Abortion:
the whispered topic of conversation people tend to forgo speaking of due to the sensitive
nature. Due to the diversity found throughout the United States of America,
there are pro-life supporters, pro-choice supporters, and certain caveats often
acknowledged. Abortion has been and is continuing to become one of the most
debated topics in government today.
Currently, 43 states prohibit abortions
after a specified point in the pregnancy. As of a 2017 opinion poll, a little
over 75% of Democrats consider abortion to be legal in all or most cases, while
around 65% of Republics, including Donald Trump, tend to support abortion being
illegal in all or most cases. As a country, 57% of the public believe abortion
should be legal in all or most cases. These numbers are as high as they have
been throughout 20 years of polling.
Republicans, pro-life supporters,
believe unborn children have the same right to life as anyone else and oppose
the premature ending of life, and thus oppose the Supreme Court decision in Roe v Wade, legalizing abortion. Democrats, on the other hand, are pro-choice
supporters, and believe it should be up to the woman to make an informed
decision regarding what is happening to her body. That being said, the
extremely opposite views provide a lot of debate and conversation throughout
the nation.
Personally,
I find myself stuck in the middle on a debate affecting the nation. As someone
who loves children, works with them every day, and makes googly eyes at babies
across restaurants, I cannot imagine any of them not having the chance to live
their life. I am constantly amazed at the families I see succeeding and caring
for the children they had young, or potentially hadn’t planned on having right
then. I believe and have seen young people raise children in loving, nurturing,
and fantastic ways. However, I can’t seem to convince myself that abortion should
be 100% illegal no matter the circumstance.
Remember the caveats I mentioned earlier? If a fetus was created through an act of rape, or the fetus is harming the mother, I don’t believe aborting the fetus should be illegal. If a girl is raped by someone, or a group of people and thus winds up pregnant, she shouldn’t have to be expected to raise that child. Imagine if she was incredibly young, or if she was mentally impaired, or if she turned to making bad decisions due to the grief of being reminded about what happened to her whenever she looked at her child. That isn’t fair to her, and someone in that position should be able to decide if they want to continue the pregnancy or not, for the sake of the mother and child. Additionally, if a fetus is harming the mother to the point of severe pain, permanent damage, or death, she should have the option to discontinue the pregnancy.
I believe that the exceptional circumstances in which an abortion should be allowed should be defined by either each states legislature, or the national legislature. I think that allowing women personally to determine if they fall under an "extenuating circumstance" allowing for abortion would do more harm than good as it would continue to allow for excessive abortions, and would not limit the causes for abortion. I think by having clearly defined prerequisites by a legislature for allowing an abortion would limit the number of abortions done in the United States as it would require women to provide proof in order to receive an abortion, and would hopefully aid in encouraging people to be more careful.
Remember the caveats I mentioned earlier? If a fetus was created through an act of rape, or the fetus is harming the mother, I don’t believe aborting the fetus should be illegal. If a girl is raped by someone, or a group of people and thus winds up pregnant, she shouldn’t have to be expected to raise that child. Imagine if she was incredibly young, or if she was mentally impaired, or if she turned to making bad decisions due to the grief of being reminded about what happened to her whenever she looked at her child. That isn’t fair to her, and someone in that position should be able to decide if they want to continue the pregnancy or not, for the sake of the mother and child. Additionally, if a fetus is harming the mother to the point of severe pain, permanent damage, or death, she should have the option to discontinue the pregnancy.
I believe that the exceptional circumstances in which an abortion should be allowed should be defined by either each states legislature, or the national legislature. I think that allowing women personally to determine if they fall under an "extenuating circumstance" allowing for abortion would do more harm than good as it would continue to allow for excessive abortions, and would not limit the causes for abortion. I think by having clearly defined prerequisites by a legislature for allowing an abortion would limit the number of abortions done in the United States as it would require women to provide proof in order to receive an abortion, and would hopefully aid in encouraging people to be more careful.
All in
all, I don’t know what category my opinion fits in, or if it has it’s own
category. I believe there are extenuating circumstances in which a pregnancy
can be terminated, and thus abortion should be legal for those. However, I also
believe that abortion should not be seen as a means of birth control and should be reserved
for situations desperately calling for it.
3 comments:
On July 19, 2017, Caitlin Burnette posted an article on her blog titled 'The "A" Word'. She expresses her opinion on when abortion should be legal and when it should not. She stated that abortion should not be illegal when a woman has been raped or if the fetus is causing some sort of harm to the mother. I could not grasp on to the idea of abortion being legal half of the time or illegal half of the time. If abortion is legal, then women can claim they have been raped even if they may not have been. They could possibly lie so that they could have an abortion of an unwanted child due to unprotected sex. However, I think it should be legal 100% to have an abortion if a fetus is causing the mother harm. The sole purpose of not allowing abortions would be to save someone's life. However, if the fetus could potentially cause the mother to die, then why not let the mother decide who she wants to save. In a situation like this one, one life must be chosen. I believe that someone who has made goals in life and plans for their future should be able to continue living their life. A fetus, on the other hand, has not necessarily made any plans yet because it is not even fully aware of its own presence yet. I believe an issue like abortion can be debated over a long period of time. People have different opinions and should be able to live by their own decisions.
Hi Caitlin! I really enjoyed reading about your opinion on the controversial topic of abortion. I think you made a strong argument for legalizing abortions for exceptional circumstances. I completely agree with you that aborting a fetus should be legal if the fetus was created through an act of rape, or the fetus is harming the mother. However, I feel allowing abortions to be legal if the fetus was conceived through rape comes with some problems. I’m not sure how a woman would be able to prove that she was raped, and that clause might allow other women to lie and say they were raped in order to have an abortion. I’m curious, do you have any solutions/ideas to solve this issue? I feel that abortion is currently one of the most debated topics in government, and will continue to be that way in the future.
Hey Caitlin! I loved that you chose such a controversial topic to write about. I think as women abortion such a huge thing in our lives, regardless of if we are ever in that situation or not. I've always been back and forth with my opinions about abortion, but I definitely agree with you. I have a similar love for children, and I couldn't imagine anyone not letting a child live their life. I am around children all the time and they honestly light up my life, I can't wait to have my own someday. That being said, I am not ever going to judge someone for getting an abortion, even if they are different circumstances than the ones you mentioned, although I wouldn't personally go through with one myself. Rape and harm to the mother and two completely valid reasons to have an abortion. With rape, there could be dangers from the father trying to be involved in the child's life, as well as honestly the mother having a harder time emotionally raising the child. Harm to the mother could result in the mother dying and not even being able to raise the child she had. Though a hard choice, either way, I agree that if the child is harming the mother and she wants to get an abortion, she should have the right to do so.
Abortion is going to continue to be a controversial topic for years to come, and the government is going to continue to have a big say in how the legality of abortions will change throughout time, for better or for worse.
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