Champagne Moody

Prof. Jane Blakelock

ENG-2100-30
7 February 2016
Abortions in America
There is always two sides of a story no matter what the story is. Abortion is a very
sensitive topic in America right now and it affects not just women, but everyone around them. An
abortion can either impact a life of the woman having the abortion positively or negatively, but
there is never a right or wrong side when it comes to abortions. In most papers, articles, and
etcetera we always hear how abortions harmfully affected the women, but never how it impacts a
women life.
Emily had an abortion almost 5 years ago. It was not an easy or proud decision, but it's
one she chose. She knew that when it's all said and done, shell have to answer to the man
upstairs and it's a choice that she would have to live with for the rest of her life. However since
that time, she have made some changes within her own life, changes within her. Number one, she
stopped having sex altogether. She hasn't been in a relationship since that took place and vowed
to not engage in such behavior until she had met the right person who truly cares about her, and

also himself and wanted to be married. She understood this may not work for everyone, however,
it has been one of the best decisions thus far in her life. The abortion not only caused her to look
at herself, but to evaluate the types of relationships she kept getting involved in. All of that has
changed too. She have chosen to become a better person, make better decisions, not just about
sex, but about her everyday life. She would never encourage someone to do what she did, but she
would advise them to decide what it is they can live with. The first three and a half years
especially there wasn't a day that went by that she didn't reflect on the abortion and even today at
times she do like she did this morning, but she learned something from it and shes a better
person because of it.
Abortions are something many of us feel can be argued either way based on the situation,
religious views, and/or if you are pro-choice or pro-life. Abortion is a topic that has everyone
siding with either pro-choice or pro-life about the topic. A lot of people feel that abortions are not
okay especially when the person is having unprotected sexual relations with their partner and/or
partners and knows the consequences of having unprotected sex, but also feel that abortions are
okay for people who was forced to have sex and during that moment the girl gets pregnant and
also when an expecting mother finds out that having a baby would endanger not only the
mothers life of the unborn child, but the life of the baby the mother is currently pregnant with.
Then we have a side where no matter what the situation is they feel that abortion is the mother

choice and she can choose to terminate her pregnancy anytime she feels the need to, regardless
of the reason why shes terminating it.
Abortion is one of the most common surgical procedures performed on women in the
United States, with at least three in 10 women experiencing at least one abortion by age 45.
Nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended, and about four in 10 of these are terminated by
abortion. Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies end in abortion. Each year, 2% of women of
childbearing age (1544 years) have an abortion (Medoff 158). Abortion is a common procedure
that many of women receive because of a variety of reasons. Abortion is a topic that has been
and currently is an uproar in the United States because the procedure is a highly sensitive topic
because it consist of terminating a fetus (an unborn offspring of a mammal, in particular a new
born baby more than 8 weeks after conception). In like manner, we hear sides from both pro-life
and pro-choice and typically choose a side once we hear what their fighting for. Roe vs. Wade
was a Supreme Court case that gave women the right to an abortion prior to the viability of the
fetus. The basic underlying principle in the Roe v. Wade decision is that the right of a pregnant
woman to decide for herself whether or not to have an abortion outweighs the right of the fetus to
life. Marshall Medoff informs us in his academic journal that,
One of the conflicts or disagreements between supporters and opponents of
abortion is whether or not the fetus is a person. Pro-choice supporters argue that the value

of the life of the mother supersedes the nonhuman fetus and there is a moral obligation to
the living. Opponents of abortion argue that life begins at conception and that abortion is
akin to murder since the fetus is a person with the same legal and moral rights as a
living person (Medoff 159).
Being pro-life means that you are against abortions and would support legal prohibition
and/or restrictions towards abortions. When many people think of abortions we feel that most
abortions are done because of reason like rape, incest, deformity, and etcetera. However, based
on reasons such as rape, incest, deformity, and etcetera the research stated that Research shows
that only 1 to 3 percent of abortions are performed for the reasons of rape, incest, deformity, or
threat to the life of the mother. If a building is burning, it is permissible for someone to break in
to save lives or property. However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't have laws against forcible
entry and trespassing. Even if there were legitimate grounds for abortion (such as rape, incest,
deformity or threat to the mother's life), it would in no way justify legal abortion for the typical
cases (which are matters of convenience). These "convenience" cases account for more than 97
percent of all abortions, while the "legitimate" cases account for less than 3 percent (Alcorn 25).
This information stated that only 1 in 3 abortions are because of cases like rape, incest,
deformity, and the mothers health, which is kind of crazy because I expected the ration to be
higher for those types of cases. Anti-abortion groups continue to urge Congress and state

legislatures to regulate abortion practices, while abortion-rights supporters say the measures
undercut women's reproductive freedom (Jost np).
Pro-Choice is fighting for the rights that women have the choice to decide whether they
would like to terminate their pregnancy because of any reason the women chose. As the sexselection and defunding campaigns illustrate, pro-lifers have tried to appropriate claims about
sex discrimination, and use them to deny women reproductive choice (Ziegler 267). Abortion is
such a common procedure in the United States 1.1 million U.S women has had an abortion every
single year. Thats nearly 1 in 4 pregnancies ending in abortions. 1/3 of women has had an
abortion by the age of 45. In the academic journal Women's Rights on the Right: The History and
Stakes of Modern Pro-Life Feminism, the author Mary Ziegler argues that.

In conclusion abortion will always be a sensitive and debatable topic in the United States
because of the different views. No matter what your views are on abortion they will not be right
or wrong because you have the right to feel how you want about the topic. Even though abortion
consist of early terminating a fetus life, not only has it negatively impacted those who have had
abortions, but they have also impact womens life who have had abortions.

Word Cite
Medoff, Marshall. "Pro-Choice Versus Pro-Life: The Relationship between State Abortion Policy
and Child Well-Being in the United States." Health Care for Women International 37.2 (2016):
158-169. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.

Alcorn, Randy. "Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments." Campus Life 52.9 (1994): 25.
MasterFILE Premier. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.

Ziegler, Mary. "Women's Rights on the Right: The History and Stakes of Modern Pro-Life
Feminism." Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice 28.2 (2013): 232-268. Business Source
Complete. Web. 13 Feb. 2016.
Women Terminating Desired Pregnancies Due To Fetal Anomaly." British Journal of Social
.

Work 40.1 (2010): 133-153. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.

CHINN, STUART. "Universal Arguments and Particular Arguments on Abortion Rights."

Maryland Law Review 75.1 (2015): 247-270. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.
Hawkins, Kristan, and Lauren Enriquez. "Pro-Life Millennials: The Polls Vs the Facts." Human
.

Life Review 40.3 (2014): 13. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.