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The Controversial Issue Of Abortion In The United States

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The Controversial Issue Of Abortion In The United States
In the United States, there are many laws that may be considered controversial. It seems that no one can agree on one side over the other with these issues. For example, abortion is a topic that is extremely debatable. People are either pro-life or pro-choice. Although it is a controversial subject, abortion should be legal. Abortion is a practice that has been seen in history for thousands of years. “Abortion was recorded in 1550 B.C.E. in Egypt, recorded in what is called the Ebers Papyrus and in ancient China in about 500 B.C.E. as well… Hippocrates also offered abortion to his patients” (Fox). More recently, Roe v. Wade made abortion legal in the United States. “In a 7-2 ruling on January 22, 1973, the justices declared laws prohibiting …show more content…
“One of the basic differences of pro-life and pro-choice advocates is the moral question of ‘when does life begin’” (Karakoulaki). Pro-life people think that life begins at the moment of conception, while pro-choice people think it begins at the moment a fetus can support itself outside the womb. “The fetus is not yet a human being because it cannot survive outside the uterus on its own. Abortion should not be considered murder if the fetus is not self-sustaining and requires the mother’s body and physical resources to survive. The body of first priority is therefore the mother’s, and it should be her choice as to what she endures both mentally and physically” (“Arguments for and Against Abortion”).
Furthermore, the legal definition of a life is “independent existence as an animate being” (“Life”). This means that a fetus would not be considered a life if it were at a stage where it could not support itself on its own, but some people think otherwise. Abortion is a topic that many feel is controversial. It can not be easily agreed upon for many reasons. The fight for pro-life has to do with religion and the morality of taking a life. On the other hand, pro-choice involves women’s rights as well as a woman’s well being. These two ideas make abortion a subject that is

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