Discursive Essay

A subject which always arouses strong feelings on both sides of the argument is abortion. The English Dictionary defines this as: "An operation or other procedure to terminate pregnancy before the foetus is viable." The topic of Abortion causes much conflict between people and I will be examining both sides of the argument before reaching my own conclusion.

Abortion became illegal in the nineteenth century in the UK the penalty for carrying out an abortion was life imprisonment . Woman still had abortions, known as “back alley” abortions where different methods were used in a unsafe, unprofessional, dangerous way. Many woman lost there lives through “back alley” abortions this then lead to numerous protests resulting in a Reform Bill relating to abortion which was put into practice on the 27th of April 1968. stating woman could have an abortion before 24 weeks of pregnancy , however if there is a substantial risk to the woman’s life or if there are foetal abnormalities there is no limit to comply with the 1967 abortion act. Since 1967 there have been twenty unsuccessful attempts at banning abortion. Recent polls say that over 80% of adults are in favour of abortion.

People who argue for abortion also agree that with or without the law abortion will still take place People who fight for abortion argue that it is safer to allow abortions to be legal, this way, women can get the treatment they need safely.

There are many views for and against abortion one being that if the woman or child Is ill the woman should be able to abort the child another being if the woman has been raped she too should be able to abort the child, some woman argue that if the child isnt going to have the right love care and stability it need this too could be a lawfull reason to abort.