Lillian Guzman

Ms. Alcaraz

ENG 11 p.6

21 February 2018

Abortion Controversy

Have you ever asked for help and been denied that help? Many women across the United

States are denied abortions-a solution to a problem that woman may be facing. An abortion is

intentionally ending a pregnancy. Abortion was first legalized on a nationwide scale in 1973,

after the famous pro-choice case of Roe v. Wade. The case introduced a woman living in Texas

who wanted an abortion. She was denied her abortion because state governments could then

decide whether or not they wanted abortions to be legal within that state. The Supreme Court

chose to legalize abortions, but gave states the right to set up restrictions to receive an abortion in

the second and third trimesters of the woman’s pregnancy. This topic is extremely controversial.

Some people believe that abortion should remain legal while others believe that abortions should

be illegal. Abortion should be kept legal in every state because not being able to have an abortion

violates women’s rights, some women are not financially prepared to have children, and some

women are not physically capable of having a baby.

Women should be able to have abortions to have the opportunity to decide what happens

to their bodies. ​According to the article “Arguments in favour of abortion” by the BBC, “[...] [A]

woman has the right to decide what she can and can’t do with her body [...]. [T]he foetus exists

inside a woman’s body ...” (The BBC). ​The BBC wrote an article concerning women’s rights to

have abortions. They argue that a woman, and nobody else, is in charge of her body. The fetus,
which is inside of a woman’s body, is therefore also her responsibility. ​In addition, ​the author of

the article “Women’s Rights”, Howard Moody, claims, “ To use a woman’s body, against her

free will and choice, as a receptacle for unwanted pregnancy has got be seen as morally

repugnant as ‘foeticide’ to those perpetrating it,” (Moody). ​Moody says that women are in charge

of what happens with their bodies. He says that the fact that others can decide what can and

cannot be allowed to happen to/in a woman’s body is as disgraceful as murdering a fetus is, in

the the eyes of someone who considers themself ‘pro-life’. ​Finally, ​Mary Ellen McNish, the

author of “Underground Army: Abortion: Should more laws threaten their reproductive rights,

some pro-choice activists have a new strategy: taking matters into their own hands”, declared,

“We’re tired of men in federal and state government having control over women’s bodies. We

want to take control ourselves,” (McNish). ​McNish takes a stand in saying that women should

control what happens to their bodies. She indicates that people in the government shouldn’t have

a say in what goes on inside of a woman’s body. ​Many people argue that women are the only

ones in charge of their body.

Women should be able to have abortions because they may not be financially ready to

have children. ​In the article “Pregnancies, Births and Abortions Among Adolescents and Young

Women in the United States, 2013: National and State Trends by Age, Race and Ethnicity”,

Kathryn Kost, Isaac Maddow-Zimet, and Alex Arapaia report, “In 2013, 456,000 women

younger than 20 became pregnant. Some 448,000 of those pregnancies were among

15–19-year-olds, and 7,400 were among those aged 14 and younger,” (Kost, Maddow-Zimet,

Arapaia). ​The author uses statistics to demonstrate that young women are not ready to have

children, and therefore choose to abort them. Many of the young women that were not ready to
become mothers are teenagers. ​Secondly, ​the Guttmacher Institute wrote an article titled

“Abortion Is a Common Experience for U.S. Women, Despite Dramatic Declines in Rates” in

which they proclaim, “Abortion has become increasingly concentrated among poor women, who

accounted for 49% of patients in 2014,” (Guttmacher Institute). ​The author explains that many

women who choose to abort their babies do so because they do not have the means to provide for

that baby.​ Finally, ​according to “Unintended Pregnancy in the United States”, “An unintended

pregnancy is one that was either mistimed or unwanted (45% of all pregnancies),” (Guttmacher

Institute). ​The author explains the types of pregnancies that women choose to terminate.

Mistimed pregnancies are when a woman would like to have a baby in the future but isn’t ready

yet, usually due to financial instability. An unwanted pregnancy is when a woman never wanted

to have a child.​Women who choose to terminate their pregnancies do so because they, often

times, are not financially ready.

Women should be allowed the right to have abortions because some women who choose

to have abortions do so because of health concerns. ​According to “Pregnancy-Related

Deaths”-an article written by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-, “[...] [A]bout 700

women die each year in the United States as a result of pregnancy or delivery complications,”

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). ​The author shows that many women in the United

States are dying due to health complications during pregnancy and also during the birthing

process. ​Furthermore, ​Lawrence B. Finer, Lori F. Frohwirth, Lindsay A. Dauphinee, Susheela

Singh, and Ann M. Moore write an article in which they explain, “Concern for one's own health

was a [...] common concern for having an abortion among older women…” (Finer, Frohwirth,

Dauphinee, Singh, Moore). ​Many women decide to have abortions because their bodies are no
longer capable of handling pregnancy and/or giving birth. ​Lastly, ​Amy Norton writes, “[...]

[W]omen in the United States are having babies at older ages, and they are also increasingly

likely to be obese and have medical conditions…” (Norton) in her article “U.S. death rate in

pregnancy, childbirth raises ‘great concern’”. ​Norton explains that many women already begin

their pregnancies with health issues; the health issues may get worse with a pregnancy,

explaining why health concerns play a huge factor in women needing abortions. ​Many women

choose to have abortions because their bodies are not able to handle pregnancy and/or childbirth.

Because refusing to let a woman have an abortion violates her rights, puts her through

motherhood when she isn’t ready, and risks her life, abortions should be kept legal in the United

States. When women are denied abortions, they have children that they may abandon. Those

abandoned children may end up in foster care or other systems which may put those innocent

children through physical, mental, and/or emotional abuse. In addition to children possibly

facing abuse, these children could put a strain on the economy as the government must pay for

everything the child needs. As a result, allowing abortions to be kept legal reduces many

problems.