Can a woman be forced to produce a life? Giving life to an unwanted child might invite world of troubles for both mother and the child. So, are we being fair to the child? Whether you agree or not, abortion will always play an active role in our society.
Proposed solutions for abortion include two main options: more regulation of the abortion industry and more enforcement of existing regulations. Abortion is one of the least regulated surgical procedures in America (“Abortion Regulation”) Just twenty-nine states regulate abortion centers at all, and a minority of these states have anything approaching regulation.Only four states hold abortion facilities to the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers. Eight states don't even require that surgical abortions be performed by licensed physicians (“Abortion Regulation”).
Many pro-life activists believe that no amount of regulation or oversight can change the fact that an abortionist will always be an abortionist. He will always be in the business of profiting from violating women to destroy the lives growing inside them.An abortion will always be abortion, and it will never be safe for the pre-born child (“Abortion Regulation”). These activists as well believe abortion was sold as liberating women from "forced motherhood. " On the other hand, others such as mothers, are against these statements and pro-abortion.
Mothers believe that the abortion right is discussed as a negative liberty, a right of privacy, a right to be let alone (Yale). The abortion right is also sometimes discussed as an issue of equality for women, both in feminist circles and in the community itself (Yale).Overall, abortion regulation has tremendously affected women in the United States and throughout other countries as well, where they either have the right to choose that as an option or not. This ties in with motherhood being viewed negatively and as well the mothers to be being judged. Background In the U. S.
itself, more than 4,000 cases of abortion are reported on daily basis. While for one, abortion can be a highly miserable experience, to the other, having a forced child can be a highly miserable experience. It’s mpossible to go by a rule book, when it comes to dealing with an issue, where human lives are at stake (Cockrill). Most states regulate abortion differently than other health care services.
Examples of these regulations include mandating waiting periods and the provision of state-authored information, and prohibiting private and public insurance coverage for abortion (Cockrill). In the modern world, abortions have become a norm of life. It is considered to be one of the easiest and convenient ways of getting rid of unwanted and accidental pregnancies.Though women have been known for giving life/birth, they have an option. However, an abortion should not be misunderstood for a convenience. Motherhood This abortion regulation reflects the recognition of women’s access to legal abortion services as a matter of women’s rights and self-determination and an understanding of the dire public health implications of criminalizing abortion (Yale).
When recruiting twenty participants from three abortion providing facilities located in two states in the U. S.South and Midwest, Cockrill made a survey and a semi-structured interview, were he collected information about women's knowledge of abortion regulation and policy preferences. During the interviews, women weighed the pros and cons of abortion regulations. He used grounded theory analytical techniques and matrix analysis to organize and interpret the data (Cockrill).
The results from the study discovered five themes in these women's considerations of regulation: responsibility, empathy, safe and accessible health care, privacy, and equity.Women in the study generally supported policies that they felt protected women or informed decisions (Cockril). However, most women also opposed laws mandating two-day abortion appointments for women who were traveling long distances (Cockrill). Women tended to favor financial coverage of abortion, arguing that it could help poor women afford abortion or reduce state expenditures. Overall, the conclusion of the study was that the participants'' opinions on abortion policy reflect key values for advocates and policy makers to consider the five themes mentioned previously (Cockrill).However, no matter what her political persuasion, it always comes down to a very intimate, personal decision that no woman makes without some degree of emotional trauma.
All of the options abortion, or raising the baby, or allowing another family to adopt the baby can carry emotional pain and personal sacrifice (Yale). Problem Solving It is a common belief that abortion is primarily used by women who simply don’t want a baby. While this reasoning can be true and, indeed this reason accounts for a significant percentage of abortions, there are other situations in which an abortion could actually be beneficial and even life-saving.Many of these women/mothers have been rape victims, find out that their future child has a mental disorder such as Down-Syndrome, or even mothers who simply cannot go through the stress and body change from their unexpected pregnancy. Being a victim of a rape attack can have many long-term negative effects. As one would suspect, there can be a severe impact on one’s mental health as the result of enduring a rape attack.
In addition to these side effects of rape, there is also the chance that the victim will become pregnant (“The Pros”).For someone who has just gone through a very traumatic experience, the thought of being responsible for carrying, giving birth to, and raising a child that resulted from the rape can be much too overwhelming (“The Pros”). This child would be a constant reminder of the rape that she had experienced so it can often seem that the best and even the healthiest plan of action would be to abort the fetus. Not only would the woman struggle with in raising a child that she had no say in conceiving, but abortion also prevents the child from growing up in a potentially neglectful, hurtful, and loveless environment (“Pros”).There are numerous situations in which an unplanned pregnancy can cause excessive amounts of stress and physical strain on a woman that she may choose to avoid by having an abortion.
Situations in which a pregnancy could have a detrimental impact include becoming pregnant at a very young age, becoming pregnant while going to school, being without a partner, and being financially incapable of supporting a child (“The Pros”). In these situations having a baby will not only cause the typically life-changes that are expected, but it could actually have a long term negative impact on the mother’s life.For instance becoming pregnant at a young age could result in failing to finish school (“The Pros”). Physical trauma is another possible situation in which an abortion may be beneficial to solve. Some women have existing medical conditions or may develop conditions during the pregnancy that put them in serious risk of their health (“The Pros”).
Some conditions even cause severe physical or mental deformation in the fetus that is so extreme that some women may wish to prevent these tragic effects with an abortion (“The Pros”).Problem CreatingAlthough there are a number of benefits of having an abortion, there are also a few disadvantages that can create problems. The side effects associated with abortion can be physical and/or psychological in nature. It is very common for women who have had an abortion to later struggle with feelings of regret, shame, and depression about the decision they made.
Abortion is a permanent procedure that cannot be undone, and this can be a hard realization for women who are young. When it comes to the physical side effects, there have been cases in the past in which women have been left infertile (”The Pros”).Studies have also shown that women who have had an abortion are much more likely to experience miscarriage, premature birth, and pregnancy/birthing complications later in life. Cervical complications and abnormal placenta development are also possible long-term side effects of an abortion (“The Pros”). Abortion also is often used as a type of birth control by many women.
This in a way promotes infidelity, wherein women can easily have many sexual relationships, which would eventually end up in abortions.Winners In the overall view of the topic abortion, we can all view it as the government and pro-life activists are the winners because in reality they can pass and change a law in a state, the government, and fight for the side of the government and be heard, the activists. Therefore, even though three-quarters of Americans believe abortion should be legal under some or all circumstances, just 41% identified themselves as pro-choice in a Gallup survey conducted in May 2012 (Pickert).In this age of prenatal ultrasounds and sophisticated neonatology, a majority of Americans supports abortion restrictions like waiting periods and parental-consent laws (Pickert).
LosersOn the other hand, the losers can be defined as the pro-choice activists, who have opted to stick with their longtime core message that government should not interfere at all with women's health care decisions. They truly believe that abortion should be legal, a private matter between a woman and her doctor, with no restriction or regulation beyond what is absolutely necessary to protect the woman's health (Pickert).They can be classified as the losers in this regulation because their voices are loud and out there for the entire world to hear, but many especially the government choice not to hear at all! At the same time, a rebellion within the abortion rights causes pitting feminists in their 20s and 30s against pro-choice. Many young activists are bypassing the legacy feminist organizations that have historically protected access to abortion, weakening the pro-choice establishment at the very moment it needs to coalesce around new strategies to combat pro-life gains and connect with the public (Pickert).
Overall I believe that there aren't any winners or loser in this regulation, and that it is all about the women. The “winners and losers” category revolves around the women who choose to have an abortion. This is whether if they are fighting for abortion rights, or having an abortion for the necessary reasons or not. The power struggle isn't based on differences over the right to access abortion.
Young activists fighting for reproductive rights have the same views on abortion access; they say it should be nrestricted by state governments and that the decision to terminate a pregnancy should be left solely to women and their doctors (Pickert). Today, "It's easier for young women to exercise leadership right now than before we had this technology. " The technology Matson refers to is the Internet (Pickert). Last February, when the Susan G. Komen breast-cancer foundation eliminated its long-standing grant funding for Planned Parenthood, a backlash quickly ensued on Twitter. Under tremendous pressure, Komen reinstated the funding.
After the episode, says Herold, "No one can say anymore that young people don't care about this issue. " (Pickert). In addition, young feminists have another advantage, "We need more leaders in this movement who are of reproductive age," Republicans barred from testifying before a congressional committee last year, was a valuable asset to the pro-choice cause in part because of her relative youth (Pickert).ConclusionAs you can see, there are plenty of pros and cons of abortion and there simply isn’t one right choice that applies to every woman in every situation. The question of whether to get an abortion should have both sides of the argument considered before a decision is made. Again, once the abortion is done it cannot be undone.
Young abortion-rights activists have a strategy to modernize the cause, which includes expanding it. They often don't even mention the term pro-choice, which they say is limiting and outdated. Instead these young leaders have embraced a cause known as reproductive justice -- a broader, more diffuse agenda that addresses abortion access but also contraception, child care, gay rights, health insurance and economic opportunity (Pickert).
