Abortion

Abortion, as defined by Merriam Websters Dictionary, is "the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus". "Abortion has been used to control fertility in every known society, regardless of its legality." The topic of abortion is a very painful topic among men and women and everyday people are faced with the moral dilemma of whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. Abortion is a very popular controversial topic among Christians and non-Christians and has been an ongoing debate for centuries. The main question being posed today is whether or not abortion should be illegal or legal. There are many pro's and con's to abortion In the United States, the issue of abortion dates all the way back to the Roe vs. Wade Supreme court case in 1973. This case itself made abortion legal and marked a turning point in the public health policy. Abortions have been performed for thousands of years and they have always been considered legal but the Roe vs. Wade was a way to publically legalize abortion, bringing extreme joy to some and utter disgust to others. In the earliest centuries when abortions were first practiced, they were extremely risky due to the fact that hospitals and antiseptics were not common. With the advance of technologies, the risk of infections began to dissipate, however women continued to go to illegal practitioners. These cases are known as "black alley abortions". Women who did not want to pay as much money or were too ashamed to go to a regular practitioner would go to illegal practitioners, midwives or apothecaries to perform their abortions.