Gonzales V. Carhart Case Study

Imagine a young woman living life to the fullest and loving it, when suddenly, she is raped. Out of shame, she keeps this hard truth a secret and to make matters worse, she finds out she is pregnant. She feels as if having an abortion is her only option, so she gets the abortion. Afterward, she feels relieved because she is not carrying the rapists’ baby anymore; however that relief does not last long. Her ears meet the sharp cursing of people protesting, calling her a monster. She rushes past the people to hurry back home, ashamed of what she did. The only trace of her left behind that next day is a note that reads “Murder was never the intent, only the riddance of a horrible memory. He already took part of me that night, and I will not let
him have the rest.” The conditions of abortions go back to the Gonzales v. Carhart case in 2007 which established the Partial-Birth Abortion Act. (Kennedy 1) Legalizing abortions is a wise move for the United States because women denied abortions act recklessly. (Donohue 3) Making abortions illegal is a violation of women’s human rights because the Universal Declaration of Human Right’s states “No…slavery or servitude...” (UN General Assembly, 1948) With the proper conditions, having an abortion does not violate an unborn fetus’ human rights; to ensure no violations, every state should allow abortions as long as an ultrasound reveals that the baby is under twenty weeks. Looking back, the Gonzales v.
Carhart case in 2007 was significant to the way abortions were to be performed. The case established the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act which banned D&E procedures and regulated abortions. The procedure was the dilatation of a woman’s cervix followed by the extraction of an unborn baby. (Kennedy 1) This was viewed as an inhumane way to abort a child, so the act was made to ease the mind of these people. Doctors that continued to perform the procedure knowingly would be punished in the form of their license being revoked and jail time. (Kennedy 8) This ensured the security of the Partial- Birth Abortion Ban Act and prevention of inhumane procedures. Also, the act proposed that instead of the D&E procedures, the unborn baby is eliminated prior to the procedure. (Kennedy 2) Instead of the unborn baby being “alive” it would ideally not feel the procedure being performed. There are various procedures that could be performed to eliminate an unborn baby depending on the term of the baby. With that in mind, having an abortion isn’t violating an unborn fetus’ human rights since these procedures are chosen when the baby isn’t fully
developed. Correspondingly, making abortions illegal is a direct violate of a woman’s human rights according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For example, it states “No...Slavery or servitude..."(UN General Assembly 1948) which means that no one should be a slave to anyone or be obligated to serve them. Regarding women, their bodies are the slaves to the government because they aren't being allowed to do as they please with their bodies just as slaves bodies weren't theirs. If the laws are broken, they will be punished which brings in the servitude portion of the right being violated since they have the serve the law. Additionally, the document also states "Everyone has right to...security". (UN General Assembly 1948) This means everyone has the right to feel like they are safe. The women that want abortions are usually judged out loud by anti-abortion protesters, making them feel unsafe. This is a direct violation of their human rights because they feel unsafe when they are supposed to feel secure under the Universal Declaration. Denying women abortions violates their human rights because their bodies are slaves to the government and they have to serve the government with their body, meaning continuing with an unwanted pregnancy. Also, they feel unsafe because of how the protesters may treat them after they attempt to have an abortion, resulting in them fearing for their safety. Nevertheless, legalizing abortions is a wise move for the nation because of the benefits that come along with it. Before abortions were legalized, there were countless unwanted births along with minimal education of their mothers. (Donohue 10) This means that were countless children raised in an orphanage, being neglected because their mothers felt liked they were forced to have them. Also, if denied abortions, most women will still seek them out only to find incompetent people that use unsanitary tools. (Donohue 3) This is not good for the mother because they could end up with an infection from the tools that these people have used on other people for the same procedure. Is that the type of nation we want, one where women have to go behind the governments back to do what they feel is right with their body? One where children are born into the world unwanted? These factors must be taken into consideration when thinking about abortions. Legalized abortions are responsible for approximately fifty percent of the recent crime drops in the United States. (Donohue 3) The majority of these crimes were the children of the mothers that wanted an abortion who were raised in an unstable environment. In time is turned then to a life of crime because this was one of the few ways they knew how to live their life. It is upsetting to think that children have to suffer the consequences of living a life that their mother never intended for them to live. Consequently, it has been said that having an abortion violates the unborn fetus' human rights since it is a human. Although a fetus one of the early developmental forms of a baby, it is still not quite a baby, therefore; not a human because it cannot live outside the womb. The majority of the people who feel this way are Christians and others feminists. According to Pastor Robert Dixon, Christians believe that upon the moment of conception, the unborn baby, no matter the developmental stage is human. God has placed that child there for it to be born and make its way throughout this world. (Dixon) Christianity is a religion that not everyone believes in though, so the beliefs of their religion should not be used to decide whether abortions should be allowed. If that were the case, the entire government should use every component of the bible to make laws. This, of course, would not happen because that would violate the civil rights of the citizens since a religion is being forced on the country. As for the feminists according to LaToya Williams, majority of them feel compassion for the unborn babies being "murdered" since some of them are mothers. They look at the abortion from their point of view, where the child is born and living a happy life (Williams); however, they must remember that they wouldn't want for other people to judge them for the actions they made throughout their life because no one is perfect and it is not any of their concern. The government should not base their judgment on abortion based off of the views of a religion or how a particular set of people feel because they are not the only ones with opinions that matter. The decision should be based on what is right for the mother since she is the one that has to carry this child for nine months. As long as the unborn baby is not over twenty weeks, having an abortion should be an option for these women. Essentially, having an abortion should be allowed with the proper conditions, like having the expectant mother to have an ultrasound; as long as the unborn child is under twenty weeks, its human rights are not being violated.
As a reflection, the Gonzales v. Carhart case in 2007 had a significant impact on the way abortions were performed. It established the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act which prevented D&E procedures, the dilation of a woman’s cervix followed by the extraction of the unborn child. (Kennedy 2) All doctors that knowingly performed the procedure were punished through the form of jail time or their license being revoked (Kennedy 8) since this was looked upon as inhumane. Also, making abortions illegal directly violates women’s human rights according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document states that slavery and servitude is a violation of the rights (UN General Assembly 1948), so the denial of abortions violates women’s human rights because their bodies are slaves to the government and they have to serve the government with their body, meaning continuing with an unwanted pregnancy. The document also states that everyone should feel secure and when this is not the case for the women that attempt to be an abortion; they fear for their life. Nevertheless, legalizing abortions is the best choice for the nation because it comes with benefits. Sadly, before abortions, they were many births that resulted in children being sent to orphanages since
they were unwanted by their mothers, and the mothers had minimal education. (Donohue 10) These children grew up without the love of their mother which resulted in negative lifestyles for most of them. Sometimes, if denied these abortions, women would go to an unprofessional for the procedure, which is unsafe because the tools are not sanitary. The states that have allow abortions have witnessed about a fifty percent crime drop which is more than likely due to the fact that more children are happy and less mother are unhappy in those situations. Consequently, it has been said that having an abortion violates the unborn fetus' human rights since it is a human. A fetus is an early developmental version of a baby; therefore; it is not a human until it can live. According to Pastor Robert Dixon, Christians believe that as soon as the baby the moment of conception is when the unborn child is a human. (Dixon) Not everyone believes in this religion, so it shouldn’t be considered when making a law regarding other people. The final decision should be based on what the mother wants, not other people’s opinion since they are the ones carrying the child for nine months. As long as the unborn baby is not over twenty weeks, having an abortion should be an option for these women. Having an abortion does not have to be looked upon as murder because there are ways to go about it without harming a human being. Concerns should only rise when the unborn child is able to live outside the womb and then it is killed. This will not be the case if doctors ensure that women are under twenty weeks before and abortion. Making abortion legal would be ideal for the other and unborn child.