Abortion is termination of a pregnancy. It is a growing issue that brings about many questions. The top justifications as to why women have an abortion is undergoing situations related to health complications, teen pregnancy, rape, etc, but they all vary. The reasons are endless, but shouldn’t women be allowed to have the right to abort their baby? Shouldn’t society stop being judgemental towards women who are not killing an innocent life, but avoiding for someone to not lead a miserable life, such as themselves? Women all around the world should be allowed or consented to a safe abortion. Babies will not always be aborted, but for whatever reason they need to be, it should be an option or pathway mothers can take.
While being pregnant can be a wonderful thing, many women experience situations where they are not able to carry the fetus inside the womb. To carry to full term and give birth, complications can arise. Why go through all this trouble putting strain on the mother and trauma when she does not want it or simply cannot have it? When a fetus is in its sac, an ultrasound with further testing can determine if a baby can be prone to illnesses. Babies can have deformities or can be subject to death upon birth. In addition, fetuses can cause harm to the carrying mothers, leaving them with no chance of life. To avoid further harm to the mother, doctors rely on abortions to remove the fetus. At times, the fetus is already dead before the abortion even occurs, which turns this procedure into an extraction of the still baby.
For example, an ectopic pregnancy is when the egg cannot develop resulting in the removal of the fetus through drugs or surgery. Leaving the fetus for far too long can cause problems affecting the women’s organs and tissues. Babies can be prone to death upon birth and have a very low chance of surviving. Sure, odds can be beaten, but “approximately 1 in 1,000 babies have a prenatal death”. This seems like a slim chance for your baby to die within its first 28 days of life, but “in the United States there are 3,945,875 babies born yearly”. Out of 3,945,875, there can be a chance that 3,946 of those babies undergo a neonatal death. Would you rather give birth to a baby that will die upon birth or put them at ease with a safe abortion?
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Giving birth to an unwanted baby that will most likely become rejected is absurd. Typically, their life will be in adoption centers or going from home to home. According to the U.S Department of Education, “In the U.S. today, approximately 400,000 children and youth are in foster care at any given time and each year about 20,000 of these students emancipate out of foster care”. Some people believe women should give their baby up for adoption instead of aborting, but their chances of love are still the same, it can be close to nothing. Those 20,000 children have remained majority of their lives being rejected from families that gave them hope of a new home engulfed with care and love. The foster care system caters to those who want to start a family of their own with young children. Usually, teens and older kids are rejected by soon-to-be parents favoring the young ones.
For example, the movie, “Instant Family”, has a scene where the older kids overhear a couple talking about them. They approach them and inform them the young kids are in the center, as they know they will not be taken in. In many instances, mothers can become scared for their future being impacted by a baby. This newly found information can make them depend on an abortion for their own sake and that of their child. Being put up for adoption does not guarantee a child will go into a loving home. “National research shows that children in foster care are at high-risk of dropping out of school and are unlikely to attend or graduate from college.” The future of children in the foster care system can be one that is small. Their lives are spent knowing their parents did not want them, which can cause further trauma to their mental stability. This inability to be provided with a family leads them to pathway that can be surrounded by failure.
Accidental pregnancies are common and usually do not make the parents happy. “An unintended pregnancy was one that was either mistimed or unwanted.” Around 45% of all pregnancies are unwanted, leaving the options pretty straightforward. You can either give birth, give it up for adoption, or abort it. Adults who incur in sexual relationships made a choice to do so, but never to create a human being. A human being comes with responsibility and in most cases, some people are not ready to prepare a “mini them” into a world of dangers. As of 2011, “42% of unintended pregnancies ended in abortion, and 58% ended in birth”. The percentages of these outcomes are better than striven for, and 42% is still a comparably low number of women having an abortion. This means that an unintended pregnancy is most likely to be kept. After all, adults who participate in sexual relationships can be striving for babies or for temporary pleasure, but the upbringing of a baby is not always the case. This comes to show that abortion is a pathway women have taken, but it is not the #1 leading cause.
Teen pregnancies occur frequently and cause burdens in many families. Coming home with news that you will be a mom at 15 years of age can cause disappointment, trauma, and most of all rejection. Many closed ones will believe your life is ruined and negativity can drive you to become delusional. Imagine if abortions weren’t legally allowed driving that child to have an unsafe and illegal abortion. The U.S National Library of Medicine states, “The risk of death associated with pregnancy is about a third higher among 15- to 19-year olds than among 20- to 24-year olds.” The harm this can cause her body and her mental state can drive her to insanity and cause further trauma. A teens body has yet to develop, and a pregnancy is a way to defeat the purpose of puberty.
As her body is adjusting to a pregnancy, her body is determine to keep growing and becoming stronger. Since it has not yet developed, this puts her at more risk of death or complications. In addition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “In 2015, a total of 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a birth rate of 22.3 per 1,000 women in this age group.” From these statistics, we can establish that teen pregnancy is nothing out of the blue. It is common and in many of these instances, the baby was not kept. “Birth rates fell 9% for women aged 15–17 years and 7% for women aged 18–19 years.” This comes to show that teen pregnancy has reduced over the years, but it is not something that is entirely gone. They should have the right by the government to be provided with a safe and legal abortion, if they choose to do so. The opportunity to do this can be life-changing as their own life was just beginning.
Those against abortions, aka pro-lifers, believe it is unacceptable for women to have an abortion. They say having an abortion is killing a human life, a breathing soul that has a whole life ahead of themselves. But while a fetus is inside the womb, the fetus is not yet “created”. The fetus is not developed to the point where his lungs are fully functioning. In fact, the fetus relies on his mother until it is able to take its first breath OUTSIDE of the womb. In Ohio, they recently passed the heartbeat law. This law states that if at 6 weeks you can detect a heartbeat on the fetus, by law you are not legally allowed to abort your baby. Many women do not find out they are pregnant until 5 or 6 weeks. Imagine having a week to decide the lifetime of a baby. At this rate, deformities or illnesses for babies can not be determined, as well. Symptoms do not always occur, and every women is different. Their stories are different, and they are all unique in their own way. Their life varies and ultimately, it should be up to the women carrying the babies to have an abortion or not. A time limit is not something they should be resorting to.
Rape is the one of the main reasons women have an abortion. Pro-lifers seem to have a very distinct view on how and who gets to “rightfully” and “morally” have an abortion. This is a circumstance some pro-lifers will let slide by, but many still believe women should carry to full term. Can you imagine the guilt and hatred a women can have giving birth to a child that reminds them of such a traumatic experience? They believe they can carry to full term instead of aborting and simply giving it up for adoption. Life would be simple if decisions could be so easily fixed, but rape is not easy. The trauma left behind by the sexual abuse indulged by a male or female that took over your body with no consent. How would you feel if you were carrying the baby of your attacker? Sure it is easy to say what you would do under a hypothetical situation, but if that were to actually happen, I can imagine you judgement will be clouded, and the last thing on your mind will be raising a child that constantly reminds you of this horrible tragedy you underwent.
Abortion is a heavy topic that should be discussed more often. The way women and their bodies are portrayed for people to choose how they should run them is absolutely dumbfounded. Women should not be forced to follow codes, such as the heartbeat law, to determine what happens to an egg that is fertilized inside their bodies. They should not have to resort to finding someone who will overcharge them for an illegal abortion. Abortion in a safe manner should become legal in places where they have put in laws against abortion.
Women should have the right to control what occurs to their body and how they handle it. Health complications, teen pregnancy, accidental pregnancy, and rape are all reasons why women chose to abort. In any circumstance, trauma will still be a factor, no matter the choice they decide to commit. But in some countries, there is no choice. Abortions are not allowed and us women have to fight for the rights of our body. The future is dependent among us not only for ourselves but for our upcoming generations that should not have to undergo our struggles. Change needs to be done, and it should start now.
