Abortion
“I really don’t believe in abortion. It’s like killing a baby,” was once said by the teen pop sensation, Justin Bieber. Abortion is the deliberate termination of a pregnancy. And no, we’re not talking about the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie either. This baby will not “be back.” Since 1972, over 40 million abortions have been done. The issue of abortion has been one of the top controversies of our generation. The biggest question is, should a woman have the right to end her own pregnancy? And if so, are there any limitations on timing? Age? Many different things...Whenever this issue is brought to light, it is a constant battle of opinions based mostly on specific people’s morals and beliefs. Some say that it’s a direct violation of the Due Process Clause, while others say that it’s a violation of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Which is correct? Should there be a law against abortions? Or should the courts stay out of the women’s pregnancy? There are many different opinions and views when it comes to the abortion controversy. But of the many, the most prevalent of all though, is between the belief of Pro-Choice or Pro-Life. The first view that many American’s believe in, is Pro-Choice. Pro-Choice is the belief that abortions are a private matter that should have nothing to do with the Government. They also believe that abortion should be completely legal without restrictions and that all pregnant women should have the right to a safe abortion. The issue that also comes into play is the difference between a baby and fetus. When the being that is in the womb, is it considered a baby or a fetus? In the Pro-Choice side of things, many believe that it is a right to have privacy. Privacy meaning that it’s the woman’s body that has the pregnancy and that she should make the decision to end her pregnancy or not. In the state of Tennessee, it is legal to have an abortion at the local Planned Parenthood for $325-$525. Girls under the age of eighteen need a parental consent to have an abortion, unless it is bypassed by a court judge. Should we have age limits on abortion, if it was kept legal? On the other hand, there is another strong view of abortion, which is called Pro-Life. People that are Pro-Life are generally religious. They believe that God is the creator of all life, and by having an abortion is killing a human life, which is against their beliefs. One specific court case that dealt with abortion and the civil rights of women and privacy, was the case of “Roe vs. Wade” in 1972. In this case, a pregnant woman wanted to get an abortion, but was declined. She brought it to the Supreme Court where they ruled that denying an abortion was a direct violation of the Due Process clause in the ninth amendment and the right to privacy. This case really set the standards for abortions in all of the United States. Former President Ronald Reagan once said, "More than a decade ago, a Supreme Court decision [Roe v. Wade (1972)] literally wiped of the books of fifty states statutes