Abortion: Roe Vs. Wade

The control of fertility has always been a topic issue for women. Different pre conception and post conception procedures have been practiced since the ancient times. Abortion has become a major topic for everyone in the United States. It became very focused when the Roe Vs. Wade case was passed. This is because many individuals have strong, colliding opinions on abortion and it’s laws. The two main group views of abortion are pro-life and pro-choice. Pro-life are individuals who believe abortion is wrong, and pro-choice are people who believe it is up to the mother to choose what she wants. While one particular view has not been proven to be correct or incorrect, it has brought many persuasions to the table on what should be considered the
right view.

When researching this topic we acquired many textual information sources as well as real-life experiences on abortion. We analyzed five sources that were written for the same type of audience. However, the discourse and exigence for these articles varied from pro-choice, pro-life, and the awareness of laws on abortion. Many of the authors had the same purpose, which was to get their point across about why they believed their view was the correct one. One of the main constraints found in these articles was just the fact that individuals have strong views and are sometimes impossible to persuade, thus causing different reasoning on why one viewpoint is right and the other wrong. In one article we analyzed, it gave us both viewpoints of being pro-choice and pro-life. It states how the pro-life faction contains more people who have a religious background, certain morals, and are conservatives. Pro-life are individuals who believe that the mother should not take the right of the baby away because “abortion is wrong just as killing is wrong and stealing is wrong in any society, regardless of cultural values.” (Lopez 513) Pro-choice are typically individuals who focus on the fact that that the mother doesn’t want to have a child because they feel that there are future problems that will arise if they baby were to be born. This could be because the baby will be born with severe medical issues; the mother could be hurt during pregnancy; and sometimes even for selfish reasoning. While this article was more informational on both sides, we had other articles that focused on one side more so than the other. Two of the articles we chose primarily focused on how the effects of abortion can cause short and long term problems.
Short term being the baby’s life is taken away and long-term on the mother’s mental and emotional state. The mother can have guilt, sadness, and severe bouts of depression because of the choice of having an abortion. The other pro-life article is about a young girl named Afton Dahl. She wrote a persuasive speech on how abortion should be illegal. The article shows how older generations are less conservative than younger generations. Given more information on the view of pro-life by these two articles, we analyzed two articles that were pro-choice. The two articles that were pro-choice focused inclusively on how the laws of abortion effect women considering or choosing to have an abortion, and how abortion is in some cases sought to be a better option as a whole. Many states require for the mother to look at an ultrasound, hear the heartbeat, and wait twenty-four hours after their appointment to make their decision. They do this not to necessarily change their minds, but to let the mother know there is a living being inside of them and it gives them time to make sure this is the decision that they want to
make. With the view of one article, we find an example of a woman who was 20 weeks pregnant when she found out her unborn baby was going to born with defects. This was going to cause him to be in and out of hospitals, thus causing her decision to get an abortion. She lived in Texas, which required for the mother to view and ultrasound before getting an abortion. This scarred the mother because although she desperately wanted to have this baby, it was better for the sake of the child to get the abortion. Analyzing the other pro-choice article, we found that in some cases childbirth is more dangerous than abortion. “Between 1998 and 2005, one woman died in childbirth for every 11,000 babies born, compared to one of 167,000 women who died due to abortion complications.” (Rochman) The analyzing source of these articles led us to many points given by the author’s that challenged each other. The author’s of these texts disagreed based on a variety of different reasons. One disagreement that can be seen by the authors would be if abortion is harmful. The article by Heather Newton disagrees with the article written by Bonnie Rochman in this way. While Newton’s article approaches the pro-life side it states “abortion is a deadly and dangerous procedure.” Rochman has the pro-choice view and states “…women are actually 14 times more likely to die during or after delivery than as a result of complications from abortion.” (Rochman) The authors of these two texts are contradicting what the other is saying. Newton who believes that abortion is bad, feels this way because she believes it can be a deadly procedure. She feels that not only is it harming an innocent baby’s life, it is dangerous for a mother because of the long life battles she has to overcome from her choice. Given this side, you have Rochman who takes the pro-choice side. She feels that it were to be dangerous in some cases to not get an abortion. Having a baby can kill the mother in some cases due to complications with delivery. The baby could already be having issues, thus causing life-threatening issues for the mother. These authors disagree because Newton doesn’t see the side of complications during pregnancy that could cause major issues. Not every pregnancy is going to go smoothly, considering that abortion can be a great option for a mother to have. Another factor the authors disagree on is what they feel the dangerous aspect of abortion is.
Rochman feels that the dangerous aspect of going through an abortion is actually having to abide by the laws of having an abortion. “Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, pledging to do no harm. Yet it’s tough to argue that forcing Jones to look at and listen to the description of a baby she would never rock or cuddle didn’t cause her psychological harm.” (Rochman) Then, you have Newton who feels that the dangerous part is the aftermath of an abortion being done. “Sadness, depression, guilt, anxiety, numbness and shame are just a few of the psychological effects common to women who have had abortions.” (Newton) This shows that the authors are disagreeing on the dangerous aspect. Of course abortions are not all wanted and must be done as a precaution. Rochman feels that it is dangerous for some mothers to go through the gruesome procedure of having an abortion. Newton doesn’t see that what she feels is “harmful” is being done to the mother right before her actually getting an abortion. Someone who had been raped, or has a baby with some complications doesn’t want to have to be tortured by hearing the heartbeat and things like that to relive horrific
moments. The main topic of disagreement for these authors would be to be either pro-life or pro-choice. Hyatt and Lopez disagree on this basic topic. Hyatt feels that having to have an abortion can be prevented all around. “There are better contraceptive – RU-486, the morning-after pill – along with the emphasis on sex ed, abstinence and slogans like ‘Not me, Not now,’ said a sophomore…” (Hyatt) and Lopez gives evidence that pro-choice feels that the choice is up to the mother. Whether it is good reasoning, or not, the mother should be able to have full authority on what to do with her unborn baby. Lopez states “In many occasions, the lack of attachment leads children to lack of self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, anger problems, and other attention deficit behavioral issues.” (Lopez 514) This quote gives a good representation that having an abortion should be considered okay, because if parents aren’t ready to give the love and support to a child, then the child has a higher chance of having many issues during their life. These two authors disagree because both sides have a strong opinion for their side. They give information and real life occurrences on why a person should or shouldn’t be leaning towards one view. They can’t come to a median because there is no median on the topic of abortion. Most individuals are either pro-life or pro-choice not the combination of both. While reviewing the disagreements brought by the authors, it was very interesting on how one person tries to persuade another’s decision in making the other view totally wrong.

In reviewing the analyzed sources we can say it is important for texts to be constructed for a reader to be able to acquire important information and know the who, what, and why of the article. If you have the solid knowledge of the article it allows you to take the text into further detail, and rhetorically understand it. This will then help you decided if the meaning trying to be portrayed was portrayed effectively and whether it make sense with credible reasoning. With many issues that surround our everyday lives, we feel that abortion is a main topic of concern. After this research, we understand more of why it is. It is important to have this information to be aware of the effects of abortion. How one feels with having and abortion and one with not. Abortion is a major decision and a person should be knowledgeable of abortion, and to know they are not alone in making the decision. It is important to show that women have their own voice in today’s society on what they want to do with their body.