A Woman’s Choice on Abortion (Essay Sample)

When thinking of natural rights, personal rights usually come to mind. This includes, but is not limited to, the freedom of speech and religion, voting rights, and the right to be protected by the law under all circumstances. Then, it should be thought that people would get the right to provide themselves and their bodies with what is best for their wellbeing, correct? Unfortunately, that is beginning to not be the case. Women have been losing their right to bodily autonomy through abortions, as it has been an incredibly controversial topic throughout the past several decades. Ever since abortion became legal in the United States in 1973, “pro-life” activists have been desperately trying to overturn this legalization. Their beliefs that abortion is murder has become ever more present recently, slowly but surely. Regardless of the fact that it is the woman’s body, they still believe that abortion is cruel and unjust. It should solely and ultimately be the pregnant woman’s choice of whether or not they want to carry out an abortion, simply because it is their right to bodily autonomy; therefore, women should be given access to an abortion clinic if needed. 

Bodily autonomy should essentially be a very important and necessary part of any person’s rights- especially women, who have been a disenfranchised group in the United States for centuries. After gaining voting rights through the 19th Amendment, it was thought that women would become more of an equal in society, but that is far from the truth. As the states have become stricter, legislation has started to take away some of these basic human rights. For instance, “Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma signed legislation making it a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, to perform an obortion in the state,” (New York Times, p. 5). It is cruel punishment for an action which is constitutional, which had been changed by those who pushed the boundaries of separating state and religion. 

Nevertheless, state and religion were always meant to be separate. This was specifically done in order to prevent legislation or laws related to a certain religion, in which people may not be a part of. Now, the people can see that those borders have been trampled on. With abortion laws rolling in, it shows bias toward religions, especially Christianity, where abortion is seen as “unethical.” As for instance, “Much of the argument for abortion access has been rooted in a very specific Christian perspective; those who seek to restrict abortion rights are seeking to impose their religious views on others, which is inherently unconstitutional.” (American Progress, p. 12). It is not morally right to force religious aspects onto the entire population, solely due to the fact that it is a common belief of those few. The Supreme Court should take action against the state legislatures by allowing women to protect themselves by allowing abortions. 

What the state legislatures do not understand is that taking away the rights of women by making abortions illegal is that these women will begin performing unsafe and possibly life threatening abortions to allow themselves to take care of their own bodies. Some women are physically unable to give birth, due to medical conditions, or are not willing to give birth due to the cause of the pregnancy, such as rape or lack of protection by their partner. While some states allow abortion under these very specific circumstances, they are still not in the right to take that full responsibility of women away. Recently, a woman was arrested on an account of murder due to a self-induced abortion. “Last week, Starr County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Lizelle Herrera on a charge of murder for self-inducing an abortion after a grand jury indictment.” (Texas Observer p. 1).  This header explains the recent situation where she was arrested for the “murder” of her undeveloped fetus, where the officer could not even describe the reasons why it was not ethical. 

Furthermore, by removing the accessibility to abortion clinics or other safe alternatives, there can be very detrimental effects on a woman’s body- both mentally and physically- especially when there are resorts to unsafe abortion techniques. In some cases, it could even lead to death or life threatening situations or conditions as a result. There are many women who know they could suffer from severe medical issues if they give birth, and by giving themselves a self-induced abortion, it is only increasing their risk. By providing all women with safe alternatives, it almost eliminates the possibility of developing severe issues or even worse, death. “Innaccessibility of quality abortion care risks violating a range of human rights of woman and girls, including the right to life; the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health… Lack of access to safe, affordable, timely and respectful abortion care, and the stigma associated with abortion, pose risks to women’s physical and mental well-being throughout the life-course.” (WHO, p. 8-9). Moreover, the effects of illegal or unsafe abortions are also a major threat to the liberties and rights of a woman, granted that it prevents a woman from living an equal life by choosing what happens to their body.

Additionally, when women are denied the justice of self autonomy, they are also being handed a chance of lower success in their lives. If they cannot have an abortion during a hard time in their lives, their chances of dropping out of school, leaving their jobs, and shaping their lives around having a child are increased significantly. When they have a child, they might have to sacrifice their passion and lives to raise that child. If they are not able to do that, the child also has a possibility of growing up in an unstable environment because their parents literally cannot take care of them properly. In a recent Harvard study, it is mentioned that “the legal status of abortion also defines whether girls will be able to complete their educations and whether women will be able to participate in the workforce, and in public and political life.” (Harvard, p. 9). There is lots of social injustice when it comes to taking this right away from women and young girls, who possibly could not have had the choice whether or not they wanted to get pregnant. Either way, they would have to suffer the consequences of giving up everything for this child if they could not get an abortion.

Most evidently, it is best for not only women, but everybody, to have a better understanding of abortions and their effects. Knowing the reasonings behind a woman’s choice can help someone empathize with these women, and give them more of a reason to support the cause. People want to see women thrive more than they were able to decades ago, so, knowing that carrying out an abortion could help women live out a better future will enable them to thrive as they wish to. In the same Harvard study, it is found that “improving social safety net programs for women reduces gender gaps and improves girls’ and women’s health and changes to fulfill their potential, and could help reduce the number of abortions over time.” (Harvard, p. 10). The overall goal would be to ultimately lower the rate in which abortions happen by providing more sexual health care education and support for women. Therefore, by providing the these women with abortion clinics in the case of an accidental pregnancy, they will be given another chance to learn from the experience and better understand how it could be prevented next time. The amount of medical issues would also be slowed down for women, since they would not be forced to perform unsafe abortions, given that they would have a clinic ready for them.

It is important to recognize that women who receive abortions have feelings just like anybody else; they simply could not go through with a pregnancy, and that right should not be taken away from them, only because certain people do not agree with those actions. It should indefinitely be the woman’s choice on if they feel as if an abortion is best fit for their specific situation, and should be provided with several safe options for doing so, as it is their right of bodily autonomy. Women may not be physically capable of giving birth, may not be ready for having or raising a child, may suffer from severe medical issues relating to the pregnancy, or simply may not want to be a parent at all. Regardless of the situation, it should be simple decency to respect and allow these women to make their own decisions pertaining their own bodies and lives, not to take that away from them. 

Works Cited

Cusick, Julia. “Abortion, Justice, and Religion” Center for American Progress. 23, Feb.2022, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/abortion-justice-and-religion/

Dobbins, James. “Why was a Texas woman charged with murder for a 'self-induced' abortion? Officials won't say.” The Texas Observer. 18, Apr. 2022, https://www.texasobserver.org/why-was-a-texas-woman-charged-with-murder-for-a-self-induced-abortion-officials-wont-say/

J, Bearak. “Abortion.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 25 Nov. 2021, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abortion. 

Kasakove, Sophie. “What's happening with abortion legislation in states across the country?” The New York Times. 12 Apr. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/article/abortion-laws-us.html

Roeder, Amy. “The Negative Health Implications of Restricting Abortion Access.” News, 13 Dec. 2021, https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/abortion-restrictions-health-implications/