Abortion: An Argument in Favor of its Legality and a Woman’s Right to Choose

Women should have freedom over their bodies. They should have complete control over the decision of whether they want to give birth to a child. According to an article by Siegal (2007), placing restrictions on a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy also restricts her from experiencing gender equality, which is a right guaranteed by the constitution. Similarly, all citizens of the United States have a clear, constitutionally protected right to their sexual privacy. This means that they are entitled to be free of interferences from the state about any decisions involving relationships and aspects of intimate life. These rights are supposed to be equally guaranteed and protected for both men and women. However, Siegal’s article states that when the State regulates or restricts the right to terminate pregnancies and forces women to continue their pregnancies until they give birth, they are forcing the bodies of women into its service. However, after mandating that women suffer the horrible pain of childbirth and relying on them to provide the necessary years of maternal care, the State does not provide women with any compensation for their services. By failing to do this, the State treats pregnancy as a duty that women owe to society, based simply on the fact that they are women and can give birth to new life (Siegal, 2007). These expectations of gender deprive a woman of her freedom and restrict her abilities to choose her own life.

Despite the suffering of women who are affected by all the current abortion controversy, all the ‘pro-life’ anti-abortionists seem to care about is how abortion is the murder of an unborn baby. They do not consider the woman who is forced to carry the fetus, give birth, and then raise it even though such a long process has an obvious and significant impact on a woman’s life as well. Anti-abortionists tend to believe that life begins at conception instead of beginning at birth. However, the claim of life beginning during conception is very flawed. In an article by Arthur (2001), human beings are defined as beings that can feel emotions such as sadness, hatred, joy, and anger. According to this definition, an unborn fetus cannot be considered a human being until they have started to interact socially with others to facilitate the development of sophisticated emotions. Therefore, because a fetus is unable to have social interactions until it is born, it cannot be considered a true human being (Arthur, 2001). Furthermore, the analysis of the Roe v. Wade case also implies that an embryo/fetus cannot be considered a constitutional human being under the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Similarly, anti-abortionists also make claims that abortion procedures are inhumane because they cause extensive pain that is felt by the fetus. Current debates argue about when the exact moment a fetus can feel pain occurs. Anti-abortions state that a fetus can start experiencing feelings of pain as early as only the 8th week of pregnancy. However, even though research has found that the neuroanatomic structures that are necessary for the ability to feel pain are present by the eighth week, other research found that the fetus is not able to feel pain until it has reached the 26th week of pregnancy. The evidence in an article by Elam-Evans, Strauss, Herndon, Parker, Bowens, and Zane (2000) states that pain cannot be felt until the 26th week is considered to be much more credible than the opposing view, which is why most states in the United States have placed a ban on abortions after reaching the 20th week of pregnancy. Since most abortions in American take place before reaching the 13th week of pregnancy, a point where there is no evidence so far that proves the fetus has developed enough of a neurological structure that would make it possible to feel pain, the argument that abortions are inhumane is invalid. According to research studies, 58% of abortions take place before week 8 and 88% take place before week 13 (Elam-Evans et al., 2000). Therefore, since it has been scientifically and biologically proven that the fetus does not feel pain when most abortions take place, focus instead should be placed on the women who are carrying these fetuses. These women are fully grown, mature adults, who can feel pain and can decide what is best for them.

Anti-abortionists also mistakenly claim that abortions should be made illegal because they are dangerous and have the potential to cause injuries or lethal diseases as a direct consequence of the procedure. The reason for this, according to those against abortion, is that there is a high potential for the various surgical instruments that are used during the procedure to not be properly cleaned and sterilized, which generates a high risk for the transmission of disease. However, this belief is flawed since most cases where women contract a disease as a direct result of an abortion are illegal abortions. According to Henshaw, Singh, and Haas (1999), when communities ban abortions, it forces women to seek out illegal underground abortion institutes. Unfortunately, these institutes tend to lack proper hygienic equipment, facilities, and qualified health professionals, which results in a significantly higher risk of injury and the transmission of deadly diseases in regions where abortion is illegal (Henshaw, Singh, & Haas, 1999). Additionally, historical evidence also shows that when abortion was illegal in 1932, there were approximately 15000 deaths as a result of botched, unsterile procedures. Furthermore, current estimates of the death toll for illegal abortions remains high, falling somewhere between 5000 and 10000 deaths each year (“When abortion was illegal,” 2005). While many anti-abortionists call themselves “pro-life,” they need to consider these high death toll statistics for illegal abortions. Trading one life for another hardly seems to be a solution to this controversial issue. The choice to have an abortion should be protected as a right of equality between genders. Women should not have to rely on the permission of men for them to have children (Siegal 2007). Therefore, abortions should be legal in all regions, to allow women to have the fair opportunity to clean, sterile procedures performed by trained medical physicians.

Similarly, abortions can also have health benefits for some women who experience dangerous complications during their pregnancies. A birth complication is any kind of complexity that occurs anytime throughout pregnancy or during labor. Research data states that about three births out of every hundred births end up having severe complications during pregnancies. These complications can be very serious and may result in the deaths of many women each year. These complications can be both severe and deadly for the expecting mother as indicated by a UNICEF study, which reported the deaths of half a million women each year from birth complications. (Richards, 2009). If all of those who truly consider themselves pro-life do value human life, they would realize the importance of saving the lives of mothers too, rather than only trying to save the lives of embryos, which have not yet even started to live.

The issue of abortion is sensitive and complex and raises difficult moral, ethical, political, and scientific questions. However, all the emphasis on saving the life of an unborn fetus is misguided due to the way the life of the mother has been both overlooked and disrespected. Just because women are biologically able to bear children does not mean that they have any obligation to do so. Additionally, through the power of creating life is derived from both genders, the burden of carrying, delivering, and raising a child is still forced upon women. Women should have the right to make decisions about their own body, as it is their bodies which bears the consequences of childbirth. There is no credible scientific evidence that legal abortions are dangerous or inhumane for both the mother and unborn child, which is why there is no reason to take the decision away from the hands of an expecting mother. It would be inhumane to value an unborn fetus, which cannot technically be a real human being, more than the life of its mother.

References

Elam-Evans, L., Strauss, L., Herndon, J., Parker, W., Bowens, S., Zane, S., et al. (n.d.). CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved April 5, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5212a1.htm

Arthur, J. (n.d.). Personhood: Is a fetus a human being? The Pro-Choice Action Network. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://www.prochoiceactionnetwork-canada.org/articles/fetusperson.shtml

Henshaw, S., Singh, S., & Haas, T. (1999). The incidence of abortion worldwide. Family Planning Perspectives, 25. Retrieved April 5, 2014, from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/25s3099.html

Richards, O. (2009, January 20). UNICEF report: Half a million women die from pregnancy complications each year. Retrieved April 5, 2014, from http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jan2009/chil-j20.shtml

Siegal, R. (2007). Sex equality arguments for reproductive rights: Their critical basis and evolving constitutional expression. Emory Law Journal, 56(4), 815-842.

When abortion was illegal. (2005, October 21). Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://socialistworker.org/2005-2/562/562_06_Abortion.shtml