The History of Abortion Essay Example

Laws and changes in society have allowed abortion’s evolution to benefit women by raising their quality of life and allowing them to have a choice. Abortion is the procedure that purposely terminates a fetus from inside a women’s uterus. There has been an ongoing debate on whether abortion should be legal or illegal as people have mixed feelings about terminating a fetus. Abortion started in the 17th and 18th centuries but only became a real problem in the 19th century and has continued to be ever since. 

Before Roe v. Wade in 1973, the average marrying age for women was under 21 years old. They had low rates of going to college and only 8 percent of women made it through 4 years of a college education. This number is exceptionally low because of the low opportunities for women and the common stereotype of “staying at home with the kids” was more generally accepted. The Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that restrictive abortion laws are unconstitutional as well as infringing a woman's right to privacy in 1973. It also ruled that an unviable fetus is not a real person. The decision to terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester was made solely by the woman and her doctor, according to the ruling. The decision also gave state governments the authority to impose regulations on abortions during the second trimester and to prohibit abortion after the fetus reaches survivability, except when the mother's health is jeopardized. 

Following the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decisions, states began to reform their abortion laws. Abortion, on the other hand, quickly had become a toxic political issue among Americans. From the beginning, there were strong roots opposing abortion, which was supported by impactful institutions like the Catholic Church. By the 1980s, the anti-abortion action had risen to a significant political dilemma. Political leaders such as President Ronald Reagan was extremely against abortion and did everything in his power to limit and put an end to it. Since Roe, anti-abortion activists, and state legislatures have attempted to further limit a woman's right to abortion or to appeal the decision entirely.  The Texas legislature passed an abortion restriction law in 2011, requiring doctors to do an ultrasound on a woman wanting an abortion, show the sonogram to the woman, describe and explain the fetus to her, and allow her to hear the fetal heartbeat. After the woman has had all that, she must wait for 24 hours, only then can an abortion be performed. 

Going to a female doctor for an abortion was immediately frowned upon in 1959, as was the fact that they couldn't get the procedure done in a well-established practice. Women can now go to abortion clinics or have an abortion safely in a hospital. “Yes--she say everything is going to be fine... “she” -- What doctor you been to?” (Hansberry 59). Hansberry depicts how abortion was a crime in the 1950s and how it is "destroying a child." It has become less and less despised in recent years. People are allowed to make the decision whether to keep a child without feeling pressured or judged. “Your wife say she going to destroy your child. And I’m waiting to hear you talk like him and say we a people who give children life, not who destroys them.” (Hansberry 75).  

Ultimately, abortion has become more accessible to women across the country. Despite widespread opposition to abortion by some, laws and social changes have freed women to make their own decisions about their bodies. It has granted women the right to make their own decisions about their bodies and lifestyles. They are free to live their lives however they see fit.