http://amplifyyourvoice.org/u/pheo152/2009/01/26/10-arguments-in-favor-of-prochoice-policy
Abortion & Religion: Diverse Religious Traditions on the Morality of Abortion. (n.d.). Agnosticism / Atheism - Skepticism & Atheism for Atheists & Agnostics. Retrieved from http://atheism.about.com/od/abortioncontraception/p/Religions.htm
History Of Abortion research paper, Abortion essay, term paper. (n.d.). On-line Writing Service | Order Custom Essay, Term Paper, Research Paper, Thesis, Dissertation and more. Retrieved from http://www.customessaymeister.com/customessays/Abortion/16880.htm
How bad does abortion affect women? - Health Issues Discussion. (n.d.). Study Guides, Lesson Plans, Homework Help, Answers & More - enotes.com. Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/healthissues/discuss/how-bad-does-abortion-affect-women-93861
MIT Pro-Choice -- Reasons. (n.d.). MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/pro-choice/www/reasons.html
What happens when there is no abortion law… « Dr. Jen Gunter. (n.d.). Dr. Jen Gunter. Retrieved from http://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/what-happens-when-there-is-no-abortion-law/

References: 10 Arguments in Favor of Pro-Choice Policy - Amplify. (n.d.). Amplify - A Project of Advocates for Youth. Retrieved from http://amplifyyourvoice.org/u/pheo152/2009/01/26/10-arguments-in-favor-of-prochoice-policy Abortion & Religion: Diverse Religious Traditions on the Morality of Abortion. (n.d.). Agnosticism / Atheism - Skepticism & Atheism for Atheists & Agnostics. Retrieved from http://atheism.about.com/od/abortioncontraception/p/Religions.htm History Of Abortion research paper, Abortion essay, term paper. (n.d.). On-line Writing Service | Order Custom Essay, Term Paper, Research Paper, Thesis, Dissertation and more. Retrieved from http://www.customessaymeister.com/customessays/Abortion/16880.htm How bad does abortion affect women? - Health Issues Discussion. (n.d.). Study Guides, Lesson Plans, Homework Help, Answers & More - enotes.com. Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/healthissues/discuss/how-bad-does-abortion-affect-women-93861 MIT Pro-Choice -- Reasons. (n.d.). MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/pro-choice/www/reasons.html What happens when there is no abortion law… « Dr. Jen Gunter. (n.d.). Dr. Jen Gunter. Retrieved from http://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/what-happens-when-there-is-no-abortion-law/