History of Abortion Essay Example

Before abortion became normalized, there was a continuous debate about whether it was morally correct in society. The first recorded evidence of abortion was there should be a year here BCE. The Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, “one of the world's oldest preserved medical documents, written over 3,500 years ago, contains the earliest written evidence of abortion” (Stevenson 15). Any methods of abortion then were naturally induced and non-surgical. For example many women took herbal mixtures to try and induce menstruation. By the time the Constitution was signed, abortions became normalized in society. Abortions were openly advertised and preformed throughout the country which created a divide between people and what they believed was morally correct (Stevenson 16). Different methods of birth control were also used during this time, but they were not as effective as they are in the modern day. During the 1800s states began passing laws that prohibited abortion. Many reasons on why abortion became criminalized was rooted from racism. Many law passers wanted white people to become the majority of the population (Stevenson 17). By 1910 almost every state began to ban abortion unless to save a woman’s life. This meant that doctors were the only people who were allowed to perform these procedures. As time went on, these procedures were being performed legally and illegally underground.In 1929 the Great Depression hit the United States and a quarter of the women pregnant at the time had an abortion due to the fluctuation of finanical stability. This remained the status quo until 1972 when one of the biggest known court cases happened, Roe v.s Wade. This case left a major mark on the country and the way people viewed abortion. Since Roe v. Wade,  Americans remain divided over the support for a woman’s right to undergo an abortion, and recently,  many states have imposed restrictions that weaken the right to an abortion.  

As previously stated, the concept of abortion created a divide throughout the country, one side believing abortion was a woman’s right and the other believing a fetus has a right to life. In 1973, under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, the U.S Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision, and that decision gave women the right in Texas and the rest of the country to have a legal abortion (“Roe v. Wade”). This case was filed by Norma McCorvey, also known as “Jane Roe”, she wanted an abortion due to the fact that she was unemployed and severely depressed. Henry Wade was the Dallas district attorney at the time and the case was filed against him, he enforced the law that prohibited abortion except to save a womans life. The ruling that Wade made had an effect in 46 states although his ruling had already been declared unconstitutional in a previous federal court case (“Roe v. Wade''). On December 13th 1971 the case was argued in front of the U.S. supreme court, then nearly a year later on October 11th 1972 the case was reopened and reargued again, and on January 22 1973 they came to the final 7-2 decision. The court came to the final decision and divided pregnancy into trimesters. They concluded that during the first 3 months of pregnancy it was up to the mother if she wanted to terminate the pregnancy. During the second trimester to protect the mothers health the governemnt can regulate abortion but not completely ban the procedure itself. Therefore in the final trimester the fetus inside is able to live and breathe so the governemnt has only allowed abortion if the womans life is in danger (“Roe v. Wade: Decision, Summary & Background”).

Pro-life is the idea of opposing abortion and euthanasia; this opinion counters the pro choice side of the spectrum. The people who are pro life believe that a fetus is a person who has a right to life, and this ongoing debate has many reasons behind it. At nine weeks of pregnancy, the embryo is considered a fetus and by ten weeks the heart is almost fully developed meaning it has a heartbeat (“Center of Health Ethics: Abortion”). Knowing that something has a heartbeat allows people to come to the belief that it is alive, which means one cannot kill an organism that is living without it being illegal. The people who support the pro life side believe when a person kill these beings that your taking away human potential and never had the chance to share their gifts with our growing society (“Abortion is Harmful to Society”). Pro-Life advocates argue that adoption is another way to avoid an abortion; the mother can carry to full term and give the baby to a family who will give them the life they deserve. This allows the child to reach their full potential with someone who will be there to support one hundred percent of the time (“Abortion is Harmful to Society”).  Some believe that pro-life is helping the society in many ways, and by supporting this opinion these people also believe they are benefitting society and making a change in the world by stopping abortion. 

Another reason why some people think Pro-life is right choice is because they believe it is morally incorrect. As stated previously when women choose to get an abortion many people think they that are killing a human being; which is not apart of their morals. Articles try to convince readers that pro-life is the right choice by stating "No court can change the truth that a society that respects life is a safer and stronger society" (“Abortion: Should Women”). Clearly stated in that quote, women who recieve abortions are veiwed as someone who does not respect the potential of life. Pro-life advocates believe killing is wrong, a fetus is a person who has a potential to life, causing pain to a human being is wrong, and that human life begins at conception. In assuming these are what a person's beliefs are, they find these ideas morally wrong and do not agree with the people who bring this upon themselves. In the public eye only about 15% of people of people believe that abortion is morally acceptable, leaving the next 85% to differ that opinion (“Abortion Veiwed in Moral Terms”). Additionally many pro-life opinions root from religous or policital veiws. For example the percentage of Republicans that view abortion as morally incorrect is 64%; and this leaves the Democrats that support abortion to be morally incorrect at 38%  (“Abortion Veiwed in Moral Terms''). Regardless of the kind of life the mother has, the value of a human life cannot be measured. Therefore, laws should be passed to outlaw abortion. After all, there are plenty of couples who are willing to adopt an unwanted child.