Abortion – a Controversial SubjectEssay Preview: Abortion – a Controversial SubjectReport this essay“Abortion”Abortion has been a controversial subject over these past few decades. Every time you pick up a paper or magazine it seems there is always some sort of protest regarding abortion, whether it is for fetal rights or womens rights. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the definition of abortion is “the expulsion of a fetus from the uterus before it has reached the stage of viability (in human beings, usually about the 20th week of gestation). An abortion may occur spontaneously, in which case it is also called a miscarriage, or it may be brought on purposefully, in which case it is often called an induced abortion.
“The American Abortion law is a very complex scene. According to the Supreme Court, the main focus of this Supreme Court litigation is the conflict between various states that want to make laws either protecting women or the unborn, and abortion rights advocates who want as little government restraint upon the abortion option as possible.” The state will argue that there is no constitutional right to abortion, or if there is a right that it is not violated by the law the state wants to enforce. The abortion rights advocates argue that Roe vs. Wade protected a fundamental human right and that it must not be eroded by politics. In todays society, abortion is one of the most important issues bouncing around the legal system in this country. Killing an unwanted humans life is a sensitive concept and takes in much thought. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to make the rule that would ban on abortion unconstitutional, but would be legalized nationwide. The trial was Roe vs. Wade. Although abortion was made legal nationwide, many states still looked down upon abortion. These states included Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Prior to the 19th century, the United States still held on to their Common Law that it had adopted from England. In 1821, Connecticut was the first state to adopt the abortion law. Abortion was then labeled a felony in Connecticut; New York then was next in 1828. This then continued throughout the thirties, forties and fifties. In the midst of the19th Century, a movement began to tighten abortion regulations. Spearheaded by the medical community, by the late 1860s, this movement had succeeded in establishing uniform abortion prohibition in England and throughout most of the United States.
During the 1960s and early 70s, many states began to liberalize their abortion laws to some degree. This usually meant allowing abortion in cases of rape and incest, or for various health reasons. It was largely due to the influence of the 1962 Model Penal Code. In the state of Colorado, in 1967, it then became the first state to adopt the Model Penal Code. Its inclusion of “liberalized” features was a watershed for the loosening of abortion regulations, which had, until this time, usually banned all abortions excluding those to save the mothers life.
Pro-life is when one is totally against abortions. It is also someone who believes that unborn children should have a choice just like living humans have a choice and opinion. Pro-life is a universal psychology that is referred to regarding human life structure. A lot of times within Pro-life, religion becomes a main factor, as said in Exodus 21:22, “If men strive [fight] an hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit [fetus] depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the womans husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.” This means that if a man causes a woman to have a miscarriage, he must pay a fine. In Isaiah 49:1, it reads, “The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.”
There are always two sides to every story. With Pro-life, you have Pro-choice. Pro-choice is “a common self-description used by people who believe that a woman should have the absolute legal right to have an abortion.” Basically Pro-choice, gives the woman a choice on whether she wants to keep the child or not. According to a USA Today, CNN Gallup Poll in May, 1999 – sixteen percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal for any reason at any time during pregnancy and fifty five percent of American believes abortion should be legal only to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest. According to a Gallup Poll in January, 2001 – People who considered them to be pro-life rose from thirty three
” to eighteen in a single year.„ In 2001, 62 percent opposed legal abortion for the parents of an unplanned child. For every two Americans who were pro-choice, a fifth was opposed to the practice of abortion. This was a 15 percent decrease from the 60 percent of Americans who said they weren’t pro-choice in January 2006. A CNN World News headline stated an organization called the “American Family Association” had issued a “Call for Change”:”Americans Should Stand Against Life’s Rights in Abortion Rights, Report Says.”† But they weren’t. “The group’s statement noted that all but three percent of adults were opposed to legal abortion.”‧ Americans who said they did the survey for “pro-life” women said, “I strongly support abortion rights, but I don’t find it legal due to the potential harms of having it.” The group stated some of its top principles; the first ten listed, “pro-life women have had abortions, and the number of cases we know of has decreased due to the decline in access to contraception.” According to a 2002 poll, Americans who believe abortion should be legal on the basis of Roe v. Wade thought it would improve the conditions of women who were raped (39 percent of those respondents would oppose it) and those who said it would reduce the likelihood of having a child (32 percent). According to a 2002 Rasmussen survey over a year after Roe v. Wade, 63 percent of Americans had a “disapproving” opinion. Americans who said they think abortion should be banned for children believe children should be given the choice of living in an unsafe environment; the group noted that about one third of those polled believe it would be legal to kill an unborn child under those circumstances (34 percent). The group pointed out that a new law prohibiting abortions for all minor children in Colorado is being debated. Gallup found that nearly a quarter of Americans believe it’s safer to save an unborn baby than live one year without prenatal care. The group also reported that nearly three-quarters of adults who believe the procedure should be illegal and “do not support,” “prevent,” or “protect” abortion were women who would not use contraceptives. In fact, only one of the groups that said abortion should not be legal for a baby girl (and another group that didn’t support) reported having asked it. However, the Washington Post wrote a story suggesting, “Among people who have abortions, the percentage of doctors who support it has declined from 61 percent in 2003 to 38 percent in 2002, even though the number of clinics that do it hasn’t decreased. Abortion rates have risen dramatically