Is Abortion Really A Choice
Is abortion really a choice? This is a free country, so why must women with rights be subjected to judgment about their own bodies? Is it fair for us to be criticizing someone when we know nothing about how it feels to be in their situation? The decision to have an abortion should be supported without criticism or judgment. Women should feel accepted, no matter their choice; there are many reasons why women choose to abort. These reasons, among others, include health implications, moral issues, and a woman’s freedoms and rights. Birth is no easy feat. There are several medical complications that go hand in hand with it. According to Wikipedia, “Childbirth is an inherently dangerous and risky activity, subject to many complications.” (Wikimedia
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Foundation, Inc., 2013) It has been estimated that there are about 1 500 deaths for 100 000 natural births. As well, Neal A. Pock, a retired family practitioner, gives his reasons for being pro-choice. "Once abortion became widely available, lots of lives were saved. We don 't require people to die from cervical cancer because they acquired sexually transmitted HPV infections. We don 't require people to die from lung cancer because they chose to smoke. Medicine is predicated on helping people overcome mistakes they make, not on making value judgments.” (Pennachio, 2002) Just because someone does something they regret doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help them; especially if their mistake endangers their own life. According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, the rate of severe birth complications such as heart attack, stroke, severe bleeding and kidney failure, have almost doubled among American women within the past 11 years.(Norton, 2012) Not only are there medical problems associated with childbirth, but many emotional and mental obstacles that many people, not just women, would rather not face. Moral issues related to unwanted pregnancies are also a dilemma. For example, if the mother is unable to care for their child, it would also make things hard for both the woman and the child. However, if she chooses to give birth to that unwanted baby, she might choose to place them with an adoption centre. This outcome is very unfortunate, because the child might never know their real parents, suffer from an identity crisis, act out, etc. In addition, sending a child to an adoption centre would crowd the settlements even more, and therefore possibly make the quality of care worse and the child unhappier. A few major reasons why women choose to abort are: They cannot afford a baby. Having a baby isn’t inexpensive at all. In this case, abortion is a very clear option, because not being able to support your child is a big problem; for both the mother and the baby. If there is no money to take care of a newborn, they might become unhealthy from a lack of proper food, shelter, clothing, etc. The mother might also suffer from stress, lack of food, sleep, and the like. (Lowen, 2005) They do not feel mature enough to bear a child. Imagine this: you are a 16 year old girl, pregnant, with no financial support, or even a high school diploma. How can you support your child when you can’t even support yourself? As well, if you are not mature enough to take care of a baby, this could even become harmful for the child because the mother might lose her temper easily at them, feed them inappropriate nourishment, etc. This reason also ties in with the aforementioned statement of not being able to afford a child. Choosing to bear a baby in this situation would prove to be very difficult. (Lowen, 2005) In addition to these reasons, a child born from rape might be a reason why women would choose abortion. The baby would carry memories of a traumatic experience that the woman never wants to relive ever again; the baby could be a constant reminder of the horrific event. In this kind of case, the mother might even transfer her anger and disgust onto the child, thus making the situation terrible for both parties. Rape is never a woman’s choice. However, a woman should be able to choose what she wants to do with her own body. Women have rights and freedoms, just like any man or child. The choice to abort is a woman’s, and no one else’s.
There is a famous Canadian case regarding a woman’s right to abort, called the R vs. Morgentaler case. In the 1980s, Dr. Henry Morgentaler, Dr. Leslie Frank Smoling and Dr. Robert Scott founded an abortion clinic in Toronto that provided abortions to women who had not been approved by the Therapeutic Abortion Committee, as required by law. These three doctors argued that a woman should have complete control over whether she wants to have an abortion or not. At this time, abortion was a part of Canada’s criminal legislation. However, this was overturned by logic and reasoning from the doctors, public, lawyers, and jurists. Bertha Wilson, a jurist involved in the case, stated: “The decision whether to terminate a pregnancy is essentially a moral decision, a matter of conscience. The question is: whose conscience? Is the conscience of the woman to be paramount or the conscience of the state? I believe, for the reasons I gave in discussing the right to liberty, that in a free and democratic society it must be the conscience of the individual.” (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 2012) By the end of the trial, the Court had dropped the charges against the doctors and removed many restrictions surrounding abortion. The Court itself even stated: "The right to liberty... guarantees a degree of personal autonomy over important decisions intimately affecting his or her private life... The decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy …show more content…
is essentially a moral decision and in a free and democratic society, the conscience of the individual must be paramount to that of the state." (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 2013) While not everyone will be faced with such a difficult decision as abortion, those who are in that position should be accepted and not criticized.
Some women may choose to abort because of problems with their own health; others may choose to do so because of moral issues. However, no matter what the reason, it is the woman’s choice and hers alone. Let’s make the world a better place, and not ostracize and isolate women for whatever they choose to do with their lives. Women need to be able to feel happy in society like anyone else, so it’s up to us to support women in their
decisions.
Bibliography
Lowen, L. (2005, September). Why Women Choose Abortion - Statistical Breakdown of Reasons for Abortion. Retrieved March 2nd, 2013, from About.com: http://womensissues.about.com/od/reproductiverights/a/AbortionReasons_2.htm
Norton, A. (2012, October 23rd). Serious Birth Complications. Retrieved February 26th, 2012, from Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/23/us-birth-complications-idUSBRE89M1AL20121023
Pennachio, D. L. (2002, October 11th). Abortion: A Right or an Outrage? Retrieved February 27th, 2013, from Medical Economics: http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/news/abortion-right-or-outrage
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2013, February 10th). Abortion in Canada. Retrieved March 3rd, 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Canada#Morgentaler_challenges_the_law
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2013, March 9th). Childbirth. Retrieved March 5th, 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childbirth#Complications
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2012, November 20th). R. v. Morgentaler. Retrieved March 3rd, 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._v._Morgentaler
Foundation, Inc., 2013) It has been estimated that there are about 1 500 deaths for 100 000 natural births. As well, Neal A. Pock, a retired family practitioner, gives his reasons for being pro-choice. "Once abortion became widely available, lots of lives were saved. We don 't require people to die from cervical cancer because they acquired sexually transmitted HPV infections. We don 't require people to die from lung cancer because they chose to smoke. Medicine is predicated on helping people overcome mistakes they make, not on making value judgments.” (Pennachio, 2002) Just because someone does something they regret doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help them; especially if their mistake endangers their own life. According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, the rate of severe birth complications such as heart attack, stroke, severe bleeding and kidney failure, have almost doubled among American women within the past 11 years.(Norton, 2012) Not only are there medical problems associated with childbirth, but many emotional and mental obstacles that many people, not just women, would rather not face. Moral issues related to unwanted pregnancies are also a dilemma. For example, if the mother is unable to care for their child, it would also make things hard for both the woman and the child. However, if she chooses to give birth to that unwanted baby, she might choose to place them with an adoption centre. This outcome is very unfortunate, because the child might never know their real parents, suffer from an identity crisis, act out, etc. In addition, sending a child to an adoption centre would crowd the settlements even more, and therefore possibly make the quality of care worse and the child unhappier. A few major reasons why women choose to abort are: They cannot afford a baby. Having a baby isn’t inexpensive at all. In this case, abortion is a very clear option, because not being able to support your child is a big problem; for both the mother and the baby. If there is no money to take care of a newborn, they might become unhealthy from a lack of proper food, shelter, clothing, etc. The mother might also suffer from stress, lack of food, sleep, and the like. (Lowen, 2005) They do not feel mature enough to bear a child. Imagine this: you are a 16 year old girl, pregnant, with no financial support, or even a high school diploma. How can you support your child when you can’t even support yourself? As well, if you are not mature enough to take care of a baby, this could even become harmful for the child because the mother might lose her temper easily at them, feed them inappropriate nourishment, etc. This reason also ties in with the aforementioned statement of not being able to afford a child. Choosing to bear a baby in this situation would prove to be very difficult. (Lowen, 2005) In addition to these reasons, a child born from rape might be a reason why women would choose abortion. The baby would carry memories of a traumatic experience that the woman never wants to relive ever again; the baby could be a constant reminder of the horrific event. In this kind of case, the mother might even transfer her anger and disgust onto the child, thus making the situation terrible for both parties. Rape is never a woman’s choice. However, a woman should be able to choose what she wants to do with her own body. Women have rights and freedoms, just like any man or child. The choice to abort is a woman’s, and no one else’s.
There is a famous Canadian case regarding a woman’s right to abort, called the R vs. Morgentaler case. In the 1980s, Dr. Henry Morgentaler, Dr. Leslie Frank Smoling and Dr. Robert Scott founded an abortion clinic in Toronto that provided abortions to women who had not been approved by the Therapeutic Abortion Committee, as required by law. These three doctors argued that a woman should have complete control over whether she wants to have an abortion or not. At this time, abortion was a part of Canada’s criminal legislation. However, this was overturned by logic and reasoning from the doctors, public, lawyers, and jurists. Bertha Wilson, a jurist involved in the case, stated: “The decision whether to terminate a pregnancy is essentially a moral decision, a matter of conscience. The question is: whose conscience? Is the conscience of the woman to be paramount or the conscience of the state? I believe, for the reasons I gave in discussing the right to liberty, that in a free and democratic society it must be the conscience of the individual.” (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 2012) By the end of the trial, the Court had dropped the charges against the doctors and removed many restrictions surrounding abortion. The Court itself even stated: "The right to liberty... guarantees a degree of personal autonomy over important decisions intimately affecting his or her private life... The decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy …show more content…
is essentially a moral decision and in a free and democratic society, the conscience of the individual must be paramount to that of the state." (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 2013) While not everyone will be faced with such a difficult decision as abortion, those who are in that position should be accepted and not criticized.
Some women may choose to abort because of problems with their own health; others may choose to do so because of moral issues. However, no matter what the reason, it is the woman’s choice and hers alone. Let’s make the world a better place, and not ostracize and isolate women for whatever they choose to do with their lives. Women need to be able to feel happy in society like anyone else, so it’s up to us to support women in their
decisions.
Bibliography
Lowen, L. (2005, September). Why Women Choose Abortion - Statistical Breakdown of Reasons for Abortion. Retrieved March 2nd, 2013, from About.com: http://womensissues.about.com/od/reproductiverights/a/AbortionReasons_2.htm
Norton, A. (2012, October 23rd). Serious Birth Complications. Retrieved February 26th, 2012, from Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/23/us-birth-complications-idUSBRE89M1AL20121023
Pennachio, D. L. (2002, October 11th). Abortion: A Right or an Outrage? Retrieved February 27th, 2013, from Medical Economics: http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/news/abortion-right-or-outrage
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2013, February 10th). Abortion in Canada. Retrieved March 3rd, 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Canada#Morgentaler_challenges_the_law
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2013, March 9th). Childbirth. Retrieved March 5th, 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childbirth#Complications
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2012, November 20th). R. v. Morgentaler. Retrieved March 3rd, 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._v._Morgentaler