Premium Essay

Abortion

In:

Submitted By vljones1225
Words 1580
Pages 7
Running Head: ABORTION

Abortion
Victoria Jones
Political Science 332
DeVry University
Professor Izquierdo
August 3, 2011

Before choosing abortion as my subject, I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to talk about for this assignment. Politics isn’t one of my favorite subjects because I am disinterested as soon as I research any political issue; on the other hand because of personal experiences, abortion is what struck out to me the most.
At 17 I had an abortion and not only me, but three of my other friends as well. All throughout my senior year in high school, there were more classmates either having babies or abortions. It became an epidemic in my neighborhood. For my final essay in my Advanced Composition class, I analyzed abortion’s pros and cons, comparing the pro-life and pro-choice aspects, and the circumstances using inductive and deductive reasoning. I dissected the basics of the research but I didn’t realize the bigger picture I was a part of.
In 2006, 126 black teens out of 1000 were pregnant and 44 out of 1000 had abortions. The main reasons why most teens have abortions are concerns about how the baby would change their lives, not being able to afford a baby, and feeling insufficiently mature to raise a child (Guttmacher Institute, 2010).
Indeed, that was how I felt. I didn’t want the embarrassment of walking down the hallways of school being the talk of the year, chained to the welfare office, trained from both sides of my divorced parents, having to worry about studying for finals while changing diapers, or having to put my long distance baby’s daddy on child support. My father insisted that I have an abortion as soon as I told him the news and so he sponsored the deal. However, my mother was very upset because she believed the baby deserved the opportunity for the life it was given and if she had to, she would have rather taken

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Abortion

...In Brief Facts on Induced Abortion Worldwide WORLDWIDE INCIDENCE AND TRENDS • After declining substantially between 1995 and 2003, the worldwide abortion rate stalled between 2003 and 2008. • Between 1995 and 2003, the abortion rate (the number of abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age—i.e., those aged 15–44) for the world overall dropped from 35 to 29. It remained virtually unchanged, at 28, in 2008. • Nearly half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe, and nearly all unsafe abortions (98%) occur in developing countries. In the developing world, 56% of all abortions are unsafe, compared with just 6% in the developed world. • The proportion of abortions worldwide that take place in the developing world increased between 1995 and 2008 from 78% to 86%, in part because the proportion of all women who live in the developing world increased during this period. • Since 2003, the number of abortions fell by 600,000 in the developed world but increased by 2.8 million in the developing world. In 2008, six million abortions were performed in developed countries and 38 million in developing countries, a disparity that largely reflects population distribution. • A woman’s likelihood of having an abortion is slightly elevated if she lives in a developing region. In 2008, there were 29 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years in developing countries, compared with 24 per 1,000 in the developed world. REGIONAL INCIDENCE AND TRENDS • The overall abortion rate in Africa, where the...

Words: 2041 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Abortion

... PRO-CHOICE Abortion is the termination or premature ending of pregnancy by removal or expulsion of a fetus or embryo from the uterus. An abortion can happen spontaneously because of complications for the period of a pregnancy, or the abortion can be induced. A therapeutic abortion is an induced abortion, which is carried out to save or preserve the health of the mother. An elective abortion is an abortion carried out for any other reasons. Therefore, abortion refers to the induced abortion of pregnancy. Abortion is generally used to mean an induced termination of pregnancy whereas a miscarriage is generally used to mean a spontaneous termination of pregnancy. In abortion, the termination is intentional while in miscarriage, the termination is not intentional (Naden, 2007). Pro-choice abortion is the conviction that all women have the absolute right to choose to whether to abort a baby from their bodies. The paramount view of the pro-choice is that a baby ultimately does not have any human rights within its mother’s womb. A Pro-choice abortion allows women to have a choice on how to abort the unwanted child. Characteristically, the method of abortion is ultimately determined by the fetus age. During the first trimester of the fetus growth, a woman can choose to have a Suction Abortion or to use pills popularly known as the morning after pill or. On the start of the fourth month, the abortion is more often than not performed by Dilation...

Words: 1590 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Abortion

...Abortion In the past thirty years, the issue of abortion has prevailed as possibly the most controversial health issue facing our nation. Within the issue clear sides can be drawn. Activists on either side are highly organized, pummeling the public with proof that abortion is either wrong or right. Stripped down, the abortion argument becomes a dispute between those who perceive the unborn fetus to be viable human life and likewise abortion as murder, and those who prioritize the rights of the living mother over those of an unborn fetus. The anti-abortion campaign is one based almost exclusively on religious notions and ideals. In contrast, those who support a woman's right to an abortion draw support from a combination of scientific evidence as well as moral and political issues. As a nation of reason and one that prioritizes the rights of its citizens above all other things, the right to an abortion must be protected. Pro-Life activists contend that a fetus is a human life and to end that life is murder. This belief is one based solely on religious philosophy. Scientific evidence is attestation to the fact that a fetus, especially one early in development, does not exhibit qualities marked by a human life. One of the most controversial issues of the abortion debate is the question of when life begins. Many anti-abortionists argue that life begins at conception. Therefore they contend that any process that terminates a pregnancy after a sperm has fertilized an egg...

Words: 1676 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Abortion

...Justine Harris Mrs. Baldwin ENG101 4-19-12 Abortions Some people may walk into hospitals thinking how many babies were killed today. What right does a woman have to take away an innocent life? Have you ever had a fear of a change that might become crucial in your life? What if this change causes responsibility that should lie on your shoulders? Can we suppose that this is what makes women have abortions nowadays? We probably can, but another question is whether this fear can be an excuse for having an abortion. In this paper I am going to discuss why every child deserves a chance at life. "Abortion is murder". People opposed to abortion because they strongly believe that abortions takes away the "right to live", and is morally wrong. Even Though, others are for abortions argue that the statement is just a religious belief. It also has been said that a “person” applies to all human things especially from conception an egg is considered a human (Abcarian). Pro-abortionists consider that having an abortion is the woman’s choice and that it does not matter if they receive them. Every human deserves to live, therefore abortions should be illegal. What makes abortion murder? The definition of abortion is the "termination of pregnancy" which means killing a fetus. Stopping the women's pregnancy means to destroy the embryo or of the fetus. In some people’s eyes they believe it is the same as slaughtering a baby. They believe that the fetus is a separate human being. To this...

Words: 1288 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Abortion

...In America, during the early to mid nineteenth century, many states began drafting abortions laws that made it illegal to consume harmful poisons that would stimulate an abortion and ultimately outlawed abortion by the turn of the twentieth century unless a practitioner strongly recommended the procedure (Jost). As one can probably guess, the outlaw of abortion did not stop woman for having obtaining one. Instead, woman began to either persuade a doctor to claim that they had a medical reason for the pregnancy to be terminated or went to a back alley to have an illegal and unsafe abortion performed by somebody that was not even certified to perform the procedure. By the middle of the twentieth century, the number of annual illegal abortions performed in the United States was estimated to be around one point two million; while the number of deaths from botched abortions caused many individuals and groups to begin protesting the established abortion laws that would draw national attention to the problem at hand. The first major decision that sparked a rapid debate not only within the three branches of government but the nation’s general public, was Colorado’s alterations to their abortion laws in nineteen sixty-seven that allowed a women more exceptions to have an abortion such as scenarios of rape or incest. These small alterations to their state laws caused a chain reaction and other states began to follow Colorado’s example by nineteen seventies. While the alterations in itself...

Words: 1733 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Abortion

...demonstrations held every day, yet somehow abortion is still legal in the United States. In the decision of the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, it was ruled that women have the right, given to them by the Constitution, to have an abortion in the early stages of pregnancy (Infoplease). Hundreds of protesters gather outside clinics that offer abortions and try to present their position on the issue, but it seems as though their cries and complains are never heard. The main question that we must decide on is this: is it just to take away human life before it even has the chance to be lived? Several countries around the world have outlawed the practice of abortion. When deciding the abortion issue, its women’s rights as citizens of the United States versus the religious beliefs of a majority of citizens. What is more important, the sanctity of life or allowing murder on the basis of one’s right to choose? Given the abortion procedure allows women sexual and reproductive freedom, it has unconsciously led to a trend where abortion is being used as a method of contraception. In the United States, 49% of the pregnancies are unintended and American women used abortion as a tool to terminate almost half of these pregnancies (Infoplease). Abortion was not meant to be used in accidental pregnancies, but its purpose was to cease pregnancies that could possibly result in the death of the mother or if the baby had major genetic defects that could possibly be fatal. Abortion was never meant to be used as...

Words: 3303 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Abortion

...May 2015 Abortion From a Different Perspective One of the most popular and controversial topics of today’s society is abortion. This topic brings up a lot of turmoil due to the ethical standpoint most people have on it. There are two distinct sides of this topic: pro-life and pro-choice. Pro-life deems abortion unethical and a form of “violent penetration” (NRTL 2013). On the other side, pro-choice views abortion as a safe and ethical option for teens and young adults that conceive under certain circumstances. Being a male, abortion is a topic that does not affect me directly, but affects me indirectly. Looking at this subject in the perspective of woman can be difficult at times, yet, us men need to realize that one day we could possibly have a wife and a daughter. Would we force our daughter to birth a child that she is not suitable for? Or to birth a child conceived by rape? These questions lead me to choose which side I stand on for this topic. I am pro-choice because it is a healthy alternative, a medically safe procedure and ultimately up to the woman who is carrying the child. Conceiving a child when a woman is not prepared can be a scary incident. Most young teens that become pregnant fear of telling their parent and resort to illegal abortions that have caused “medical problems as a result” (NAF 2015). Around the world, illegal abortion is the number one cause of maternal death. It is estimated that “68,000 women worldwide die each year from unsafe abortions” (NAF 2015)...

Words: 958 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Abortion

...English 103 11/15/2012 Abortion How would you feel if someone decided that you could never get a chance at life? What if you were never born? Imagine a nervous young female at a Doctor’s office about to make a decision that will not only change her life forever, but change the life of the child growing inside of her. People say they don’t want others making a decision about their lives but they are more than willing to make a choice about someone else’s life. No matter what your views are on the subject of abortion, you have to admit that abortions are just a display of selfishness. A child is a living being regardless of whether or not it has yet to be conceived. Someone’s financial circumstances, level of maturity, or any other factor, doesn’t not change the fact that the “thing” inside a woman’s womb is a living person. Abortion should be banned because of the effects it has psychologically, medically and socially. Abortion has become the most common procedure in unwanted pregnancies. Over 1.3 million abortions are done yearly in the USA. According to The Kaiser Family Foundation, “Approximately one-fifth (19%) of the 6.4 million pregnancies that occur in the U.S. end in abortion. About 19% of women having abortions in the U.S. are teens; 33% are between the ages of 20 and 24; and 48% are ages 25 and older” (1). One can agree that murdering innocent people is wrong. However, legalizing abortion gives someone the right to end...

Words: 3068 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Abortion

...Sabrina VanDerwarker Elisabeth Rutledge English 1302_71 25 November 2014 Researched Argument Audience Analysis: Abortion 1. Who is your audience? What is the name of the person or group for whom you are writing this argument? Why have you chosen this person or group as your target audience? Why will your argument have exigence for your audience? My audience would be to pregnant women. I have chosen my audience to be pregnant women because women who get pregnant are often asked if they know all their options. 2. How open is your audience to your argument? Is it undecided or hostile? Keep in mind that the more hostile your audience is, the more time you will need to spend establishing common ground between you and your audience. My audience would have to be more towards hostile because abortion is a sensitive subject to some people. 3. How will you organize your argument to accommodate your audience’s level of openness to your position? Will your argument have a classical structure? Will it have a Rogerian structure? Will you be presenting your reasons and evidence before directly stating your thesis? Why, based on your knowledge of your audience, will your argument have the organization you will be using? I will give both of the sides of the argument and keep an open mind when presenting both sides. My argument will have a Rogerian structure and my thesis will come after all the evidence is presented. 4. What are your audience's priorities and goals? What...

Words: 3310 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Abortion

...Abortion Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Since 1900, abortion has been an act that has been given attention in our society. Abortion is the act of removing a fetus from the mother’s womb. The act has brought about pro-life and pro-choice groups in our country. Pro-life argue that abortion is murder and pro-choice argue that it is not since the fetus is not human. The problem comes in when these two groups do not agree in the legalization of abortion (Opposing Viewpoint Online Collection, 2015). It is true that abortion is not safe and people do not have knowledge about its adverse effects. It bring many complication after the act. The complications are emotional, psychological and physical. 10% of the women in America who go through induced abortion get complications immediately. 2% of these women have major complications. The minor complications include, vomiting, serious pain in the abdomen, bleeding, disturbances in gastro-intestine, fevers and infections. Major complications include, ripped and perforated uterus, complications brought by anesthesia, embolism, convulsions, and injury in the cervix and endotoxic shock (Opposing Viewpoint Online Collection, 2015). Long-term effects of abortion can lead to sterility, mental problems such as guilt, anxiety, grief, emotional numbness or paralysis and drug or alcohol abuse. 44% of abortion patients suffered from nervous disorders this is according to a post-abortion study. It also revealed that 36% had sleep...

Words: 821 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Abortion

...Abortion Is Ethical Problems with Death, 2006 "A woman deciding whether to continue a pregnancy stands on moral ground. She is entitled to make her decision....No one else...should decide whether she will use her body to bring new life into the world." In the following viewpoint Caitlin Borgmann argues that abortion is ethical for many reasons. First, women have the right to decide what to do with their own bodies, she contends. Second, abortion allows women to participate equally in society by enabling them to postpone childbearing until they finish school or establish their careers. Borgmann also maintains that abortion allows women to have children only when they are ready to take care of them, and protects their health by allowing women to terminate pregnancies at legal clinics. At the time this article was written, Caitlin Borgmann was state strategies coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project in New York. As you read, consider the following questions: What two groups of women does the author suggest suffer the most due to restrictions on abortion rights? In the author's view, in addition to a woman's right to choose, what else does the pro-choice movement stand for? What examples does the author use to support her argument that institutional opposition to abortion rights is part of a campaign to undermine women's autonomy and equality? The movement to preserve and advance reproductive freedom is suffering the consequences of...

Words: 3793 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Abortion

...ETHICAL ISSUES SURROUNDING ABORTION The Ethical Isues Surrounding Abortion Lynette Freemer Kaplan University HU 245-03 Professor Kashani December 21, 2013 Abortion is when you terminate a pregnancy by having the fetus removed from the uterus. Abortions can be the result of a complicated pregnancy, or they may be induced. An induced abortion is referred to as an elective abortion, and an abortion due to pregnancy complications is called a therapeutic abortion. The cultural views on abortion are different around the world. People who are against abortion are referred to as pro-life, while everyone else is referred to as pro-choice. Many parts of the world have a current controversy with the ethical and legal aspects of abortions. Abortion is currently a legal operation in the United States. Women's abortion rights in the United States appear straightforward since abortions have technically been legal in the U.S. since 1973 (Krasemann & Thiroux, 2012). When examining the issue more closely, however, the status of a woman's right to abortion is far from static. Depending on location, age, and stage of pregnancy abortion rights are currently a complex and varied situation for American women. Before 1973, there was no national law on abortion in the United States. Many women sought illegal, unsanitary and potentially lethal abortions at the hands of unlicensed practitioners. The Roe v. Wade case changed this, allowing abortions to be practiced safely and...

Words: 308 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Abortions

...Zekeya Adams Holly Spinell DED61 March 10, 2015 Abortion One major issue that is being argued is the opposing beliefs on abortions. Abortion Mean “the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy” that is commonly addressed. Everybody has they own opinion on the issues. Some feel that a woman has the right to decide what happens to her body. As other feels that an unborn baby, as a human being has the separate right from those of the mother. I feel abortion is a personal choice, human life begins at conception, or that abortion can or cannot be justified. The relationship between morality and the law is often ignored in these debates. It’s assumed that if abortion is immoral, it ought to be illegal just for that reason. We can think of actions that are possibility immoral but that we would not want to be legally prohibited. Although the position that abortion ought to be a private matter and not a matter of law is debatable, it is much more difficult to make an argument that abortion is not a moral issue. There are many methods of abortion, morning-after pill, RU486 (mifepristone), uterine or vacuum aspiration, dilation and etc. Morning-after pill is a chemical compound, which the Food and Drug Administration refers to as Plan B, prevents the blastocyst from embedding in the uterine wall. Since 2006, this pill has been available over the counter for customers 18 and older. RU486 is a drug that was developed in France and induces uterine...

Words: 678 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Abortions

...Abortions are one of the many things that everyone has an opinion on. As defined by the 2012 Merriam-Webster dictionary, an Encyclopedia Britannica Company, an abortion is, “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus as a spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus during the first 12 weeks of gestation--miscarriage, the induced expulsion of a human fetus, or the expulsion of a fetus by a domestic animal often due to infection at any time before completion of pregnancy.” Abortions have always been and will probably always be a controversial topic in which everyone will not agree upon. In the midst of the controversy, two groups have emerged. These groups are referred to as pro-life and pro-choice. According to Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context, pro-life supporters claim that life begins at conception, therefore, abortion at any stage in the pregnancy is murder. They believe that life is valuable and the life of the unborn baby has the same rights as the mother. Pro-choice supporters, on the other hand, claim that it is the woman’s right to choose what she does with her body. These pro-abortionists claim that anti-abortionists are truly against the rights of women and free choice rather than the termination of the fetus. Pro-life and pro-choice advocates differ in many of their opinions, specifically, concerning when life begins, affects abortions have on the...

Words: 1477 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Abortion

...The topic covered in this research paper is abortion. This paper looks into the history of abortion, the pro-life view of abortion and the pro-choice view of abortion. Under history of abortion the information included is the time line of significant events of abortion such as becoming legal, also different ways in ancient times women would try to use abortions. The upgrading of technology making abortion safer and even if abortion was illegal women would still find a way to abort a baby are also covered under the history of abortion. Under pro-life choice for abortion looks into abortion murder, the rights of human and the rights of the unborn and that a women doesn't have a right to terminate her own fetus. Under pro- choice is the women's rights, and the rights to the women and also how abortion isn't murder due to the fact that fetuses cannot feel pain and how a women has a right to her own body and whether or not she decides she wants to carry a pregnancy to term. Introduction Conceiving a baby through a planned pregnancy can take many years, or it can take one meaningless night of excessive drinking and unprotected sex resulting in an unplanned pregnancy. There are many times when a women doesn't know she is pregnant until she visits the doctor, and since it is an unplanned pregnancy it leaves her with a hard, unwanted decision. She can chose to carry on with the pregnancy or choose to terminate it. Abortion is the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in...

Words: 347 - Pages: 2