Mattal 1

Makenna Mattal

Gina Perkins

ENGL-1302.911

August 4, 2022

Persuasive research essay: The Necessity of Abortion

The recent overturning of Roe v. Wade has left half of the US in a state of shock and

panic. One’s stance on the topic could derive from religious views or personal morals but they

can also change situationally. Although abortion is a touchy subject for some, they are a crucial

part of maintaining women’s rights, safe healthcare for women, and sustaining financial stability.

When abortion was legalized in 1973, it was a big win for women’s rights.

Life pre-Roe v. Wade did not involve the ability of women to make a lot of decisions for

themselves when it came to the subject of abortion in the eyes of the law. This decision was

more often the husband’s decision. Under coverture laws, women essentially handed over their

legal and civic rights and identities to their husbands as soon as they were married (Haugenberg).

This means that women needed their husband’s permission to do almost anything. Under

coverture, it was also believed that upon marriage the husband was legally entitled to his wife’s

body (Haugenberg). This means that once a woman was married, she was considered property in

the eyes of the law and could no longer choose what to do with her body without her husband’s

permission. Once Roe was passed, although it did not intend to directly affect coverture, women

gained control over their bodily autonomy. Before 1973, if women did not want to follow

through with their pregnancy, they either had no choice and were forced into birth or they

terminated their pregnancy unsafely, at home. These unsafe abortions could have resulted in

hemorrhaging, sever infection, unintentionally harming other organs, or even death.

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A 1976 article shows the statistics of abortion-related mortality rates pre- and post-Roe.

In 1972, there were 39 illegal abortion-related deaths in comparison to only three in 1975 (Cates,

Rochat). This statistic shows that with the new accessibility to safe, legal abortions, the death toll

from unsafe abortions went down drastically. A Guttmacher article states that between 1970 and

1975, before and after Roe v. Wade was ruled, adoptions fell 34-37% in states where abortion

laws were annulled (Bitler, Zavodny). This drop is due to the new rise in safe, legal abortions.

These comparisons of life in the 70s pre- and post-Roe give us an insight as to what life will once

again be like now that Roe has been overturned.

The choice to receive an abortion falls under the right to privacy. The Universal

Declaration of Human Rights states, “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his

privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation.

Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.” (United

Nations). Abortion falls under this right because it is only that individual’s business as to what

they do or do not do with their body. The recent events with Roe are a direct violation of that due

to the laws directly deciding against a women’s autonomy rights. Overturning Roe v. Wade does

not only affect women or people with reproductive organs. This paramount decision has opened

the floodgates for the supreme court to overturn other laws that are not codified that go against

the religious and conservative agenda. According to Julie Moreau of NBC News, “Justice

Clarence Thomas, in a concurring opinion, wrote the court should reconsider all of its

“substantive due process precedents,” including Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 decision that

established the right to same-sex intimacy, and Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex

marriage in 2015.” (Moreau). This shows that the rights of the LGBTQ+ community are at

serious risk because of the supreme court’s success in overturning Roe. With most of the
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supreme court leaning far right, there is a very real possibility of the reversal to same sex

marriage. If that is the case, other staple laws, such as interracial marriage, could also be looked

at for reversal.

Denying someone the ability to access safe abortions and forcing them to carry an

unwanted pregnancy to term is a form of inhumane treatment. On June 24, 2022, The United

Nations made a statement regarding the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

They state, “The Court has completely disregarded the United States’ binding legal obligations

under international law, including those stemming from its ratification of the International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ever more regrettably at a time when many countries

have, in what is a positive trend, liberalized their abortion laws to respect and uphold women’s

human rights to life, health, equality and non-discrimination, privacy and freedom from violence

and torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.” (United Nations). This quote from the

United Nations shows that retracting this healthcare is another action that defies fundamental

human rights. This is a very big deal because even though the UN publicly disagrees and detests

this decision, the US is still getting away with it. The US supreme court has successfully taken

away one human right from women and indirectly tampered with another.

Pregnancy from rape or incest is also a disturbing issue that often requires abortion.

Acquiring accurate data as to how many pregnancies are a result of such is tricky due to the vast

number of rapes that are not reported every year. However, according to the National Library of

Medicine, “The national rape-related pregnancy rate is 5.0% per rape among victims of

reproductive age (aged 12 to 45); among adult women an estimated 32,101 pregnancies result

from rape each year.” (NLM). Pregnancies from such a horrific event are something no one

should ever have to live with. Without adequate healthcare to terminate these unwanted
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pregnancies, Equality Now states, “...young girls’ lives are at risk through clandestine abortions

or having to give birth. Being so young, most are neither physically nor emotionally mature

enough to carry a pregnancy to full term, give birth, or become mothers. And yet, without access

to safe and legal abortion, they are forced to do so, compounding the harm from the sexual

violence they’ve already suffered.” (Equality Now). This signifies how harmful the mental health

impact would be on someone forced to give birth after such a traumatic event, especially on a

child. We can also assume that the child would be greatly affected in a negative way upon

learning they were a product of rape or incest.

Safe Healthcare for Women is a fundamental human right and inaccessibility to safe

abortions can potentially be violating that right (WHO). At-home abortions were consistently

performed pre-Roe v. Wade and are also done today. However, when they are done today, they

are mostly done with a medical professional prescribing medicine to do so. Because of recent

bans put in place in certain states, medical professionals that provide abortions have been forced

to stop. Winter reflects that “Since Texas’s six-week ban has forced people to travel out of state,

requests for help have skyrocketed.” (Winter). This shows that state-specific bans have already

begun to affect abortion seekers due to restrictions. The “Findings from seven studies [15, 16,

18,19,20,21,22] suggest that provider restrictions increase opportunity costs including increased

financial cost, travel time and associated costs, waiting times, additional clinic contacts,

emotional distress for abortion seekers, and undesired surgical interventions.” (Reproductive

Health). This shows that in addition to the stress of unwanted pregnancy, all these additional

factors play a role in whether someone will be able to safely have their pregnancy terminated.

Without the help of medical professionals, women will once again have to perform their own

abortions in secret and without the assistance of medicine. According to the World Health
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Organization, “Each year, 4.7–13.2% of maternal deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortion (3).

In developed regions, it is estimated that 30 women die for every 100 000 unsafe abortions.”

(WHO). These statistics were published in 2021 before the overturning of Roe v. Wade so with

the regained inability to acquire safe abortions, these numbers will likely increase.

The potential death rate vastly increases when it comes to untreated ectopic pregnancies.

Ectopic pregnancies are relatively common and occur in 1 out of 50 pregnancies. (American

Pregnancy Association). They occur when a fertilized egg grows anywhere outside of the womb,

and they are non-viable pregnancies that cannot be salvaged. These types of pregnancies are

urgent, life-or-death situations for the mother as the longer the fertilized egg grows and the

bigger it gets, it can “... cause the structure where it is implanted to burst, or rupture. A rupture

can cause major internal bleeding and is a life-threatening emergency that requires urgent

surgery.” (ACOG). The only treatment options for ectopic pregnancies are medication to keep

the fertilized egg from growing any further or surgical removal- abortion. When it comes to

state-specific abortion bans, healthcare access for life-threatening pregnancies is becoming

limited. These restrictions are causing the potential for unnecessary and preventable deaths to

women. In addition, medically necessary late-term abortions are being demonized and have been

even harder to access.

Late-term abortions are necessary when the child will not live after birth. In an article in

The Nation magazine, Kristyn Smith tells Garnet Henderson about her personal experience with

late-term abortion. Henderson wrote that due to the complications of Smith’s pregnancy, and

being 23 weeks along, “They counseled her on her options, including terminating the pregnancy

or allowing “nature [to] take its course,” meaning that she could go home and wait to have a

stillbirth.” (The Nation). Later in the article, Smith also tells Henderson that before she was able
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to get the abortion, she began hemorrhaging. She explained that after she was brought to the

hospital, the doctor was notoriously anti-abortion and would not intervene until she was

“bleeding at a rate of a fountain of blood” (The Nation). This woman’s story proves that

adequate healthcare for women in these situations is no longer being provided based on the

health of the mother. The article shows that we are currently living in a world where an unborn

child has more rights than a fully grown adult. It also reveals that medical professionals are

acting off their own personal morals and beliefs even in the face of life-or-death situations for

their patients. This is extraordinarily concerning because it shows that if someone is in a life-

threatening situation, they may or may not get the necessary healthcare they need to survive

depending on the morals of the doctor. This ideology has also shifted to other forms of necessary

healthcare being affected by abortion bans.

Methotrexate is a drug prescribed to treat ectopic pregnancies and it is also used when

treating the inflammatory disease Rheumatoid Arthritis. Because of the recent abortion laws

passed in conservative states, this critical drug is being denied to women of reproductive age

who suffer from RA. Everyday Health mentions that, “Because the drug can cause a pregnancy

to terminate, some pharmacists in states that have added further restrictions that limit or ban

abortions may hesitate to fill methotrexate prescriptions for women of childbearing age because

of legal concerns.” (Everyday Health). This shows that healthcare decisions are being made for

women without their consent only because this drug has the potential to terminate a pregnancy.

Specifically in Texas, pharmacies and doctors fear they will be held legally liable for abortions

by prescribing this drug because of the “trigger ban” in that state. This ban allows any civilian or

medical professional that has assisted someone in getting an abortion to be sued for up to

$100,000 and charged with a felony (ACLU). This shows just how much bans on women’s
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specific healthcare are affecting women that need healthcare as well as the professionals that

provide it.

Financial stability also plays a big part in why women may or may not choose to get an

abortion. Children cost a tremendous amount of money so when it comes to the wage someone

makes, it may be hard to justify planning for children or following through with an unplanned

pregnancy. Some may choose abortion because they are already living at or under the poverty

line, however, those that are denied an abortion from unwanted pregnancy may end up in

poverty. According to Mariana Lenharo of Nature News, “…the study showed [2], for example,

that women denied an abortion were more likely to live in poverty afterwards than those who

received one.” (Lenharo). The information from this study shows that women end up being

worse off financially when denied the choice to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.

The act of having a child in a hospital alone can put someone into major debt. The

average cost of a natural birth in a hospital is roughly $13,000 and cesarean sections cost around

$22,500 without insurance (Guinan). With this information alone, it proves that abortions are far

cheaper than giving birth. These numbers may not break someone initially but the cost of

childcare in the future might. In 2021, the average childcare costs for one child were around

$12,000 a year and depending on the type of childcare, these costs have the potential to double

(Care.com). This number reflects the cost for a singular child, not two or more children. If a

mother of two was already struggling to make ends meet, a third unexpected child would surely

put them under the poverty line.

Women could potentially choose to have an abortion due to a lack of government support

programs needed to help when raising a child. Lower-income households often struggle to afford

groceries, especially with the recent price increases for food. Because of this, food banks and
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pantries are a viable option to feed a family. However, there is a severe lack in the number of

food banks across the US. There are only about 200 food banks in the country with some states

only having as few as one and around 60,000 food pantries (Feeding America). Although the

number of food pantries seems like a lot, much of the food they receive comes from the sparse

number of food banks. Since these resources are often first-come-first-served, we can assume

that reasonable accessibility is lacking. Without the consistent ability to feed your children,

someone may decide against bringing a child into the world until their situation becomes more

stable and effectively have an abortion.

Wait-lists for low-income housing could also affect the choice to have an abortion or not.

Without a stable, affordable living environment, it can be nearly impossible to raise a child. The

average waiting list length for low-income housing across the US is 1.5 years, however, this

timeframe can range anywhere from 3-5 months up to 7+ years depending on the state

(Affordable Housing). Because of this, the uncertainty of where one would be raising a child is

high. Another reason that insufficient financial stability could be a deciding factor in getting an

abortion is the quality of life the child will have. Some households are only able to get by

because of budgeting for necessities for the family. If something unexpected were to arise, such

as a pregnancy, it could cause high stress to finances. According to Guttmacher Institute, 59% of

women that get an abortion already have at least one child (Guttmacher). We can assume this

could be because of finances, emergency situations, or just the simple reason of not wanting to

have more kids. Either way, if these women did not have the ability to choose this for

themselves, the financial stress would be a lot to confront.

Another reason abortion could be pursued due to finances is the quality of education the

child would eventually get. Depending on where you live, the education the child will receive
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will potentially be affected. Unfortunately, environmental factors play a big role in an

adolescent’s opportunity to succeed. Quillian states, “Using observational data from the Panel

Study of Income Dynamics, they find that living in a disadvantaged neighborhood, particularly

during adolescence, has a strong negative effect on the likelihood of high school graduation, and

that this effect is larger for black children and for those from poor families.” (Quillian). Lower-

income areas statistically have worse schools than those of higher income areas. These

circumstances also contribute to the likelihood of success the child will gain in their school

career.

If a parent is constantly having to work, possibly multiple jobs, to make ends meets, that

could result in a lack of emotional and physical support for the child. In an article in The Future

of Children, Carolyn Heinrich states, “… researchers have documented that children are more

likely to spend time without parental supervision at younger ages if their parents are working,

which may in turn harm the children’s performance in school and increase their participation in

risky behaviors.” (Heinrich). Although that is no intentional fault of the parents, situations like

these will have lifelong effects on a child and their mental health. Effects like this on a child

have more of a likelihood to be passed down and potentially affect their future children. This can

potentially be a reason someone would terminate a pregnancy as the child would not have an

adequate quality of life.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are the people who are pro-life and believe

abortion is fundamentally wrong in every way. Some of the people that fall under this ideology

are those with unwavering religious beliefs. It is a known fact that most of the Christian

population believe that abortion is murder and is an act against God (Religious Institute). This

thinking is derived from what has been interpreted from the bible. Anyone under the Christian
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religion, or any religion for that matter, has every right to believe this and live their life through

the lens of these beliefs. However, not everyone adheres to this belief system. The US was not

founded on Christian beliefs so not every US citizen believes as such. Laws that stem from this

Christian ideology being forced onto the entire US population is morally and ethically wrong.

As a result of these religious beliefs, conservative states such as Texas, have created laws

targeting abortion. The Texas heartbeat bill bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy-when a

heartbeat is detected (ACLU). According to a Live Science article, a fetus does not have a

heartbeat at 6 weeks. They state, “Rather, at six weeks of pregnancy, an ultrasound can detect "a

little flutter in the area that will become the future heart of the baby," said Dr. Saima Aftab,

medical director of the Fetal Care Center at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami. This flutter

happens because the group of cells that will become the future "pacemaker" of the heart gain the

capacity to fire electrical signals, she said.” (Rettner). This shows that these laws have been put

in place based off religious beliefs rather than science. This is a dangerous road to go down

because it opens the door for other laws to be founded in religion when science clearly proves

the opposite.

Pro-life people also believe that a fetus is a human being and deserve personhood rights

during every stage in utero. This is a hard belief to disprove through science because it is a more

philosophical standpoint. However, this argument could take one down the rabbit hole of when

one is considered ‘human’ or in a state of ‘being’. Is the fetus in a state of ‘being’ once they can

exist outside of the womb? In a Bioethics article Michael S. Gazzaniga reflects, “Clearly, I

believe that a fertilized egg, a clump of cells with no brain, is hardly deserving of the same moral

status we confer on the newborn child or the functioning adult… as a neuroscientist, I know that

that creature cannot survive outside the womb for another 14 weeks.” (Gazzaniga). Clearly, this
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decision is a philosophical issue that has science to back up both sides of the argument. When it

comes down to it, if someone chooses to get an abortion, the morals and beliefs of another

person should not affect the outcome of that decision, especially in the eyes of the law.

Both sides of the abortion debate could be justified depending on one’s beliefs and

circumstances. Everyone’s situation is different, and that choice is no one’s business except for

the individual that is making that choice. Abortions are necessary for medical reasons, in relation

to women’s rights, and when it comes to finances. However, when laws are made to benefit

some and not all, there is no winning for anyone in the end.
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