Abortion: Roe v. Wade Essay Example

In 1973, the Supreme Court “recognized that the right to abortion is a fundamental liberty protected by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution” in Roe v Wade. (Center for Reproductive Rights) The Supreme Court has, on several occasions, restated that the individual right to make choices about childbirth is defended and protected by the Constitution. Other Supreme Court cases, including but not limited to, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v Casey (1992) and Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt (2016) have reinstated the Constitutional right to abortion access and individual rights regarding the issue. (Center for Reproductive Rights)

Individually, there have been debates on the right to abortion since before Roe v Wade. On either side, there are strong arguments. Especially now, most everybody– from pro-life to pro-choice – has their own opinion on whether or not abortion should be accessible in the United States. Regardless, it is necessary to remember that issues regarding a female’s body should be decided by the specifically affected individual (in this case, people who have uteruses), not by any other group or person. However, recent rulings from the Supreme Court have challenged an individual’s right to abortion. On June 24th, 2022, Roe v Wade was overturned, which took away the constitutional rights given to AFAB (assigned female at birth) people to make personal decisions regarding childbearing. (Guttmatcher)

While my own morals are definitely a strong influence on the argument in this paper, it is also vital to explore and understand the views of the opposite side. The question of whether or not limitations regarding the issue of abortion are justified and/or reasonable ultimately come down to personal belief, and it is important, in any controversial issue, to understand every side. To do this, we must discuss pros and cons of abortion access from the side of pro-choice as well as the side of pro-life. Additionally, understanding the limitations of rights presently and in the past gives even more insight into the issue. Furthermore is the question of if the limits are justified and reasonable, which will be discussed in the final paragraph.  

First and foremost, pro-choice and pro-life arguments are vastly different, and, to understand the controversy of abortion fully, it is beneficial to learn either side. On one hand, people who align themselves with being pro-life believe that abortion is murder. “Life begins from the moment of conception when the sperm fertilizes the egg, because there is the creation of a new, totally distinct, integrated organism or a human being, which is going to be biologically distinct from all other life forms on this planet.” (Lee) Similarly, they believe that “each unborn life isn’t a potential person- it’s a person with potential” and that human life has innate value. (Roman) Some pro-life arguments are extremely faith-based, while others rely more on scientific evidence to back up their points.

On the other hand, people who believe in the right to individual choice (pro-choice) believe that abortion protects lives (ProCon) and that it is a constitutional right of any person born female. They also believe that “criminalising abortions does not stop abortions, it just makes abortions less safe.” (Amnesty) Lastly, they believe that it is important to give AFAB people the choice to keep their unborn child because in a lot of cases, the bearer is not in the right setting, headspace, or financial situation to take proper care of a child. Janet Yellen (the US Treasury Secretary) spoke on the matter, saying “eliminating the rights of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades… In many cases, abortions are of teenage women, particularly low-income and often Black, who aren’t in a position to be able to care for children, have unexpected pregnancies, and it deprives them of the ability often to continue their education to later participate in the workforce.”

Additionally, the Supreme Court decision to overrule Roe v Wade (and similar cases) has presently been a large part of the debate upon abortion rights. To start, abortion rights were challenged by the Supreme Court even before the recent overruling of Roe v Wade. In 2007, the Federal Abortion Ban was enacted by the Supreme Court, putting into place federal laws that banned “abortion procedures and [gave] politicians the green light to interfere in people’s reproductive healthcare decisions.” (Planned Parenthood) It “criminaliz[ed] abortions in the second trimester.” (Planned Parenthood) This is just the beginning in the history of abortion access, as 2022 brought on a new set of issues regarding abortion. On June 24th, 2022, Roe v. Wade– the Supreme Court decision made in the 1970s to defend the right to abortion constitutionally– was overturned, leaving many hundreds of AFAB people across the country shocked. The rights that were once defended by the 14th amendment of the Constitution were up in the air. The action affected the country on an individual, state wide, and federal level. Statistically, almost half of the population of women in states where abortion is being criminalized are people of color. Women of color have “limited financial resources'', are “more likely to be low income”, have “immigration-related fears”, are “at a higher risk of dying for pregnancy-related reasons”, and so much more that puts them at the disadvantage. (KFF) This is just a snippet of the negative effects of the overturning of Roe v Wade. 

With this information, the question of whether or not these limitations are justified and/or reasonable can be answered. The answer to this question is no. At this point in history, the progress that has been made towards feminine equality has been stopped and even is taking a turn in the opposite direction. In 1973, the Supreme Court defended abortion with the Constitution, and now those who are born female are terrified to live their lives in the United States because their Constitutional rights are being stripped away. It is absolutely vital for each citizen of America to have the right to their own decisions, especially about their own body. The removal of Roe v Wade has made it so women no longer have the ability to choose what happens to their bodies in most states. If a woman does not have the capacity to bear and take care of a child, they should not be forced to do so. Some people do not have enough money to take care of a child, some do not have a stable household, some just don’t have the mental capacity to deal with a child as well as themself, and some are too young to be forced to deal with another child. 

On July 1st of this year, it was reported that a 10-year-old pregnant girl who had been raped was unable to get an abortion in Ohio because of abortion bans, so she was “forced to have to travel out of the state to Indiana to seek to terminate the pregnancy and maybe save her life”. (Biden) A 10-year-old should not have to deal with childbirth when they have not even begun to experience their life to the fullest– and are still in elementary school. The process of bearing and taking care of a child is long, difficult and painful. If someone wants to bring a child into the world and take care of them, it is very much okay. However, if the expecting parent has any reason that they cannot or do not want to take care of a child, they, as a free citizen of America, should be able to make that choice on their own and then with their healthcare provider. 

Supreme Court decisions as well as state-wide bans on abortion have caused female residents of the United States to have less of a say of what happens to their body. At this point in time, the future is dim for the progression of female rights. It has gotten to the point where people such as myself also have to fear for losing LGBTQ+ rights, rights to interracial marriage, and more. 

I believe strongly that the individual right to personal decision is indispensable and there is no justification for the limitation of these rights. This is proved by the heightened risks surrounding pregnancy that women, particularly those who are people of color, have to deal with, the damaging effects on the economy, and more.