The Thing About “It”

This past June of 2013 a young Chilean girl was forced to lose her childhood and innocence in more than one way. Belen had become pregnant with her stepfathers child, whom she had been repeatedly raped by, and because of South American laws will become a mother at the ripe age of eleven. Chile just so happens to be one of the 33 countries across the world where abortion is not an option due to the practice being illegal. Currently, there’s an ongoing debate about if the United States should become the 34th. The government should not be able to make abortions illegal because women have the right to choose whether or not they are fit for parenthood or not. Abortion is defined as the termination of a pregnancy within the first 28 weeks resulting in the death of a fetus. Since early times women have engaged in helping other women to get abortions, often times even doing them themselves. In the 1800s in America abortion was more common amongst those who were involved in premarital sex. This was due to sex before marriage being illegal and frowned upon at this time. To abolish a pregnancy during this period of times it is recorded that women consumed large amounts of alcohol and drugs. In 1938 the important case of R vs. Bourne decided in favor of an abortion performed on a 14 year old girl who had been raped. The court felt that the birth of this child would jeopardize the child’s mental health. This established that the mother's mental suffering could be reason enough for an abortion. At this time, any termination of foetuses became illegal unless it was to save the mother’s life. This act was reversed in 1973 during the Roe vs. Wade trial. The court's judgment was based on the decision that a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy came under the freedom of personal choice in family matters as protected by the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. In 2003, the plantiff went back to court to see if the action could get reversed, bringing forth proof of abortions being harmful to women.
Some say that abortion is the murder of an innocent person/child. But, does personhood begin at birth or conception? This question seems to be the basis of all abortion debates but every answer given just so happens to be an opinion. Christians feel that it goes against the sixth amendment which states “Thou Shall Not Kill”. Others say this act goes against our unalienable rights given to us by our founding fathers and put in the Declaration of Independence. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. In the Roe vs Wade case, Wade had presented proof that abortions can be harmful to parents. More so that it “disproportionately harms African-Americans”. Anti-abortionist argue that instead of abortion, women should use some of the many contraceptives which have been made to prevent unwanted pregnancies. These birth-controls include shots, pills, and condoms. People against abortions wonder if abortion weren’t available what would they do? It is believed that 19-25% of women that have abortions, have previously had abortions prior to the one charted.
The legal age to get contraceptives without the consent of a parent is 17 in few states and 18 in majority in the United States. Annually, there are about 207, 754 cases of rape in our country. Of these cases, 61% of the women raped are under the age 18. This meaning that they are denied contraception. Contraception which isn’t always available. Women need a doctor's prescription to obtain many birth control methods, such as the pill, the patch, and the shot. The lack of insurance and affordability could influence many decisions involving child-birth. About half of all large group insurance plans do not cover any form of prescription contraception, and only