Argumentative Essay: Should Abortion Be Legal?

The idea of abortion has been an ongoing debate in the world for years on end.  Abortion is one of the most contentious subjects in American politics and possibly even the world. The act of ending a pregnancy by the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus is known as abortion. The continuous abortion discussion refers to the argument and conflict in mainly the United States over the legal status of abortion on both a state and national level. A person’s opinion on the abortion debate can be based on their religious, political, and cultural implications. The argument is generally framed by two opposing viewpoints. One is the pro-choice perspective which holds that abortion is a constitutionally protected right for women. The other is the pro-life position, which holds that abortion is unethical and that the government should be able to prohibit and/or penalize abortion. However, I believe women should always have the right to decide what happens to their bodies. In an article written by the British Broadcasting Corporation, they had mentioned, “Limiting abortion access would disproportionately impact younger women, poorer women and African-American women, as these groups are more likely to seek an abortion, according to official data,” and I would completely agree with the statement. Law-makers and pro-life activists don’t know the reasoning or status of a woman physically and mentally so it should always be their choice. 

One of the biggest reasons most women look to abortion is because of the financial responsibility a baby has. Most young women can’t afford to give their “future child” substantial care while going through school or working. In an article written by Meera Jagannathan on the Market Watch website, she had stated, “Researchers also know that 75% of women who obtain abortions are low-income, with nearly half living below the federal poverty level.” This demonstrates why we shouldn’t allow lawmakers to force when who are not prepared or financially stable to have children when they are already struggling as is. You can probably imagine the women who were unable to have an abortion are even more likely to be in poverty years later, have fewer opportunities to get a full-time job, and were more reliant on public assistance than those who were able to obtain an abortion. Although abortions are expensive, it would be significantly less than trying to raise a baby. According to the same article, “The average cost of a surgical abortion at 10 weeks was $508 in 2014, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive-health think tank that supports abortion rights, with the price tag ranging from $75 to $2,500. Early medication abortion (also known as EMA or the abortion pill) at 10 weeks cost $535 on average, with costs ranging from $75 to $1,633.” Now comparing that to the cost of raising a child from zero all the way to eighteen years old, you would save way more money in the long run. In an article written by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it had mentioned, “Middle-income, married-couple parents of a child born in 2015 may expect to spend $233,610 ($284,570 if projected inflation costs are factored in*) for food, shelter, and other necessities to raise a child through age 17. This does not include the cost of a college education.” With that information, you can imagine the burden this would have on low-income women and/or couples. Therefore, abortions should be considered legal for those who aren’t financially ready to care for another human being. 

In addition to the financial responsibilities in regards to abortion, keeping an unwanted child can lead to a plethora of mental issues for women. Unforeseen pregnancies are linked to poor maternal mental health, including perinatal depression, stress, and decreased psychological well-being and life satisfaction. An article posted by American Psychological Association, mentions, “Unwanted pregnancy has been associated with deficits to the subsequent child's cognitive, emotional and social processes. These children are more likely to experience negative long-term outcomes in adulthood, such as an increased likelihood of engaging in criminal behavior, dependency on public assistance, and having an unstable marriage.” If you think about this quote, you can see that this is a cause and effect. Since these mothers develop these mental illnesses since can’t get abortions, they end up hurting their children in the long run. This article also mentioned, “There is a strong relationship between unwanted pregnancy and interpersonal violence. Specifically, the inability to obtain an abortion may force women to stay in contact with violent partners, putting them and their children at risk.” These women feel like they have no escape once they have a child with such partners again endangering their child in the long run. In addition, if abortions become illegal women will find more dangerous ways to get rid of these fetuses.

Most pro-life activists develop their opinions based on their religious values and claims that abortion is an abomination. They say it makes no sense for a mother to abort a child who hasn't yet been born. “Thou shalt not kill,” declares the Bible, and it makes no direct distinction between different phases of life. Some claim the beginning of life is a fetus. As a result, they claim abortion is murder because it goes against God’s will. The worth of human life cannot be quantified, regardless of the mother's condition. As a result, they believe legislation prohibiting abortion should be enacted and that many people in the world are eager to adopt a kid that is undesired. Although I respect anyone’s religious beliefs, I will have to disagree with claims in relation. I completely understand that the fertilized cell, embryo, or fetus is considered a living organism but it really does not hold a purpose or significance within society as yet. Yes, the biological life is there like any other living thing but it has not developed enough to say that it has to follow through with the birth. I think most pro-lifers get confused when identifying an embryo versus a baby. During the early stages of pregnancy, fetuses cannot survive without assistance before the age of 21 weeks. They also cannot experience pain until they are at least 24 weeks old because they lack the necessary brain connections. In an article written by Paul and John, they said, “Furthermore, the terms “zygote,” “embryo,” and “fetus” describe stages of biological human development and as such, do not describe the development into a human person.”  This shows that in the early stages and abortion period of pregnancies these cells aren’t even getting harmed because they don’t even know. These women are getting rid of potential babies, not actual ones.

With all things considered, abortion should always be up to the women. We offer people the right to control what occurs within their bodies in this society. Our culture recognizes that people have the right to make decisions about their bodies, even if they may hurt themselves or someone else they are responsible for, with certain extremely limited exceptions for persons declared mentally incapable of making logical judgments. We don't force someone to get the medical care they don't want. We don't make it mandatory for parents to give organs to their sick children or other family members. We won't even take body parts from a corpse that may save another person's life unless the person whose body we're taking body parts from expressed during their life that they wanted to help others. Having access to abortion allows women who simply can not afford to take care of a child or don’t have the mental capacity to deal with an unwanted pregnancy to receive help.