A Choice
- Submitted by: chavener23
- Views: 351
- Category: English
- Date Submitted: 03/09/2014 05:03 PM
- Pages: 6
- Report this Essay
A Choice
Among the numerous controversies in today’s society, abortion is one many debate whether or not to make illegal. People who attempt to outlaw abortion, block patients’ access to clinics, and want women to carry every pregnancy to term are labeled as “Pro-Life” supporters. Maybe a more suitable label would be “anti-choice” or “no choice” supporters. Pro-choice advocates are not “Anti-Life”, they feel terminating a pregnancy is a very sensitive and personal decision in which all women should be able to make on their own. Undoubtedly, pro-choice should be every Americans perspective on abortion because it is a right of privacy and no government or religious group should dictate or discriminate against the right to terminating a pregnancy.
The availability of legal abortions has helped avoid serious medical complications that could have resulted from childbirth and terminations like ectopic and tubal pregnancies. Looking back, abortion was criminalized throughout the United States between the late 1800’s and 1973. During that time, approximately 20 million women sought and obtained abortions for various reasons and of those it was estimated 78,000 deaths occurred annually (Rich, Wagner 5). It was a term used back then, “back alley abortions” and is it full of countless horror stories. Those dangerous and unsanitary conditions claimed the lives of many women. In fact, women of color suffered the worst because of their social-economic status. However, nearly all white, middle and upper class women who sought abortions had easy access and were obtained in hospitals or outside of the United States (Rich, Wagner 5). Pro-life advocates oppose abortions and want them illegal no matter what the circumstances. Denying women access to safe, legal procedures will simply drive the practice underground and lead to enormous public health problems. Statistics showed when abortion was made illegal and inaccessible, women who were confronted by unwanted pregnancies...
Among the numerous controversies in today’s society, abortion is one many debate whether or not to make illegal. People who attempt to outlaw abortion, block patients’ access to clinics, and want women to carry every pregnancy to term are labeled as “Pro-Life” supporters. Maybe a more suitable label would be “anti-choice” or “no choice” supporters. Pro-choice advocates are not “Anti-Life”, they feel terminating a pregnancy is a very sensitive and personal decision in which all women should be able to make on their own. Undoubtedly, pro-choice should be every Americans perspective on abortion because it is a right of privacy and no government or religious group should dictate or discriminate against the right to terminating a pregnancy.
The availability of legal abortions has helped avoid serious medical complications that could have resulted from childbirth and terminations like ectopic and tubal pregnancies. Looking back, abortion was criminalized throughout the United States between the late 1800’s and 1973. During that time, approximately 20 million women sought and obtained abortions for various reasons and of those it was estimated 78,000 deaths occurred annually (Rich, Wagner 5). It was a term used back then, “back alley abortions” and is it full of countless horror stories. Those dangerous and unsanitary conditions claimed the lives of many women. In fact, women of color suffered the worst because of their social-economic status. However, nearly all white, middle and upper class women who sought abortions had easy access and were obtained in hospitals or outside of the United States (Rich, Wagner 5). Pro-life advocates oppose abortions and want them illegal no matter what the circumstances. Denying women access to safe, legal procedures will simply drive the practice underground and lead to enormous public health problems. Statistics showed when abortion was made illegal and inaccessible, women who were confronted by unwanted pregnancies...