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Sarah Silverman once stated, “I’ve never had an abortion. And I don’t know if I ever would. But it doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t fight to the death for women to make their own choices for their human bodies”. So, what is abortion, exactly? Abortion is defined as the removal of a fetus while it is still in the womb. While many claim the unethical characteristics of abortion, there are more positive outcomes than negative ones, which is something that most try to avoid. In New York, the Reproductive Health Act, which makes full-term abortions legal if it is deemed medically necessary, was passed and has caused much uproar in the last couple of months since its passing.
Abortions have been in practice since the 1820s. In 1821, Connecticut passed the first law in the United States stating that abortions were not allowed. The Roe vs. Wade case in 1973 caused the Constitution to state that a woman is legally allowed to have an abortion. That her body is her own and no one can take that fundamental right away from her. Before this case, it was criminalized for women to have abortions. After this landmark case, however, it extended the Fourteenth Amendment to legalize abortions, allowing them to be regulated by the state. It is completely up to the woman whether she wishes to carry through with a pregnancy or to abort (Bodde). Most people would then say, what about the male? The male in the pair is neither carrying the fetus for nine months nor are they giving birth, therefore they have no say in what happens to the unborn child. The whole procedure itself is painless and quick, so there is no harm to the mother. Most people would then ask about the after-effects of an abortion. Some say that the mother would experience depression and guilt after the procedure, but others say that the mother will not experience any form of depression afterward. There is no scientific connection between abortion and depression. In New York, though, the Reproductive Health Act states that a woman can receive an abortion if her health is at risk, not just her life. But what is health? Health can mean a variety of things, including mental stability as well as bodily health.
Abortions are perfectly safe and legal up to a certain age in most states. Fetuses are unable to sustain life on their own, therefore they are not living beings, unlike what most pro-life people like to say. Most of the time, women will choose to abort if there is something wrong with the fetus or if the mother’s life is in danger (Bodde). There is a major question asked when women receive abortions, and that question is why. Why go through all the troubles of getting pregnant if you’d just abort it anyway? Well, the answer is really simple, the choice is not always theirs to make. There are many scenarios where this is true, one of which is in the case of rape. Most women do not want to be reminded of their rapist, so they will receive an abortion, and then they will not have to deal with it. Another case scenario is in the case of teenage pregnancy. Say if a teen gets pregnant, then the parents of that teen can decide for them to have an abortion, it no longer becomes their choice in the matter of whether or not they receive an abortion.
On the other hand, pro-life activists say that abortions are unjust and should be illegal. A great majority of pro-life activists use religion as an excuse to take away a woman’s rights to her body. Pro-life activists say that the Bible says abortion is murder but then add that those who commit the act should be put in jail. However, if Christians lived exactly by the Bible like they say everyone else should do, then they wouldn’t be threatening women who receive an abortion. Late-term abortions have been legalized in New York based on the mother’s health, but some question what is the definition of health. As mentioned earlier, health can be defined as many things, whether it be mental health or physical health. This, however, is criticized by pro-life activists as they say that the definition of health is too broad and people can choose to abort for basically any reason (Bilger).
Abortion is a painless procedure for all those involved. Although some like to mention the fact that women may experience post-abortion depression, this has not been proven that termination of pregnancy can cause depression within a family. Abortion should be the woman’s choice and it should remain that way because no one should be allowed to take away a woman’s rights to her body. However, this is not always the case. Since the beginning of modern medicine, abortions have been looked down upon. People are refusing to listen to the woman’s side of the situation, and that needs to stop.
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