The Pros And Cons Of Legalizing Abortion
Running head: Abortion 1
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Abortion
PHI 103
March 5, 2012
Running head: Abortion 2
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Abortion
In the 19th century the United State of America had passed very strict laws concerning abortion; however, in the 20th century those laws have been changed in some states. Even though abortion is a very intense and important issue in our society, it has not stop people from debating over mother and unborn child’s rights. This paper will discuss the pros …show more content…
and cons of legalizing abortion in our society today, and how it plays a crucial role when it comes to health and social condition. Due to all the pros and cons about abortion; it becomes controversial whether or not the laws should forbid it. Abortion has affected many people with health issues such as; HIV/AIDS and twin-to-twin syndrome. HIV/AIDS is considered as one of the reasons that necessitate a mother to have an abortion. For instance, women with HIV/AIDS infection are more likely to abort their pregnancy because they realize that it can be passed to their unborn child (Banks, L., T., 1996). According to Cook and Dickens (2003), “Compromise of the immune system that HIV-positive women suffer is further aggravated by pregnancy, which itself reduces women immune reaction, It is reported that some hospitals in the United States have therefore urged HIV-positive pregnant women to terminate pregnancies, and they have done so directly.” These women noticed that if the HIV/AIDS infection were transmitted to their child or children then they too would have to go through the sickness, different medication, and the many doctor appointments. They also realized that the fetus tends to weaken their immune system because it uses more of their energy, body fluids, and blood cells to survive in the womb. Since the mother realized that her immune system is already weak she needs to conserve her strength and energy as much as possible.
3
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Abortion
Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is also a very serious medical issue that causes a complicated pregnancy which leads to abortion. According to the American pregnancy association (2004), “Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is a serious disorder that occurs in identical twins and higher order multiples who share a placenta. This occurs when there is a connection in the two babies’ blood vessels of their shared placental. This results in one baby (twin is referred to as the recipient) receiving more blood flow, while the other baby (twin is referred to as the donor) receives too little blood. Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome has been known to cause 15% of the abortion rates in the past century. This medical issue has given many mothers only one option and that is to abort both babies until recently.” Since medical technology has improved, mothers today have been given the opportunity to have one of the children saved (American pregnancy Association, 2004).
The decision of having to decide whether or not to except the doctor’s recommendation of saving one of the twins can be very traumatic for a mother. The emotional and mental affects that it can take on the mother’s life can cause the mother to be non-responsive to the unborn child, cause the mother to blame herself everyday of her life, and morn over the child that she had to abort. However, this is a medical issue cannot be stopped because there is no medical prevention for this type of disease.
Abortion can also affect social issues in many different ways such as poverty, teen pregnancy, religion, and rape (ex. Social issues due to rape are: constant stares and whispering behind a woman back from her community, church, friend, and family). Many people could
4
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Abortion argue that these social issues are very popular in our society and motivate mother into having an abortion today.
This is just a way for abortion Law to sweep the issues under the rug instead of tackling the problem by finding a much better solution (Dr. Fergusson, A., & Furedi, A., 1998). According to Dr. Fergusson and Furedi, “Women and teens who are raped should have the right to abort their pregnancy because of the shame and humiliation of their traumatic situation (1998).” These women who live in poverty and who are going through teen pregnancy assume because of their living condition it is okay to abort their unborn child or children. Their finance does play a major part in their decision of about abortion. However, it is a decision that does not have to be made if these women in poverty and teenage pregnancy would just use all of their resources that are available to them. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, “In 2009, 42% of women who live in poverty have abortion and 20% of teenage pregnancy and who live in poverty have had abortion. However, there is a total of 15% that are unknown or have not been reported.” Maybe if congress help fund programs that can educated these women and teens in our society today they would be more open to using the resources that are available and then the abortion rate may decrease in the poverty areas and young …show more content…
teens
Nevertheless, these women and teen knew their financial and living situation before they got pregnant and should not use this as a reason to get rid of their unborn baby. He or she cannot speak for themselves because they are still in the womb and need someone to stand up for their human rights. Abortion in these cases can be looked at as being selfish because there
5
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Abortion are a lot of good stable and finance home with people in them who want to adopt children. One could assume that abortion laws find it less costly for them if they legalize abortion rather than making better and affordable housing for those in poverty as well as more high paying jobs. Religion is also another issue that plays a major role in teen abortions. There are some many different religious beliefs about pregnancy outside of wedlock that teens become scared and emotional stressed about sinning against their religion. When it come s to religious beliefs a teen can be outcast (ex. By family members, church members, and even their community), and they can also bring shame upon their families. With this type of burden it can become very easy for a teen to make a decision of having an abortion rather than, facing the consequences or their actions. These teens that make such a rash decision to have an abortion normally do it at any means necessary which may include using; back alley facilities to perform abortion procedure. This type of procedure can cause infectious disease that may or may not be curable or result in death of not just the fetus but the mother too. Rape victims are also considered to be part of the social issues of abortion because it too requires taking a life of an unborn child.
Rape victims, whether it is by a stranger or family member are psychologically and emotionally disturbed by the abuse they sustained from their rapist. Rape victims are normally ashamed because they were violated and their self-esteem and self-concept has been stolen from them. They face people in their everyday life whispering about them, staring at them, and pitting them; which makes them relive their traumatic ordeal. Sometime these women feel that aborting the unborn fetus will help them to forget the horrible experience that they went through and help them to cope with facing society again. These women and teens also chose abortion because they realize that the unborn child they conceived from being rape might not be loved properly by them. The women and teens that go
through
6
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Abortion being rape might feel as if they will see their rapist face daily by look at the child. In this case abortion should be the choice of the mother. Even though poverty, teen pregnancy, and religion are viewed as social issues it should not be the mother’s choice whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. These women and teens should remember that they are alive and well and that they were given a chance at life. Why not do the same for the unborn child or children? Health and social condition can be crucial factors when dealing with abortion. However, there are still pros and cons when debating the issues about whether or not abortion should be legalize. Even though, medical issues, poverty, teen pregnancy, religion, and rape has shown the negative and positive aspect of abortion; society is still fighting to find a solution for this controversial issue.
7
Reference
American Pregnancy Association. (2004). Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Retrieved March 1, 2012, from http://www.americanpregnancy.org/multiples/ttts.htm
Banks, L., T. (1996). Legal Challenges: State Intervention, Reproduction and HIV Infected Women, in HIV, AIDS and Child Bearing: Public Policies and Lives.
Center of Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). Teen Pregnancy in the United States. Retrieved March 1, 2010, from http://www.cdc.gov/ TeenPregnancy.htm
Cook, J., R. & Dickens, M., B. (2003). Human Rights Dynamics of Abortion Law Reform. Human Rights Quarterly, Volume 25, Number 1, February 2003, p. 1-59.
Dr. Fergusson, A. & Furedi, A. (2003). The Law and ethics of Post Viability Abortion. Retrieved from: Internet source. http://www.prochoiceforum.org.uk/aad4.php
Guttmacher Institute. (2010). U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births and Abortions: National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity. Available at www.guttmacher.org/pubs/USTPtrends.pd
Weitz, A., T. (2010). Rethinking the Mantra that Abortion Should Be “Safe, Legal, and Rare.” Journal of Women History. V22 (3) p161-172.
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Abortion
PHI 103
March 5, 2012
Running head: Abortion 2
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Abortion
In the 19th century the United State of America had passed very strict laws concerning abortion; however, in the 20th century those laws have been changed in some states. Even though abortion is a very intense and important issue in our society, it has not stop people from debating over mother and unborn child’s rights. This paper will discuss the pros …show more content…
and cons of legalizing abortion in our society today, and how it plays a crucial role when it comes to health and social condition. Due to all the pros and cons about abortion; it becomes controversial whether or not the laws should forbid it. Abortion has affected many people with health issues such as; HIV/AIDS and twin-to-twin syndrome. HIV/AIDS is considered as one of the reasons that necessitate a mother to have an abortion. For instance, women with HIV/AIDS infection are more likely to abort their pregnancy because they realize that it can be passed to their unborn child (Banks, L., T., 1996). According to Cook and Dickens (2003), “Compromise of the immune system that HIV-positive women suffer is further aggravated by pregnancy, which itself reduces women immune reaction, It is reported that some hospitals in the United States have therefore urged HIV-positive pregnant women to terminate pregnancies, and they have done so directly.” These women noticed that if the HIV/AIDS infection were transmitted to their child or children then they too would have to go through the sickness, different medication, and the many doctor appointments. They also realized that the fetus tends to weaken their immune system because it uses more of their energy, body fluids, and blood cells to survive in the womb. Since the mother realized that her immune system is already weak she needs to conserve her strength and energy as much as possible.
3
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Abortion
Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is also a very serious medical issue that causes a complicated pregnancy which leads to abortion. According to the American pregnancy association (2004), “Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is a serious disorder that occurs in identical twins and higher order multiples who share a placenta. This occurs when there is a connection in the two babies’ blood vessels of their shared placental. This results in one baby (twin is referred to as the recipient) receiving more blood flow, while the other baby (twin is referred to as the donor) receives too little blood. Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome has been known to cause 15% of the abortion rates in the past century. This medical issue has given many mothers only one option and that is to abort both babies until recently.” Since medical technology has improved, mothers today have been given the opportunity to have one of the children saved (American pregnancy Association, 2004).
The decision of having to decide whether or not to except the doctor’s recommendation of saving one of the twins can be very traumatic for a mother. The emotional and mental affects that it can take on the mother’s life can cause the mother to be non-responsive to the unborn child, cause the mother to blame herself everyday of her life, and morn over the child that she had to abort. However, this is a medical issue cannot be stopped because there is no medical prevention for this type of disease.
Abortion can also affect social issues in many different ways such as poverty, teen pregnancy, religion, and rape (ex. Social issues due to rape are: constant stares and whispering behind a woman back from her community, church, friend, and family). Many people could
4
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Abortion argue that these social issues are very popular in our society and motivate mother into having an abortion today.
This is just a way for abortion Law to sweep the issues under the rug instead of tackling the problem by finding a much better solution (Dr. Fergusson, A., & Furedi, A., 1998). According to Dr. Fergusson and Furedi, “Women and teens who are raped should have the right to abort their pregnancy because of the shame and humiliation of their traumatic situation (1998).” These women who live in poverty and who are going through teen pregnancy assume because of their living condition it is okay to abort their unborn child or children. Their finance does play a major part in their decision of about abortion. However, it is a decision that does not have to be made if these women in poverty and teenage pregnancy would just use all of their resources that are available to them. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, “In 2009, 42% of women who live in poverty have abortion and 20% of teenage pregnancy and who live in poverty have had abortion. However, there is a total of 15% that are unknown or have not been reported.” Maybe if congress help fund programs that can educated these women and teens in our society today they would be more open to using the resources that are available and then the abortion rate may decrease in the poverty areas and young …show more content…
teens
Nevertheless, these women and teen knew their financial and living situation before they got pregnant and should not use this as a reason to get rid of their unborn baby. He or she cannot speak for themselves because they are still in the womb and need someone to stand up for their human rights. Abortion in these cases can be looked at as being selfish because there
5
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Abortion are a lot of good stable and finance home with people in them who want to adopt children. One could assume that abortion laws find it less costly for them if they legalize abortion rather than making better and affordable housing for those in poverty as well as more high paying jobs. Religion is also another issue that plays a major role in teen abortions. There are some many different religious beliefs about pregnancy outside of wedlock that teens become scared and emotional stressed about sinning against their religion. When it come s to religious beliefs a teen can be outcast (ex. By family members, church members, and even their community), and they can also bring shame upon their families. With this type of burden it can become very easy for a teen to make a decision of having an abortion rather than, facing the consequences or their actions. These teens that make such a rash decision to have an abortion normally do it at any means necessary which may include using; back alley facilities to perform abortion procedure. This type of procedure can cause infectious disease that may or may not be curable or result in death of not just the fetus but the mother too. Rape victims are also considered to be part of the social issues of abortion because it too requires taking a life of an unborn child.
Rape victims, whether it is by a stranger or family member are psychologically and emotionally disturbed by the abuse they sustained from their rapist. Rape victims are normally ashamed because they were violated and their self-esteem and self-concept has been stolen from them. They face people in their everyday life whispering about them, staring at them, and pitting them; which makes them relive their traumatic ordeal. Sometime these women feel that aborting the unborn fetus will help them to forget the horrible experience that they went through and help them to cope with facing society again. These women and teens also chose abortion because they realize that the unborn child they conceived from being rape might not be loved properly by them. The women and teens that go
through
6
The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Abortion being rape might feel as if they will see their rapist face daily by look at the child. In this case abortion should be the choice of the mother. Even though poverty, teen pregnancy, and religion are viewed as social issues it should not be the mother’s choice whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. These women and teens should remember that they are alive and well and that they were given a chance at life. Why not do the same for the unborn child or children? Health and social condition can be crucial factors when dealing with abortion. However, there are still pros and cons when debating the issues about whether or not abortion should be legalize. Even though, medical issues, poverty, teen pregnancy, religion, and rape has shown the negative and positive aspect of abortion; society is still fighting to find a solution for this controversial issue.
7
Reference
American Pregnancy Association. (2004). Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Retrieved March 1, 2012, from http://www.americanpregnancy.org/multiples/ttts.htm
Banks, L., T. (1996). Legal Challenges: State Intervention, Reproduction and HIV Infected Women, in HIV, AIDS and Child Bearing: Public Policies and Lives.
Center of Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). Teen Pregnancy in the United States. Retrieved March 1, 2010, from http://www.cdc.gov/ TeenPregnancy.htm
Cook, J., R. & Dickens, M., B. (2003). Human Rights Dynamics of Abortion Law Reform. Human Rights Quarterly, Volume 25, Number 1, February 2003, p. 1-59.
Dr. Fergusson, A. & Furedi, A. (2003). The Law and ethics of Post Viability Abortion. Retrieved from: Internet source. http://www.prochoiceforum.org.uk/aad4.php
Guttmacher Institute. (2010). U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births and Abortions: National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity. Available at www.guttmacher.org/pubs/USTPtrends.pd
Weitz, A., T. (2010). Rethinking the Mantra that Abortion Should Be “Safe, Legal, and Rare.” Journal of Women History. V22 (3) p161-172.