Abortion

Phil 315, Social Ethics
March 31th, 2011
Morality vs Immorality of Abortion Abortion is a frequently debated topic in our society today. Many argue the morality of abortion and consider whether or not a mother has the right to end the life of her unborn child. Those who believe the mother has a choice of how to act present such claims as “a woman has the right to make choices in regards to her body” or “a fetus is not a person, therefore abortion is morally permissible.” Those who believe every baby has a right to live refute with such arguments as “a fetus is a person from the moment of conception” and “every person has a right to life.” This topic creates a division within the citizens of America and all around the world where on one hand the ability to choose is valued, while on the other the right to live is valued. According to the documentary The Last Abortion Clinic, pro-lifers currently seem to have the upper hand. In The Last Abortion Clinic, Patricia White, the nurse-midwife working in Clarksdale, Mississippi, comments that “[the pregnant women who visit the clinic] do not really have a choice. We are making decisions for them…Having the ability to make a choice, to say whether or not this is something she wants to continue with, will make all the difference in the outcome of a pregnancy.” Even though our constitution allows women the right to have an abortion, this documentary shows many women who can’t even consider the possibility of killing their own unborn child. In Mississippi, there is an evident lack of access to abortion providers in the state. Only one health clinic that provides the abortion service remains in Mississippi, the Jackson Women’s Health clinic. The Last Abortion Clinic reported that as a result of the lack of abortion opportunities, over half of women seeking abortions cross the Mississippi border in order to seek out an abortion. The documentary identified one clinic located outside the borders of Mississippi whose services seem to be desired by a vast number of women. The clinic outside of Mississippi performs abortions three days a week and, like many clinics, it has a policy stating that it is mandatory that women attend a consultation appointment at least twenty-four hours before the abortion procedure. This clinic always seems to be over flowing with patients and because of their limited number of doctors it is quite difficult to attain an appointment. This clinic is special because they serve women within a two hundred mile radius. This may pose a problem for many women who might have to travel substantial distances in order to attend an appointment—they must find a means of transportation, they might have to find child care if they have other children, they must get time off of work, and they must be able to afford the procedure. The issues that have just been presented clearly affect the facility for women to obtain an appointment to have an abortion and are especially evident in poor cities, such as Clarksdale, Mississippi. The city of Clarksdale is one of the poorest in Mississippi, as one third of the city’s population lives in poverty. Seventy-five percent of babies are born to single mothers, most of whom are teens, declared The Last Abortion Clinic. Most of these pregnancies are a result from birth control not being available. Therefore this leads these women, who are unable to afford contraceptives, to become pregnant. Consequentially, the next question to ask is if a woman is incapable of affording birth control, how can she possibly afford an abortion procedure? Although abortions have become rather inaccessible, those who value life continue to advocate towards increased abortion regulations. The Last Abortion Clinic informed that currently, abortion clinics are rare as eighty-seven percent of counties throughout the country do not have one. Medicaid and other government money can only be used in certain situations such as rape, incest, or risk of death. In normal situations government money is not available to the mother. Medical facilities that receive state money are prohibited from performing abortions as well. Some pro-life groups, such as the Americans United for Life, seek additional abortion clinic regulations with the goal of “protecting the health of women who go [to the clinics].” However, these people who claim to be working towards establishing the best facilities for women are the same people who exert great effort to prevent any facilities they can control from providing abortions. Crisis Pregnancy Centers is a great place and service to help women through their problems of an unplanned pregnancy. There are two thousand of these crisis centers across the nation. Counselors at these centers lay out three options that are available to the women: abortion, adoption, and parenting. They provide sonogram imaging for women with the intention of making the fetus not just “a baby,” but “[the woman’s] baby.” If a woman still requests information regarding abortion clinics, however, crisis center counselors often refuse. Despite the efforts to further regulate or completely cease abortion procedures, a woman’s right to have an abortion is protected by the Undue Burden Standard. The Undue Burden Standard was established in response to the policy put forth by Roe vs. Wade. As explained in The Last Abortion Clinic, the Standard regretted Roe’s rigid trimester framework and declared that a law would be invalid if it placed substantial obstacles in the path of a woman seeking an abortion. Therefore, it seeks to maintain women’s constitutional right to have an abortion if so desired. Personally, I oppose the procedure of abortion; however, I feel that on occasion, abortion is arguably a morally permissible choice in certain cases. For example, if a woman becomes ill during her pregnancy and her life is further threatened by carrying the baby, it seems morally permissible for her to seek an abortion in order to save her life. Perhaps a woman is raped and becomes pregnant as a result. In this case, it was not the woman’s choice to engage in sexual intercourse that resulted in conception. If she has the child, she may forever be reminded of her traumatizing experience at the sight of the child. Thus, the woman should have the right to abort the child if she so desires. In other cases, it is hard to justify the abortion of a fetus because there are other options available, such as adoption. However, the ability to have an abortion is a woman’s right, thus she should have a choice in the matter.

Works Cited
Aronson-Rath, Raney. "The Last Abortion Clinic." Frontline. PBS. Boston, Massachusetts. Frontline. Park Foundation, 8 Nov. 2005. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/clinic/view/>.