The Voice of Choice
Abortion in America is a controversial issue in which both sides have valid arguments. Abortion is the termination of an unwanted pregnancy by removing the embryo or fetus from the uterus. Although abortions cause’s emotional and psychological problems; abortion should be an option for a woman, for many reasons such as personal circumstances, health risks for the mother and a high probability that the baby will have a medical condition.
There are many side effects of having an abortion like the post abortion psychological problems a women faces. According to “Post-Abortion Emotion Problems Harm Women”, “Women who have aborted in the previous year are six times more likely to commit suicide than women giving birth, according to a study based on the health and death records of almost 600,000 women in Finland from 1987 to 1994”(Meehan). In other words, Meehan believes that having an abortion will develop psychological problems and may lead to suicide. A study in New Zealand reported that young women who have abortions suffer from higher chances of suicidal behaviors, anxiety, depression and other mental behaviors (“Post-Abortion Emotion Problems Harm Women”).
However, Noy Thrupkaew disagrees that post abortion harms women when he writes, “Women experience depression after an abortion in equal or lesser percentages as those women following childbirth.” (Thrupkaew). Noy Thrupkaew argues that post abortion emotions don’t harm women and the emotions the same or less than having a baby. Another author, Joyce Arthur says that having a baby is more common to relate to emotional after effects like post-partum depression (Arthur).
A woman has rights to her body and deciding whether to terminate the pregnancy or keeping it to full term. According to Christine Watkins she believes that, “Decisions one makes about one's body, particularly one's reproductive capacity, lie squarely in the domain of private decision-making. A woman's right to privacy, therefore, entitles her to decide whether or not to undergo an abortion without government interference. Only a pregnant woman knows whether she is ready to have a child, and governments can play no role in influencing that decision”(Watkins). Basically Watkins is arguing that a person has their rights to do what they please with their body and a woman knows if she’s ready to be a mother so she should have the option to abort the pregnancy or keep it.
On the other hand, Frederica Mathewes-Green disagrees and believes that a woman doesn’t have the right to abortion. For example in the article “Women Do Not Have the Right to Abort” Mathewes-Green describes that women don’t want abortion and they act in desperation to get out of a difficult situation. In other words women choose an easy way out of responsibility to care for a child.
So is there a reason that abortion is justified? According to Barbara Hernandez rape is justifies having an abortion. Hernandez believes that “…abortion is a decision that may come from a woman's unique set of circumstances. It is certainly the best solution in a case of rape or serious deformity “(Hernandez). Barbara Hernandez was raped and she was put in a difficult position to make the decision to keep the pregnancy or terminate it. Her doctor explained that if she were to keep the pregnancy she would not live a normal life due to flashbacks from the experience. Hernandez believes that there are circumstances where abortion should be a legal option. William Norman Grigg disagrees