Controversial Issue of Abortion

In today’s generation there seems to always be differing legal and/or ethical views between healthcare professionals. However, the topic I will focus on in this paper is a woman’s right to abortion. “‘Abortion’ means the termination of human pregnancy with an intention other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus” (The Florida Legislature, 2020). I chose to discuss the topic of abortion because I feel I am easily able to give my opinion related to the differences of my morals on the subject compared to the worldly views. Personally, I do not support the subject of abortion because I feel it is the killing of an unborn child, which goes against my ethical and religious views. Being that I was raised in a conservative Southern Baptist home and attend a Southern Baptist church still to this day, I feel strongly against aborting a pregnancy. I was taught that all human life was created in God’s image from the moment of contraception. I was always raised to stand up for what I believe in and speak my beliefs. As a Christian, supporting the act of abortion just is not something I stand for nor feel comfortable doing. I understand that some pregnancies involve health issues where the death of the unborn fetus is inevitable, however, killing the baby before giving it a chance to thrive is completely unnecessary/unfathomable.

To begin for this paper, I will start out with the history of abortion laws in Florida leading up to the present. The topic of abortion has been a controversial issue around the world even before the matter of Roe v. Wade came about in 1973. Roe v. Wade was a bill ruled by the Supreme Court in 1973, stated that a woman’s right to choose to terminate their pregnancy is protected under the Fourteenth Amendment. Women were so desperate to terminate their pregnancies years ago, they not only ended the life of their unborn child, but it was not uncommon for the woman to die during the process due to the dangers and unsterile procedures of the times. After the turmoil of Roe v. Wade, another bill was later passed in 1976, according to which parents did not have the right to veto a decision made by their minor child to abort the pregnancy, nor is the husband allowed to prevent his wife from aborting a pregnancy. Both of the house bills mentioned above caused major turmoil throughout the United States, even leading to the creation of many pro-life groups. “In the spring of 1976, directly due to intense lobbying efforts by Florida Right to Life Inc., the Florida legislature passed two such laws – H.B. 1218, requiring abortion on referral agencies, clinics included, to furnish a full and detailed explanation of abortion, including the effects of the alternatives to abortion’ to each applicant, and prohibiting kickbacks for referrals; and S.B. 60, prohibiting abortion in the third trimester unless two doctors certify that it is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother” (‘History of the Pro-Life Movement in Florida’, 2020, par.10). Most recently, Florida passed a bill in July 2020 requiring a parent or legal guardian’s consent of the minor in order to allow the termination of a pregnancy, with the exception of an emergency. I agree with this bill being that if a minor cannot be seen by a doctor for anything as simple as a sinus infection without a parent or guardian’s permission, they certainly should not be able to terminate their pregnancy alone.

Abortion in Florida has been a controversial topic for nearly half a century, not only due to the morals, but the risks it places the mother at during the procedure. Abortion can be classified into two categories: induced or unsafe. Induced abortion can be described as the woman intentionally terminating a pregnancy through medical or surgical, means before the fetus is viable. Unsafe abortion is the ending of a pregnancy without the guidance or knowledge of advanced medical personnel. For example, in other countries where the termination of a pregnancy is illegal, it is literally referred to as a ‘backyard abortion’ due to the risk of unsafe environment and danger the mother and fetus are placed in. “Induced abortion accounts for 1 in 8 of approximately 600,000 maternal deaths that occur annually worldwide” (Dastgiri, Yoosefian, Garjani, & Kalankesh, 2017, par.1). An induced abortion now requires extensive consent forms signed by the women who must agree to the fact they are aware of what they are doing, as well as to being cleared by a physician. Minors are no longer allowed to go to a clinic and receive an abortion without a parent’s consent in Florida. This bill was passed in July of 2020, and Florida joins over two dozen other states requiring written parental consent before an abortion will be performed on a minor, except in the case of an emergency. “Florida now joins Utah, Wyoming, Virginia, Oklahoma and Texas as the only states to require both consent from a parent or legal guardian and notice 48 hours ahead of the procedure” (Walker, 2020, par.6). Now that Florida’s governor, DeSantis has passed this bill the requirements to waive the parents’ consent remain the same as before, which it must be deemed medically necessary or appealed to the circuit court.

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Abortion in Florida has strict guidelines that must be maintained through the most current Florida statutes. Guidelines and criteria must be followed before termination of any pregnancy will occur. Examples of statutes in Florida are as follows. No pregnancy will be allowed to be aborted during any woman’s third trimester unless one of the subsequent circumstances arises: two board certified physicians, in their right mind, verify in writing it is medically necessary to end the pregnancy in order to save the woman’s life; or one physician certifies in writing it is deemed medically necessary because a second physician is unavailable for consultation during the medical emergency. No abortion/termination of pregnancy will be performed unless by a physician. Pregnancy may not be terminated or induced without the voluntary written/informed consent of the woman, minor’s guardian, or in special cases the court appointed guardian. These statutes are in place to ensure that when women do undergo the procedure of abortion, the safest procedures are being followed and enforced. “Abortion is one of the safest medical procedures if done following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidance. But it is also the cause of at least one in six maternal deaths from complications when it is unsafe” (Berer, 2017, par.10).

In today’s society, unintended pregnancy is at an all-time high. Although most women report using some form of consistent birth control, this will never be 100% effective at preventing pregnancy. Abstinence is the only one hundred percent effective method. Due to the unreliable nature of birth control or even women simply being unable to afford a consistent method of birth control, some individuals turn to the convenience of abortion. What I do not agree on is abortion being used to terminate a pregnancy that was felt as ‘bad timing’. Studies have shown certain cultures are more likely to abort a pregnancy and even have repeat abortions in later pregnancies. Sixty percent of the women who choose to have an abortion are already mothers. “According to the 2006 Guttmacher Institute report ‘Repeat Abortion in the United States’, women having a second or higher-order abortion are substantially different from women having a first abortion in only two important ways: they are more than twice as likely to be age 30 or older and, even after controlling for age, almost twice as likely to already have had a child” (Cohen, 2017, par.5). In my opinion, any baby is a planned gift from God. For women to abort that child because it does not fit into their life plans is something I cannot agree with.

Although in this paper I am focusing on the topic of women voluntarily terminating a pregnancy, abortion also refers to a woman who is going through a miscarriage. These are referred to as threatened abortion, inevitable abortion, complete or incomplete abortion and missed abortion. Another reason I feel so strongly against the topic of abortion is due to the women who are unable to carry a pregnancy to term or even conceive a child. Women around the world are struggling with fertility issues, while others are terminating their pregnancy due to the inconvenience of timing. I feel that if these women do not have a medical reason to be aborting the pregnancy, but do not wish to keep the baby, another option is to place the infant up for adoption. In general, this scenario will be a benefit for both the woman, who feels she is unable to keep the infant, as well as any family who interested in adoption. “Nevertheless, there are a number of cases in which abortion is sought on other grounds other than health, such as the individual choice to do so” (Ismail, Hashi, Nurumal, & Isa, 2018, par.1). There have been a number of scenarios where women attempt to abort their pregnancies during the first trimester using the abortion pill, misoprostol, yet ending up carrying the pregnancy to term and delivering healthy babies. In my personal opinion, this is just another example of how each child is a gift from the Lord.

Overall, my views on abortion have and will not change. Although my opinions and views may be different from others, this will not stop me from standing up for what I believe in. I feel the act is terribly unnecessary and view it as the killing of an unborn child. I also understand that in certain cases both the mother and fetus are being placed at risk during the pregnancy and it is best to terminate the pregnancy in order to save the mother’s life. If and when I ever happen to come across a patient in my nursing career with opposing views or the need to terminate her pregnancy, I will continue to treat my patients equally and with respect/empathy no matter how I view the subject. All patients have their own right to choose how they handle their medical treatment and body; nevertheless, in the end the subject of abortion is something I feel strongly over and I will always stand up for my beliefs.

References

1. Berer, M. (2017, June). Abortion Law and Policy Around the World: In Search of Decriminalization. Health and Human Rights. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5473035/
2. Cohen, S. A. (2017, October 2). Repeat Abortion, Repeat Unintended Pregnancy, Repeated and Misguided Government Policies. Guttmacher Institute. https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2007/05/repeat-abortion-repeat-unintended-pregnancy-repeated-and-misguided-government-policies
3. Dastgiri, S., Yoosefian, M., Garjani, M., & Kalankesh, L. R. (2017, March). Induced Abortion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Materia Socio-Medica. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5402385/
4. History of the Pro-Life Movement In Florida. Florida Right To Life. (2020). https://frtl.org/about/history/
5. Ismail, M., Hashi, A., Nurumal, M., & Isa, M. (2018, February 28). Islamic Moral Judgement on Abortion and Its Nursing Applications: Expository Analysis. Enfermeria Clinica. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29650189/
6. The Florida Legislature (Ed.). (2020, September 16). The 2019 Florida Statutes. http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute
7. Walker, S. (2020, June 30). Florida Governor Signs Controversial Abortion Law. WUFT News. https://www.wuft.org/news/2020/06/30/florida-governor-signs-controversial-abortion-law/