Should Abortion Right be Restricted - Essay Example

Should abortion right be restricted Samson Varghese Should abortion right be restricted? Abortion is one of the most discussed and controversial issues in the modern world leading to intense debates among religious organizations, political leaders and social activists. This topic is always considered as a two sided controversy. Abortion refers to the voluntary termination of a pregnancy, resulting in the death of the fetus or embryo. Abortions performed prior to the third trimester are legal in the United States, although the issue has polarized mainstream political parties. Almost all state Democratic Party platforms support abortion while almost all state Republican Party platforms oppose it. Nobody can deny abortions in some cases while in other cases it is totally unnecessary to go for it. This topic involves concerns of biology, mortality and legal rights. Critiques of abortion argues that human life begins with conception and the abortion is nothing but a of killing a human being. So they consider abortion as an immoral and illegal issue. They keep a liberal attitude towards abortion in the case of rape, incest or when the mother’s health at risk. Proponents of abortion believe that a woman’s right to make decisions concerning her body and her future outweigh the rights of the fetus. One of the most controversial restrictions on abortion requires minors to notify or obtain the consent of at least one parent before having an abortion. Should abortion right be restricted? 2 All the living things in the world are one way or other give birth to their offspring. God has given the responsibility to all the living things, to live and sustain their species. So pregnancy is a natural process. A women’s life will be meaningful only when she conceives and give birth to a child. Her biological and psychological aspects demand the motherhood. It has been proved from some studies that breast feeding makes a mother happier and also that will reduce the risk of breast cancer. Religious organizations are the main critiques of abortion. As per their theory human being doesn’t have the right to kill the fetus. Children are the blessings given by the God. Conception is a blessing given by the God, we should not destroy it. God has definite plan towards all things and we should not question it. A person’s right to enjoy the facilities of the world should not be negated by deliberate human activities. We are living in this world since our mother did not go for the abortion and the same right should be given to the fetus. The ethical debate over abortion usually surrounds the issues of whether a fetus has rights, in particular a right to life, and whether the pregnant womans rights over her own body justify abortion even if the fetus has a right to life. For many, there is a strong correlation between. An argument exists that if there is uncertainty as to whether the fetus has a right to life, and then having an abortion is equivalent to consciously taking the risk of killing another. According to this argument, if it is not known for certain whether something (such as the fetus) has a right to life, then it is reckless, and morally wrong, to treat that thing as if it lacks a right to life (for example by killing it). We don’t have the ability to create anything and hence we don’t have the right to destroy also. The conception is not taking place all of a sudden. It is a complex Should abortion right be restricted? 3 activity for which the human is only a weapon in the hands of God. We know that there are a lot of persons in the world who don’t have the ability to conceive. So the ability to conceive is not in our control and hence we cannot argue that we created something. “Abortion was legalized in 1973 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that during the first trimester, a woman has the right to decide what happens to her body. This landmark decision rested on the "right to privacy" which was introduced in 1965. In addition, the Court ruled that the state could intervene in the second trimester and could ban abortions in the third trimester. However, a central issue, which the Court declined to address, is whether human life begins at conception, at birth, or at some point in between” (Kathy Gill). In the year 2002, about 1.29 million women in the U.S. had abortions. In 1990, that number was 1.61 million. Six in 10 women who had abortions in 2002 were mothers. "Despite the common belief, women who have abortions and those who have children are not two separate groups," said Finer A quarter of abortions occur among unmarried women who live with a male partner, putting this group at elevated risk of unintended pregnancy and abortion.· The majority -- 56 percent -- of women who terminate their pregnancies are in their twenties. Teenagers between 15 and 19 make up 19 percent of abortions, although this percentage has dropped substantially in recent years. This drop may be due to use of longer-acting hormonal contraceptives and lower rates of sexual activity, said Joyce Abma, a social scientist at the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).( Abortion just the data) . Should abortion right be restricted? 4 The following table gives estimated percentages of U.S. women who have ever had abortions by age ranges--note that these percentages are approximate. Nonetheless, both the prevalence and the shifting demographics of abortion is evident. (One issue is the health implications of a large aging population who have obtained abortions in the past--for example, given the possible link between induced abortion and breast cancer.) Should abortion right be restricted? 5 year estimated % of US women who have had abortions by age range 12-80 15-64 12-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 1973 2.3 2.8 2.7 6.2 2.7 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 1980 9.0 11.1 6.1 23.3 13.5 4.4 0.3 0.0 0.0 1987 15.2 18.6 6.2 30.6 29.6 12.2 2.6 0.1 0.0 1994 19.8 24.4 4.6 30.4 39.8 25.8 8.6 1.3 0.0 2001 22.3 27.0 4.8 26.6 40.0 36.9 16.6 4.8 0.3 2008 24.3 28.6 2.3 19.3 35.0 41.2 34.6 14.3 3.4 A 1998 study by Henshaw [4] included a more sophisticated analysis than the one above; for 1994, here are a comparison of percentage of women who have had abortions by age range from Henshaw and from this analysis--to give some indication of the uncertainty in the figures above. Should abortion right be restricted? 6 year estimated % of US women who have had abortions by age range 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 1994, Henshaw 7.0 26.3 37.3 40.2 38.3 25.0 1994, this analysis 7.2 24.9 35.5 39.8 39.8 31.2 Some published analyses similar to (but more sophisticated than) the analysis above: (Wm. Robert Johnston - Percentage of United States women who have had abortions compiled by Wm. Robert Johnston last updated 15 October 2008 ) Different opinions or legislation towards Abortion The court has stated that a woman’s decision to abort is based on a constitutional “right of privacy,” yet no such right can be found in the Constitution, McConnell explains. The court also claims that it cannot resolve the question of when life begins, but it implicitly denies that the fetus is a person by refusing to protect its life. A majority of Americans, however, oppose abortions after the first trimester and support parental notification laws, waiting periods, and other moderate restrictions on abortion. The Supreme Court misrepresents the will of the people by allowing women to have abortions for any reason.( Michael W. McConnell). Abortion is Should abortion right be restricted? 7 actually a case of human right violation. We should not encroach upon anybody’s right to enter into the world of living things. In June 2000 the U.S. Supreme Court imposed a ban on late-term abortions procedures that are performed after twenty-four weeks of pregnancy and are also referred to as “partial-birth” abortions. The late-term abortions are a form of legalized infanticide to which the majority of Americans strongly object. Because partial-birth abortions are always optional and are never necessary to save the life or future health of the mother, they should be outlawed. Parental consent laws, which require the notification or consent of a girl’s parents before she can have an abortion, are necessary. Parents are legally responsible for their child’s health and therefore have a right to know if their daughter is planning to have an abortion. Abortions, may results in the physical and emotional problems to their daughter. Women are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain legal abortions. Although the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision supposedly protects a woman’s right to a safe abortion, the majority of counties in the United States have no abortion facilities, and women often face restrictive measures such as mandatory counseling sessions, twenty-four hour waiting periods, or parental notification laws. Such restrictions encroach upon a woman’s legal right to choose. The decision to abort a fetus may be an unpleasant option, but reproductive choice is ultimately about rights and freedoms, not morals and ethics Late-term abortions, sometimes referred to as “partial-birth” abortions, should not be banned as per the some of the proponents of abortion. Such procedures, which are relatively rare, are essential when a woman’s life and health are threatened by her pregnancy or when a fetus has Should abortion right be restricted? 8 serious physical defects. Moreover, the attempt to criminalize late-term abortions is at heart an attempt to outlaw all abortions. Many states have laws that require teenagers seeking abortions to notify their parents of their decision or to obtain their consent. In 1999, the Child Custody Protection Act was proposed as a measure that would strengthen such parental consent laws. This measure would punish people who transport girls across state lines in order to avoid consent laws in their home state Such a law would severely limit teen access to safe and confidential abortions. While teens should be encouraged to discuss an abortion decision with their parents, some girls face rejection or abuse if their parents learn about their pregnancies. The possibility of parental disapproval also increases the risk that teens will resort to dangerous methods of terminating their pregnancies. To conclude, abortion is a complex topic which actually questions the natural laws. At the same time if the pregnancy creates biological or psychological problems to the mother, then abortion should be allowed. A person who is taking medicines for psychological problems should not conceive or cause a conception in any case as the medicines he/she is taking may be harmful to the fetus which may result in the birth of handicapped children physically or psychologically. Thus abortion should be restricted. Only in unavoidable circumstances the permission for abortion should be granted. It should not be considered that the women have the right to abort since there is another person also involved in the conception process and his arguments also should be considered. Should abortion right be restricted? 9 Sources 1. Michael W. McConnell Abortion –Retrieved on 25/11/08 http://www.bookrags.com/researchtopics/abortion/sub10.html 2. Kathy Gill Issue Summary: Abortion Retrieved on 25/11/08 http://uspolitics.about.com/od/electionissues/i/abortion.htm 3. Abortion just the data- Retrieved on 25/11/08 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/18/AR2005071801164.html 4. Wm. Robert Johnston - Percentage of United States women who have had abortions Retrieved on 25/11/08 http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/uslifetimeab.html Read More