Professor Broadbent
Writing 39C
24 May 2018
The United States has been a battlefield for decades with two large sides of the war
continuously fighting to have their way in this country. The topic of discussion is abortion, and
an agreement was settled through the Roe v. Wade court case where abortion was legalized, but
the debate on this subject is more alive than ever. Donald Trump now threatens the promise of
Roe v. Wade and therefore insinuates disagreement throughout the war zone we call our home.
Abortion has been an on-going debate for many years and stands to be one of the most
prevalent issues in the United States. It proves to be a very pressing problem because of the
historical context that still lingers and stands relevant to this day. This topic has been a social,
political, and cultural problem that has been taking place in the past, present, and will continue to
take place in the future with both parties of this debate being able to make strong cases that each
opposing perspective has an extreme view. From the problem’s origin beginning in the 1800s to
its lively debate that is taking place in the 21st century, the legitimacy and the weight of the
problem is demonstrated by the length of its life. Even after the Roe v. Wade decision to legalize
abortion, many court cases such as Planned Parenthood of Southern Pennsylvania v. Casey
continue to put this decision back into question. Abortion also proves to be a large problem due
to the conversation that is taking place in political and cultural aspect of society. The
inauguration of Donald Trump and his cabinet into the white house greatly affects this issue due
to the disagreement between our current president and the president that was in office in the term
before. Trump lambasted Roe v. Wade in his continuous attempt to repeal it and furthers his
attempts by trying to replace the Affordable Care Act and by defunding planned parenthood,
which contradicts the works of the previous president, Barack Obama. This demonstrates the
present context of this issue in a political aspect and the influence it has on the nation.
The problem caused by abortion creates many consequences that hurts and affects
primarily women with an unwanted pregnancy who cannot access safe abortions. The
illegalization of what most people believe is a right to women would create more debate than
ever about the immorality of Trump’s decision. This will also create a greater danger for women
because making abortion a crime will not put an end to the practice. Research has shown that
there is no association between legality and its incidence and banning abortion does not stop the
practice; it merely makes it more dangerous. Illegalizing abortion will push women to take
matters into their own hands and undergo the procedure in hiding through a non-professional
who utilizes methods that could be life threatening. This is a very pressing issue because unsafe
abortions are one of the leading causes of maternal mortality, already causing 68,000 deaths
annually, and illegalizing abortion in the United States will increase this statistic even more. Of
the women who survive these unsafe abortions, 5 million of them go on to suffer long-term
health complications. The consequences of this problem prove to reflect the momentousness of
the issue and shows the lack of correlation between the allowance and the occurrence of the
practice.
The root causes of the abortion debate differ greatly but all contribute to the problem,
making it a widespread issue that affects many aspects of society and elevates the difficulty in
solving the issue. The root causes include differences in ideologies and beliefs, the relationship
between poverty and abortion rate, and unwanted pregnancies. The discussion began in the
1800s when anti-abortion laws were put in place to prevent women from undergoing unsafe
abortions through untrained abortionists. Compilations of illegal and unsafe abortions amounted
to a large number of deaths which led to the criminalization of this practice in the nineteenth
century. After a series of events, the United States made a landmark decision in the court case of
Roe v. Wade to legalize abortion which was intended to end the debate, but instead sparked a
new ember in this problem. Making a singular decision to encompass the nation satisfied those
who supported the legalization of the practice while pushing its opponents to continue to pass
(Source) http://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/
(Source) http://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/
The tables above represent one of the root causes of this issue. The data shows a clear division
between both sides of the debate in a political aspect and in a chronological aspect and this
division exists due to the differences in ideologies and beliefs that feeds the fire and is what has
kept this problem alive and relevant for many years. This stands as an explanation as to why the
organizations and laws that President Obama has created during his term would soon be revoked
by the following president, Donald Trump. This data also explains the back-and-forth between
the two sides of abortion. Past and future Presidents of the United States install laws and
regulations to their favor on the topic and it contributes to the ongoing discussion about this
subject. Another root cause of abortion is poverty. In a recent study, 73 percent of women
undergoing an abortion has stated that not being able to afford the baby was the reason behind
the operation. This number rose to 81 percent for women under the poverty line. This number did
indeed decline by 8 percent from the years of 2000 to 2008 but it rose 18 percent among poor
women. The last root cause of abortion is caused by unintended pregnancies. An unintended
pregnancy is characterized as one that was either mistimed or unwanted and made up a
staggering 45 percent of all pregnancies in the year of 2011. Of these unintended pregnancies, 42
Abortion has been an unending issue due to the numerous obstacles that prevent it from
being resolved. These obstacles include the root causes that are stated above, the fact that there is
no “correct” answer or solution, and the incorrect focus that advocates are fighting for. A large
obstacle that prevents the abortion problem from being solved is the different ideologies and
beliefs that creates a divide between the people that support abortion and the people that are
against it. The pro-life versus pro-choice debate acts as the main kindling that maintains this fire
and is what prevents it from being settled. President Barack Obama worked towards this issue by
enacting the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and provided funding for Planned
Parenthood in support of abortion. By the next presidential term, Donald Trump attempts to undo
the works of Obama and strived to replace Obamacare while defunding Planned Parenthood, as
stated before. This “tug-of-war” can be seen throughout historical events and court cases and
demonstrates a reason why the abortion issue cannot be resolved. Another obstacle that stands in
the way of the solution to this problem is the fact that there is no “correct” answer or solution to
this issue. Abortion has been a controversial issue for decades and still stands to be one even
after the legalization of this practice. Abortion has successfully divided the population into two
large crowds with strong opinions and cohesive arguments for both perspectives based on an
individual’s cultural, political, and social background. Pro-life advocates may argue that the
government has an obligation to preserve all human life, regardless of intent, viability or quality
of life concerns. On the other hand, pro-choice advocates argue that all individuals have
unlimited autonomy with respect to their own reproductive systems, as long as they do not
breach the autonomy of others. This debate extends to religious affiliation, political involvement,
and ambiguity between what is right and what is wrong. In the end, both perspectives of all these
debates provide substantial arguments and evidence to support it which pushes this problem into
an endless rut with no solution that is deemed correct. The last obstacle that prevents the talk
about abortion from being settled is caused by the incorrect focus that advocates are fighting for
on their respective sides of the debate. The biggest fault that both sides of this debate have is that
they portray each other as enemies or immoral beings. They label the opposing side as having an
extreme view to the issue which is not entirely true. This obstacle contributes to the endless rut
that the United States is in because these advocates are fighting for a cause that is outside the
cause. Both perspectives highlight the shortcomings and imperfections of the opposing view in
support of their respective arguments as if this will shed light on why one’s point of view is the
“correct” one when this is not the case whatsoever. Both aspects of this debate must understand
that pro-life is not anti-choice and pro-choice is not anti-life. Once this obstacle is overcome, real
change and reform can begin taking place and steps towards solving this ongoing debate can be
made.
Although abortion has been a relevant issue for what seems like an eternity, solutions can
be implemented to work at this issue as a whole, rather than supporting one side of the argument
and waiting for the opposing view to reciprocate. The solutions to the abortion discussion does
not concern the legality of the practice, and instead, involves the steps this nation can take
The first solution involves investing more money into sexual education to educate people
on how to prevent pregnancies. Sexual education programs must be medically accurate, age-
appropriate, comprehensive, and must not promote religious doctrine, bias against people, or
abstinence. This is to increase the effectiveness of these programs and appeal to the entire
audience rather than utilizing religious motives that would only appeal to a portion of the
audience. The programs must also refrain from promoting abstinence-only due to the lack of
benefits it has. In 1992, California had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation, so a three-
year abstinence-only sex education program was launched to combat this. The program was
cancelled early when it had absolutely no effect on teens’ decisions to start having sex. Creating
programs that are age appropriate provides adolescent teens the preparation that is necessary for
safe sex and will reduce the amount of pregnancies which, in turn, will decrease the abortion
rate. Sexual education programs prove to be effective in reducing abortion after the California
Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act was passed. Within 2
years, California’s teen pregnancy declined by more than 50 percent which dwarfed the
corresponding national decline of 37 percent. These programs indeed were intended to reduce
teen pregnancies, not abortion but both went hand in hand. The decline in the teen pregnancy rate
was followed by the decline in teen abortions rates. From the programs in California alone, teen
The second solution involves increasing access to contraceptives. This solution proves
sheet/unintended-pregnancy-united-states
Expanding the access to contraceptives allows people of all ages to practice protected sex to
prevent unwanted pregnancies that may end in an abortion. This, in turn, would decrease both
unintended pregnancies and abortion overall. The study below demonstrates the effects of free
access the contraceptives. A major decline has taken place in all three areas and the declines
show to be statistically significant which shows the benefits that the greater access of
contraceptives brings.
(Source): https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/reducing-abortion-rates-
policy_us_589b8ea5e4b09bd304bfd920
Both solutions prove to be very effective in working at the abortion problem due to the
solution’s ability to target the root causes and the obstacles that prevent it from being solved.
Investing money into sexual education programs would educate people on ways to prevent and
prepare for unwanted pregnancies while a greater access to contraceptives would prevent
unwanted pregnancies altogether. Implementing these solutions would also provide a better focus
for the advocates on either side since both perspectives of the abortion debate will be working
against abortion rather than working against each other. For once in the debate, the differences in
ideologies and beliefs will not contradict each other in that the solutions do not support, nor does
it eliminate the practice. A large study was conducted to survey women who received abortions
and nearly half of the women stated that they did not use birth control in the month that they
conceived. When asked why they did not, 8 percent cited financial problems, 2 percent said they
did not know where to get it, 28 percent thought they wouldn’t get pregnant, 26 percent didn’t
think they would have sex, 23 percent never thought of using it, 10 percent said their partner
objected, and 3 percent thought it would make sex less fun. Both solutions prove to be very
effectual since the sexual education programs would teach the participants the ins and outs of sex
and how to practice it safely while a larger access to contraceptives would make it more
affordable and would allow people to prepared for safe sex which would, in the end, reduce the
amount of abortions.
Out of these solutions, the nation should allow greater access to contraceptives due to the
amount of benefits it brings for the amount it may cost. The solution would be permanent, and
the longevity of this solution surpasses the sexual education programs. Contraceptives proves its
own ability to actively prevent abortions and people should have an easier access to them
because of its effectiveness. Also, it shows to be a better solution when compared to the sexual
education programs due to the program’s lack of concrete benefits that is produced. The trends
and statistics that are derived from these programs are only correlations, regardless of the amount
of success that seems to be produced. Many may say that increasing access to contraceptives will
be too costly to be feasible, but this will not be a problem once the benefits of this solution begin
to take place. Unintended pregnancies that lead to births are often paid for by public insurance
programs, primarily Medicaid, which is a program funded by the federal government. Out of all
the unplanned births that take place, Medicaid pays for 68 percent of them and the total public
in 2010. Because of the immense effectiveness of this solution, the amount of money that funds
unintended pregnancies will be greatly reduced due to the decline in the pregnancy rate. This
would mean that this solution would fund itself and would make it nearly self-sufficient. Not
only is this solution self-sufficient, it is also a cheaper alternative to what is taking place now. A
study was made at the Indiana University School of Medicine and it showed that every dollar
invested in contraception can save between 4 and 17 dollars down the road in health care costs.
The debate on abortion has lasted for decades and has gained no progress because
advocates are arguing to win rather than arguing to fix the problem at hand. Abortion is not a
pro-life or pro-choice debate. Abortion is not a problem with a single solution or answer.
Abortion is not the difference between right and wrong, It is about finding the middle ground
between the two and implementing solutions to work towards fixing it. There isn’t a shortage of
pills or condoms. It’s a shortage of cultural and personal responsibility. It’s a failure to teach,
understand, admit or care that unprotected sex can lead to creation—and the subsequent killing,
through abortion—of a developing human being. (Saletan) Fill the shortage with what have in
abundance. The cost of contraceptives compared to the cost of a life should not be a question our
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