Abortion legal with no limitations FINAL
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Abortion legal with no limitations
Amiya Aguilera
Professor Micheli
Chamberlain University
April 23, 2023
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Abortion legal with no limitations
Abortion should be legal with no limitations, as it is a fundamental right of women to have autonomy over their own bodies and make decisions about their reproductive health and future. Abortion-related concerns are a contentious subject. This right is essential for women’s physical and mental health along with the environmental situation they’re in, while also taking into account the negative consequences that abortion can have on the individual and society. There are several moral, religious, and ethical issues revolving the abortion debate. Many individuals identify as either pro-choice or pro-life. It is a complicated subject that has sparked intense discussion for decades.
Ethics/morality
Is abortion “right” or “wrong”? Honestly, it all depends on how you define right or wrong
and what your personal/religious beliefs are. According to oxford dictionary right is defined as morally good, justified, or acceptable while wrong is defined is as unjust, dishonest, and immoral. Whether you are pro-life believing abortion is wrong or pro-choice believing abortion is right, abortion is an imperative choice that is up to women to decide. The beliefs of the majority of Americans lean toward the middle which is why a well-known professor with her PhD wrote an article discussing all sides of the abortion argument. One argument often heard from the pro-life side is that abortion is clearly morally incorrect because it is the murder of a human being. Most often this statement is heard from religious or conservative groups as they believe the embryo is the start of a child’s life at the moment of conception, however according to (The Hastings Center, 2022) upon conception or the first 22 hours the embryo is just a zygote and not detectable as an embryo, it isn’t until 6-13 days after conception where the embryo can be detected. The author goes on to say it isn’t until weeks 12-16 or the second trimester where
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the fetus begins to look recognizable as a human and week 24 is when the fetus can survive outside of the womb. With this being said most abortions are performed before 16 weeks and are rarely only performed after 21-24 weeks if it is seen to be medically necessary. While it is understood why people may believe abortion is murder that simply isn’t true especially when many women believe that the act of having a kid while being unable to provide adequate nourishment for them is inconsiderate of human life.
Health concerns
Another reason women may get an abortion is because it may either save their life or save
them from disease/illness due to health-related issues. Some contend that having an abortion may
result in much greater risks than not having one, such as an increased chance of pelvic infections,
blood clots, emotional consequences, and breast or ovarian cancer. Since the overturn of Roe v Wade getting an abortion in certain states is either impossible or extremely difficult making it dangerous for women seeking a health-related abortion. In fact (Upadhyay et al., 2021) stated “Others wanted to get pregnant but developed serious medical problems, learned that the fetus had severe abnormalities, or experienced some other personal crisis”. In some cases of abortion, it’s not that the women simply weren’t ready to have kids and got an abortion, instead it was life or death. And for the people who still believe that any health concern still isn’t worth the abortion, a question or thought perhaps that comes to mind is say the mother didn’t go through with the abortion and either died after giving birth or developed severe health issues that would either lead her to death or a horrible illness, now the child is left with a mother who can’t care for
them much due to her health or even worse the child is forced to grow up motherless. Would an abortion be acceptable then or would it still be “inadmissible”? Overall, yes abortion sometimes
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leads to both physical and mental health risks however it doesn’t outweigh the reasons women get an abortion to save their own life. Lifestyle/Situation
Several personal causes, such as rape, incest, financial troubles, unstable/abusive relationships, and various other economic concerns, lead to women having abortions. As stated before the overturn of Roe v Wade has made a huge difference in woman’s lives, (Upadhyay et al., 2021) says “laws that mandate waiting periods, counseling, and ultrasounds generally do not dissuade people from choosing to have an abortion, though they can cause delays in care, as well
as logistical, financial, and emotional burdens”. Abortion decision making is rarely effortless, most women base their choice on a variety of considerations and so when laws force them to wait even longer after they’ve already made a tough decision is astonishing. Furthermore, during the covid 19 lockdown access to abortion decreased making it severely hard for women to get one which then affected their mental health in a negative manner. While the access to abortion decreased, mental health disorders continued to increase according to (Zhang et al., 2022). Several women who were choosing to abort had their mental health affected because they were in fear of not being able to receive the abortion on time due to closure of facilities during covid 19 and the need to travel far distances in order to receive one. Financial concerns are often another reason women get abortions and so these women rely on Medicaid or insurance to help cover the cost of the abortion. In a study of 874 women, it was stated that almost all women had to either figure out if their insurance would cover the abortion, take time off work, arrange for childcare, or gather almost all of their money to pay for the travel and abortion Upadhyay et al. (2021). All of these things combined can cause even more financial distress on the person getting
an abortion possibly leading to depression or anxiety. Abortion effects not only the person
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receiving one but also their loved ones which is why it is so important to get rid of stigmas regarding abortion. In an article by (Gelman et al., 2017), they mentioned women would either tell their loved ones they wanted the abortion or not due to the heavy influence family members, friends, or girlfriend/boyfriends can have. Several women felt that if they told their loved ones and they said the opposite of what that “mother” wanted then she would change her mind instantly so some simply chose not to tell anyone. Due to stigmas around abortion many women often feel guilt, anger, stress, and sadness after their abortion.
Conclusion
As a final analysis, with abortion comes many stigmas and beliefs. Regardless the compelling arguments on both sides of the issue, it should ultimately be up to the individual and their own personal ideas and values to determine if they want to legalize abortion. Abortion may be avoided by those who think it is ethically wrong, while it may be made lawful by those who support women having the ability to choose. Since it is an essential right of women to have sovereignty over their own bodies and make choices about their future and reproductive health, abortion should be permitted without restrictions. Concerns about abortion are a divisive topic. Considering the harmful effects that abortion can have on both people and society as a whole, this right is crucial for the physical and mental health of women as well as the environmental position in which they find themselves. Numerous moral, religious, and ethical problems exist within these arguments. Many people declare themselves to be either pro-choice or pro-life. It is a complex issue that has stirred heated debate for years.
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References
Coleman-Minahan, K., Stevenson, A. J., Obront, E., & Hays, S. (2020). Adolescents Obtaining Abortion Without Parental Consent: Their Reasons and Experiences of Social Support.
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
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https://doi.org/10.1363/psrh.12132
Facione, P., & Gittens, C. A. (2015). THINK Critically (3rd ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://ambassadored.vitalsource.com/books/9780133914351
Gelman, Rosenfeld, E. A., Nikolajski, C., Freedman, L. R., Steinberg, J. R., & Borrero, S. (2017). Abortion Stigma Among Low-Income Women Obtaining Abortions in Western Pennsylvania: A Qualitative Assessment.
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
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(1), 29–36. https://doi.org/10.1363/psrh.12014
The Hastings Center. (2022, August 29).
Abortion - The Hastings Center
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https://www.thehastingscenter.org/briefingbook/abortion/
Oxford Languages and Google - English | Oxford Languages
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https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/
Upadhyay, U. D., Mccook, A., Bennett, A. H., Cartwright, A. F., & Roberts, S. C. M. (2021). State abortion policies and Medicaid coverage of abortion are associated with pregnancy outcomes among individuals seeking abortion recruited using Google Ads: A national cohort study.
Social Science & Medicine
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, 113747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113747
Zhang, Z., Wang, X., Wang, W., Zhang, J., Shan, L., & Li, Y. (2023). The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on abortion access and pre‐abortion mental health in Shanghai.
International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics
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1041. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.14516
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