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Abortion may be perceived as usual, yet it remains a controversial issue in many societies. Based on the data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than half a million women procured legal abortions (2015 Jatlaoui, et al. 3) There are higher possibility that a significant number of women, especially the ones from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, performed illegal abortions that often go unreported due to the stigma that surrounds the subject. Different states have put in place laws that regulate abortion activities within their jurisdictions. Notably, some have implemented strict rules that criminalize abortion save in the instances where the fetus is a threat to the expectant woman’s life. Abortion is happening anyway, and the thorny issue is that it attracts controversy in both private and public spaces. Regardless of the circumstances, women should be free to have abortions, society needs to eliminate legal and cultural hurdles and provide accurate information and medical assistance to help women procure abortions when they want.
Despite being illegal, women continue to procure abortion unabatedly. Statistics show that abortion is prevalent in spite of legal measures that regulate the practice. In the recent past, the US embarked on a journey to control abortion activities through lawful means. Consequently, in 2012 alone, state legislatures across the US passed more than forty measures that limit access to abortion services (Guttmacher Institute). A year later, seventy regulations that placed more restrictions on abortion were enacted. In particular, the enactments limited access to insurance coverage for women seeking abortion services and illegalized abortions of fetuses twenty weeks after conception. Besides, the Acts imposed restrictions on abortions that are based on medical grounds. From the surface, America appears to have succeeded in curbing abortions. Anyone who has an interest in the country’s legislative process might think that illegal abortion is a thing of the past. However, CDC data tells an entirely different analogy by revealing that the laws have not done much to ensure that women carry their pregnancies to full terms except when medical conditions dictate otherwise.
Various factors explain why abortion is common in society. First and foremost, the fact that women continuously seek to terminate a pregnancy, whether on medical grounds or not, signifies their understanding of reproductive rights. Since the mid-nineteenth century, feminist movements have pushed society to allow women to exercise reproductive rights. It is worth noting that feminist organizations emerged because patriarchal social systems had imposed total control on all aspects of the lives of women. Feminism has empowered women to the extent that they are aware that they are in complete control of their bodies. The women’s realization that they have a right to choose what they want accounts for the prevalence of abortion regardless of legal restrictions. Secondly, abortion is a common phenomenon because the majority of women are embracing ideologies that support the idea of fetal termination. Typically, women who are convicted that termination of pregnancy under whatsoever circumstances is morally right are less likely to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. Therefore, women’s empowerment in matters of reproductive health and a belief in pro-choice perspectives can explain the occurrence of abortion amidst laws that impose restrictions on women.
The rampant cases of women who seek to terminate their pregnancies communicate that abortion is part of reproductive health. To some people, it is illogical that something as ordinary as abortion is controversial. That abortion attracts opposite views from society raises many questions. One can wonder if the community is scared of the idea that women are increasingly taking charge of their reproductive health and hence the move to limit their right to control their bodies. Possibly, patriarchal society does not entertain the idea of women taking charge of their own destinies. As such, they intentionally create controversies about abortion with the aim of controlling the lives of women as in the previous centuries. Similarly, one asks whether the debate is perpetuated by the political class who take abortion as a weapon to attract the vote of religious organizations. Moreover, it raises the question as to whether there is enough information within the public domain about women’s reproductive health. During campaigns, politicians are fond of raising the issue to apply to the religious voter base. It is, therefore, possible that the need to control the lives of women and the demand by the political elite to appeal to the religious faction are the root causes of the controversy that surrounds the subject of abortion.
On a more in-depth analysis, the controversial aspect emerges from different definitions of human life in distinct logical arguments made in support of or against abortion. The idea that abortion ought to be illegal in whatsoever circumstances is based on the assertion that life begins at conception. In this light, termination of a pregnancy on whatever grounds is a deliberate and unjustifiable move to take the life of the embryo that would have developed into a baby if given a chance. Consequently, the deontological arguments present the notion that the law ought to prevent the killing of embryos, which in this case amounts to unjust violations of the right to life. The numerous enactments that have characterized the American legal system appear to be inclined to the right-based arguments. The legislature’s move to illegalize abortion in some states suggests that no one has the right to end the life of another regardless of the developmental stage of the person in question. The religious sphere of society reiterates the deontological philosophical idea by arguing that human life is sacred, and no person has the mandate to end it in any way.
Although the right to life seems to offer better directions, it is, however, marred by controversies. First of all, imposing bans on abortion does not guarantee or protect the sanctity of life. Contrarily, it provides a leeway for women to seek alternative means to terminate the pregnancies. Unauthorized clinics are among the places where women flock with the hope of carrying out an abortion in secret. Most abortion procurement clinics operate covertly, and in some cases, with unqualified personnel. Ironically some abortion clinics endanger lives because of a lack of trained staff and equipment. Instead of safeguarding life, the illegalization of abortion on the grounds of the right to life costs lives through unsafe procedures. Moreover, illegalizing abortion to force women to recognize the right to life is not sufficient because, in most cases, the fetus’s right to life threatens the well-being of expectant women. Emphasis on maintaining the life of the fetus is placed above the mother’s right to a healthy life.
Conversely, arguments that support abortion are right-based. They are built on the claim that women have the right over their bodies and are at liberty to choose what happens to them. Accordingly, abortion is just but a mere exercise of the women’s right to choose. Consequently, the law ought not to prevent women from putting their rights into practice. For instance, feminists propagate the concept that the feminine gender has the right to choose what is suitable and practice it. According to feminists, women are entirely in charge of their reproductive health (Khaleghinezhad 6643). As such, the government or any other sector in society lacks the mandate to control abortion by forcing women to carry their pregnancies to full term or to sterilize women intentionally. In essence, feminist groups and other movements that support abortion believe that allowing women to determine on their own whether or not they want to deliver a full-term baby is one way of achieving gender equality. Notably, that society placed the burden of child-rearing on women. As a result, females have limited time to participate in other vital matters of culture because they are expected to be ideal mothers and homemakers. Therefore, allowing women to access abortion services to qualified medical personnel relieves them of the burden of bringing up unwanted children and hence provides the opportunity for women to compete with men equally.
The right to choose is controversial and hence attracts different reactions from society. First of all, it gives primary emphasis on the right to decide as opposed to the right to seek abortion services. Women have the power to determine if they want children or not (Warnke 162). In this context, Warnke demonstrates that the government and other social entities have no business in matters that concern the reproductive health of women. This argument elicits the opposite views. On one end, the government should not interfere in the affairs of women as far as their reproductive choices are concerned.
Conversely, the very government is expected to ensure that every woman has access to reproductive healthcare. It is worth noting that constitutional rights have limits. For example, individuals are allowed to exercise the right to free speech but limited so that they must not offend others while on course to exercise the right. Likewise, the restrictions imposed on abortion are justified considering they serve to ensure the well-being of the involved parties. For instance, illegalizing abortion is meant to prevent the harm caused by the baby during the operation.
In essence, the right to choose counteracts the right to life in two ways. In ‘Abortion Through A Feminist Lens,’ Susan Sherwin argues that pregnancy occurs in the body of a woman. Hence, the decision to have an abortion falls squarely on individual women. Sherwin notes that various reasons drive women into seeking abortion services, but regardless of anti-abortion notions, a pregnant woman is in the best position to judge whether abortion is an appropriate response to her circumstances (Sherwin 389). The right to choose as propagated by Feminism does not translate into the right to procure an abortion. In some cases, a woman can become pregnant when she is not prepared for the pregnancy journey or raising a child. However, the fact that such a woman has a right to decide to give birth means that she is against the right to life. Instead of making a decision that would culminate in the termination of her pregnancy, her conscience can inform her that abortion is not the solution. By contrast, a woman may be a firm believer in the right to life. Contrary to her belief, compelling practical reasons may compel her to seek abortion services. The right to decide does not translate into the right to abortion.
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