Society Weighs in on Abortion

Although there are numerous social problems in society today, one problem that continues to be the focus of attention in the media is abortion. Lately, abortion activists have been campaigning to ban late-term abortions throughout the United States. However, those in favor of abortion have been urging women to vote against the ban since the government should not be allowed to tell women what to do with their bodies. Nevertheless, abortion is a social problem that involves activists pushing for support of their claims in order to uphold or reject the proposed abortion regulating legislature.

For this assignment, an article on abortion entitled “Albuquerque Voters Reject Late-Term Abortion Ban” was selected. The article involves voters and abortion activists in New Mexico. Despite the extensive campaigning from those against abortion, voters “defeated a ban on late-term abortions, as 55% of voters rejected the measure” (USA Today). Voters rejected the proposal since it would have banned abortions after twenty weeks at a clinic that provides late-term abortions to a large population of women in the Southwest. The voting occurred in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 19, 2013. In all, this article addresses the social problem, abortion, since those against abortion argue that abortion has negative consequences for people and society.

The social problem in question in the selected article can be explained using several major concepts from the textbook. First, the article is about late-term abortion, which is a social problem in our society. According to Joel Best, a social problem has the “characteristics of causing negative consequences” (4). Those against abortion argue that the negative consequences of abortion include the killing of an innocent child, while those for abortion argue that a fetus is not a baby until it is born. These people are called activists since they are members of a “social movement organization who make claims about social problems” (Best 331). When the activists who are urging voters to support a ban for late-term abortions in Albuquerque state the reasons why late-term abortions should be banned, they are making a claim. According to Best, a claim is “an argument that a particular troubling condition needs to be addressed” (331). Those against abortion argue that fetuses can feel pain, so voters must take action and vote to ban abortion.

In contrast, those activists who support abortion dispute the claims made by claims makers who encourage citizens to vote in favor of banning abortions. Pro-choice activists and Planned Parenthood argue that these claims are based on cultural resources, which are the “fund of words, ideas, images, and emotional reactions that most people understand to be reasonable” (Best 55). The activists argue that abortion does not harm innocent children, so voting should not be based on emotions. Instead, counter-movements should focus on preserving a women’s existing right to defend her body and to have an abortion (Best 67). As a result, counter-movements are happening across the United States to stop people from joining social movement organizations that seek to make late-term abortions illegal in New Mexico and states throughout our country.

The social problem, abortion, weighs heavily on policymaking. According to Best, “policymaking is the process of devising policy to address a particular troubling condition” (335). Those activists against abortion feel that passing legislation to ban late-term abortions will resolve this social problem. For example, if late-term abortions become illegal in New Mexico, then laws can be passed in every state throughout the country to ban late-term abortions. However, those in favor of abortions do not feel that passing legislation to ban late-term abortions will completely resolve the problem. This is because Pro-Life activists will continue to lobby to make all phases of abortion illegal in our country until Roe v. Wade is overturned. As a result, the only resolution to this social problem is to let voters decide if they want abortion to be legal in their states and for policymakers to decide whether to place restrictions on the time frame in which a woman can legally get an abortion.

When social movement organizations seek to get people to support their claim about a social problem, they usually target those people affected by a social policy. When it comes to late-term abortion, those people and Pro-Choice organizations who are invested in the problem seek to defend the rights of women. USA Today explained that Pro-Choice coalitions stated that the Albuquerque voters showed that they “do not want the government interfering in their medical decisions.” Therefore, Pro-Choice organizations will remain invested in this problem until voters defeat abortion bans and the rights of women continue to be protected.

However, Pro-Life organizations continue to perpetuate the problem by appealing to the emotions of women. This is because the target populations of this social policy are usually emotionally invested in the problem. For example, USA Today explained that Pro-Life organizations “compare abortion to the Holocaust, as they show pictures of aborted fetuses and use women who have had abortions and regret having the procedure as their main speakers.” As a result, these groups will continue to push for legislation to ban abortion in order to protect innocent children from being killed and women from making a decision that they will regret for the rest of their life.

To conclude, abortion is a social problem that involves activists pushing for support of their claims in order to uphold or reject proposed abortion regulating legislature. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Pro-Choice organizations celebrated as voters defeated a policy that would make late-term abortions illegal. However, since Pro-Life organizations are emotionally invested in this social problem given that they want to halt the killing of innocent children, social movement organizations will perpetuate the problem until Roe v. Wade is overturned for good.

Works Cited

Best, Joel. Social Problems. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2013. Print.

USA Today. “Albuquerque Voters Reject Late-Term Abortion Ban.” 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.