Abortion: a Woman’s Right to Choose
Abortion: A Woman’s Right To Choose The government should not interfere with a woman’s right to choose whether she has an abortion or not. This issue has been heavily debated since January 22nd, 1973 when the Supreme Court made its initial ruling in Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the woman from Texas allowing her and women around the nation the right to have an abortion. Since the decision was made many issues have been brought up from both sides, one saying the fetus is a human being and has the right to live, prolife, where the other says that the woman should have the right to choose whether to continue or abort the pregnancy, prochoice. Women should be allowed to choose whether they have an abortion or not due to the many factors that can come into play from conception to birth. If a woman doesn’t have the means to provide for a child when it is born, whether she was raped, if the conception was an accident, or if the child is unwanted due to any number of other reasons should be considered. These are some of the factors the Supreme Court took into account when they viewed Roe v. Wade where Norma McCorrey, the woman behind the pseudonym Jane Roe, said she was gang raped (Tribe 10). Abortion should be a woman’s right because medically a fetus is not considered alive until it can survive outside of the mother’s womb (Thomson 48). Legally the Supreme Court said a fetus is not considered alive until it is born, which means as long as it is in the mother’s womb it can technically be aborted (Thomson 48). Prolife supporters state that a child is alive upon conception, which is scientifically when something is considered alive (Thomson 48). The only way the local or state government can intercede is if the abortion is more risky to the mother’s safety than birth, which is why most states have outlawed third trimester abortions (Thomson 49). The most compelling argument people who are considered prolife have is that life starts
Cited: Chadwick, Ruth, and Doris Schroeder. Applied Ethics: Critical Concepts in Philosophy. London: Routledge, 2002 "Choice Matters." Choice Matters. WCLA Choice Matters Inc., 2002. Web. 01 May 2012. Jane Roe v Thomson, Judith Jarvis Thomson. "A Defense of Abortion."Philosophy & Public Affairs. 1.1 (1971): 47-66 Tooley, Michael. "Abortion and Infanticide." Philosophy & Public Affairs. 2.1 (1971): 37-65. Web Tribe, Laurence. Abortion: A Clash of Absolutes. New York: W.W. Norton and Company Inc., 1990