The Pros And Cons Of Abortion

Abortion, the medical or surgical termination of a pregnancy, is one of the oldest, most common and most controversial medical procedures (Gale 1). There are six main ways to get an abortion. Early non-surgical, vacuum aspiration, dilation and evacuation, labor induction, dilation and extraction, and hysterotomy. The first, early non-surgical abortion, is preformed in weeks 2 to 10 of pregnancy. This is where a drug is given to stop the development of the pregnancy. Next, vacuum aspiration, is preformed in weeks 2 to 12 of pregnancy. This procedure involves the unborn child to be suctioned out. The dilation and evacuation procedure is preformed in weeks 13 to 21/22 of pregnancy. This is where the unborn child is removed with forceps and suction. Labor induction is preformed in weeks 13 to 21/22 of pregnancy and is where drugs are given to terminate the pregnancy. Later
Wade case was brought to court. Norma McCorvey was a young, unmarried pregnant woman who was at the time identified only as Jane Roe in order to maintain her anonymity. Norma wanted an abortion, but as a resident of Texas, the existing state law prevented her from doing so. She filed a lawsuit in federal district court and would be going up against Henry Wade. The suit sought to have the Texas abortion law declared unconstitutional as an invasion of her right to privacy as guaranteed by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments (Roe v. Wade. 1). The Supreme Court disagreed with Norma's belief of an absolute right to terminate pregnancy in any way and at any time. The court attempted to balance a woman’s right of privacy with a state’s interest in regulating abortion (Britannica 1). The case lasted about three years and finally came to an end with a ruling of 7-2. Norma won the case after the court ruled the state regulation of abortion as unconstitutional. The Roe vs. Wade case made abortion legal and marked an important turning point in public healthy