Ashley
English 3°
February 21, 2013
Abortion Should Remain Legal
Keeping abortion legal would protect women’s health, provide families with an alternative choice, and eliminate pregnancy laws that conflict with our free society.
I. Protect women’s health A. Abortion methods 1. Legal methods 2. Illegal methods B. Illegal abortion mortality rate
II. Choice
A. Unintended pregnancy
B. Age
C. Marital status
D. Religion
III. Pregnancy laws
A. Government involvement
B. Freedom of choice
1
Ashley
English 3°
February 21, 2013
Abortion Should Remain Legal Over the years, abortion has been stigmatized by those who view it as the least desirable, or a completely unacceptable, reproductive option. It is critical not to give in to the pressure to slur abortion as the one invalid procreative choice among all the options facing a pregnant woman. Keeping abortion legal would protect women’s health, provide families with an alternative choice, and eliminate pregnancy laws that conflict with our free society. Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, abortion has become one of the safest medical procedures in the country. By keeping abortion legal, we help protect the lives and safety of women facing unplanned pregnancies. Anti-abortionists frequently claim that abortions are unsafe, when in fact surgical and medical abortions have extremely high rates of safety. Ninety-seven percent of women obtaining surgical abortion before 13 weeks report no complications; two and a half percent have minor complications that can be handled at a medical office or abortion facility; and less than half of a percent have more serious complications that require additional surgical procedure and/or hospitalization (Haas Para. 17). Rates of adverse events for medical abortion are also very low. 2 In the back alley days of unsafe abortion in America, before Roe v.
Cited: Finer, Linda, Darling, Clara, and Henshaw, Robert S. United States. National Abortion Federation. Abortion incidence and services in the United States in 2000. 2003. Print. Haas, Nancy. “The Next Roe v. Wade.” Newsweek 19 Dec. 2011: 25-27. MAS Ultra. EBSCO. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. Jones, Richard, Henshaw, Robert S., and Darroch, Jacqueline. "Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health." ProChoice. Web. 21 Feb 2013. Kissling, Frances. “Abortion Rights are Under Attack, and Pro-Choice Advocates are Caught in a Time Warp.” Washington Post 18 Feb. 2011. Print. Pickert, Kate. “What Choice?” Time 14 Jan. 2013: 40-46. MAS Ultra. EBSCO. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. Tietze, Christopher, and Henshaw, Robert S. "Induced Abortion." ProChoice. The Guttmacher Institute, Web. 21 Feb 2013.