ABORTION:A WOMANS FUNDAMENTAL

Abortion: A Woman's Fundamental Right

Cameron S. Tyus
El Paso Community College

ABORTION:A WOMANS FUNDAMENTAL

Abstract
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy. In recent years this topic has been disputed as
inhumane or cruel because it is seen as taking the life of a baby. On January 22, 1973, The
Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade 7-2 decision ruled abortion as a fundamental right on account
of the Due Process Clause included in the 14th Amendment, which applies to a woman's choice
to have an abortion or not. Before Roe v. Wade about 5,000 women died yearly because of
unreliable and risky abortions. In spite of the Roe v. Wade ruling, today there is nation wide
disputation over whether or not abortion should be legal, this resulted in the formation of two
factions in the United States known as pro-choice (for abortion) and pro-life (against abortion).
Results show that there is an average 1.4 million abortions that take place per year and 1/5 of
pregnancies are ended by abortion. Abortions are currently prevalent, 3/10 women in the United
States have an abortion by age 45 . There is over 2,00 abortion providers and clinics in the
United States where 50% or more visits are for abortion services.The majority of abortions
(about 91.4%) happen before 13 weeks.
This analysis, backed by statistics shows abortions are common among woman and clinics are
safe and legal places that can be trusted with the procedure. Without this being legal woman
could resort to illegal, hazardous procedures.
Key words: Roe v. Wade, fundamental, Planned Parenthood

Abortion: A Womans Fundamental Right

ABORTION:A WOMANS FUNDAMENTAL

Today abortion is one of the most controversial subjects, many are for and against
abortion. Roe v. Wade is one of the most memorable Supreme Court cases, it was a landmark
decision on abortion. The Court ruled 7-2 that woman have the right to decided to have an
abortion. The Court recognized the right to an abortion as a fundamental right included within
the guarantee of personal privacy under the 14th amendment. If this was not legal many woman
would resort to illegal abortions which most of the time are dangerous and harmful. The
government should not have control of a womans body, they should have the right to make their
own decisions with their bodies. Woman should be entitled to do what they please with their
bodies, abortion should be legal and there is pros to abortion. If it wasnt legal the government
would be telling you what to do with your body and many would take part in illegal abortions.
One pro of abortion being legal is professionally performed abortions, which reduces
maternal injuries and deaths caused by unsafe illegal abortions.As stated by Daniel R. Mishell,
Jr,, MD prior to abortion being legalized, woman consistently used coat hangers, needles for
knitting and would go to hazardous abortionists. During the year 1972, 39 woman died from
illegal abortion, after Roe v. Wade, in 1976 the death toll went down to two. In 2004, The World
Health Organization approximated that 68,000 deaths are caused by unsafe abortions worldwide
yearly. Having abortion legal lowers the death rate from unsafe abortions and gives women a
place where the can be provided a safe procedure.
Secondly, abortion assures women from financial instability; many women that choose to
have an abortion do not have the money to support a baby. Research at The Guttmacher Institute
shows that 42% of women getting abortions are under the federal poverty level (Induced
Abortion in the United States 2014, July). A survey in September 2005 (Finer, L. B., Frohwirth,
L. F., Dauphinee, L. A., Singh, S., & Moore, A. M. (2016). Reasons U.S. Women Have

ABORTION:A WOMANS FUNDAMENTAL

Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives) asked women why they had an abortion
discovered 73% of responders claimed they werent able to sustain a baby, 38% claimed birth
would hinder their future goals. This is a justification of why women get abortions, many cannot
afford a baby and an abortion can prevent women from going furthermore into poverty.
Additionally another pro is that with abortion many kids that are unwanted dont have to
come in the world unwanted. Having a baby is a crucial choice that obligates deliberation,
readiness and preparation. Stated by The Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment unintended pregnancies are correlated with reduced rates of breastfeeding, lower
educational attainment, birth defects, maternal depression, delayed entry into prenatal care, high
risk of violence during pregnancy, low birth weight, and increased risk of child abuse. About
49% of women get unintentionally pregnant ,with abortion all of these harmful affects can be
prevented. It is better a choice to have an abortion than to bring a child into the world unwanted
by their family members and parents.
A fourth pro is present-day abortion methods are secure and dont induce issues with
health for instance infertility. A 2012 study in Obstetrics and Gynecology established a womans
possibility of dying from an abortion is .6/100,00, whereas the possibility of dying from
childbearing is about 14 times greater. The study also accounts that complications arent more
common in abortion but mainly in childbirth. Legal induced abortion is technically safer than
childbirth. The possibility of death correlating with childbirth is roughly 14 times greater than
abortion. Correspondingly, generally speaking the death toll related with childbirth surpasses that
of abortion.
Lastly, another beneficial reason for abortions is having the choice to have or not have an
abortion gives women control of their bodies and essentially empowers women. The choice of

ABORTION:A WOMANS FUNDAMENTAL

whether to have or not have children is pivotal in a womans life because it is life changing and
determines the womans future. The first woman appointed to The Supreme Court Justice Sandra
Day OConner noted in the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision in 1992 that The ability of
women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation has been facilitated by
their ability to control their reproductive lives. This means that a woman basically knows what
is best for her and her future. A woman will know if she is not ready to be a parent and if that is
the case abortion is the leading choice. You cannot tell someone to have a child when they are
not even certain if they want it.
Abortion is very helpful to woman and without it many lives would be different and
possibly more complicated today. Due to this subject matter being very controversial there is two
sides. Pro-life supporters are those that believe abortion should be illegal and pro-choice supports
are those that support abortion being legal. The main beliefs of Pro-life supporters are that
abortion is murder, it is an act against God, and women can give the child up for adoption. I
disagree with these points because a person, female or male, should be entitled to the decisions
they make with their bodies because it is theirs and no one else's. Abortion is not murder, the
child can be at a stage where it is still just a fertilized egg with no nervous system to feel any
form of pain. For religious purposes I understand why people dont agree with the subject but
your religion should not decide your life changing decisions. Giving up your child for adoption is
an alternative to abortion but it isnt very effective. Not many children are adopted into good
families, they could have traumatic experiences. If the family no longer wants the child they go
back into foster care where they might not ever be adopted again. As children age it becomes
apparent that people looking to adopt now want babies. I have experience with children in foster
care, my mother was foster parent for some years and some of the children that lived with us at

ABORTION:A WOMANS FUNDAMENTAL

times had many issues, for example one child that lived with us ran away constantly because he
didnt want to be with people that werent his family. The adoption system isnt safe, you never
know what could happen to your child if you were to give it up. This is why I believe abortion to
the best method; so many things could happen if you have a child youre not prepared for, in the
end it is better to be safe than sorry.
Overall, with abortions being legal woman are entitled to a decision that is very important
and they can go to a place where they can have a procedure performed safely. It is important that
abortion is legal because it keeps women safe, without it there could be many illegal unsafe
abortions taking place that could harm those receiving them. The pro-life supporters have their
right to be against abortion but they dont see how detrimental abortion being illegal can be.
There is higher chance of death with illegal abortions, unwanted children are born and more. In
the future I want there to be a larger percentage of are pro-choice supporters, this is a
fundamental right for women, women have had to fight for everything and now they have to
fight for control of their own bodies. I want more people to be accepting of abortion and the
future so they understand why women do it.

References
Morrison, P. (2014, March 25). The coat hanger, symbol of dangerous, pre-Roe abortions,
is back. Retrieved October 25, 2016, from http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/25/news/la-olthe-coat-hanger-symbol-of-dangerous-preroe-abortions-is-back-20140324
Cates, W., Jr., Grimes, D. A., & Schulz, K. F. (2004, January 01). The Public Health
Impact of Legal Abortion: 30 Years Later. Retrieved October 26, 2016, from

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https://www.guttmacher.org/about/journals/psrh/2004/01/public-health-impact-legal-abortion-30years-later
Induced Abortion in the United States. (2014, July). Retrieved October 26, 2016, from
https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/induced-abortion-united-states
Finer, L. B., Frohwirth, L. F., Dauphinee, L. A., Singh, S., & Moore, A. M. (2016).
Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and ... Retrieved October 26, 2016, from
https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/journals/3711005.pdf
Scherker, A. (2015, January 22). 10 Abortion Myths That Need To Be Busted. Retrieved
October 25, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/13/abortionmyths_n_6465904.html
Unintended pregnancy. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2016, from
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/unintended-pregnancy