In today’s society, abortions are seen as a sensitive topic; which has resulted in critical debates as to whether it is human or not. Throughout history, abortions have been seen as shameful which caused many women to conceal their stories. Society has put external pressure on women, which leaves the impression that they must regret their decisions. This is seen in the March 2016 Mashable article “I am sick of being silenced': 14 women share their abortion stories” as fourteen women acknowledge this external pressure when sharing their stories. Society has progressed to the point where we must silence our thoughts and beliefs in order to please others ( Quote MASHABLE). To understand how this happened, we must reintroduce the works on influential sociologists who focused on societal growth, such as …show more content…
This is essential when trying to understand societal views on topics such as abortion.
To begin, we will look into Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher. If Hobbes was still living in today's society he would advocate for legalizing abortions due to the simple reason he declared that “ everyone has a right to everything; even to one another's body, so that there can be no security of life for anyone”(QUOTE 14). This declaration means that Hobbes would argue that women should be allowed to abort their pregnancies for whatever reason because it is their own body and they have the right to do with it as they shall. Referring back to the article “14 women share their abortion stories”, where all fourteen women were afraid to talk about their abortions, Hobbes would say that they should have spoken up sooner because “ no one gives anything to another without intending good for him or
Abortion’s legalization through Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade, has allowed for one in three pregnancies to end in abortion. This means that 1.5 million abortions are performed in the United States each year (Flanders 3). It ranks among the most complex and controversial issues, arousing heated legal, political, and ethical debates. The modern debate over abortion is a conflict of competing moral ideas and of fundamental human rights: to life, to privacy, to control over one's own body. Trying to come to a compromise has proven that it one cannot please all of the people on each side of the debate.
In a time fraught with hot button issues, one that polarizes perhaps more than any other is that of abortion. Unfortunately, it is also an issue that is difficult to write about while remaining unbiased. Paul Stark’s “How Abortion Hurts Women” and Sarah Barnes’ “The Long Term Effects of Abortion on Women” both set out to prove that abortion has serious side effects on the affected party. Both Stark and Barnes cite several studies done in both America and abroad to support their claims, as well as, in Barnes case, offering their own insights on the matter. It seems that both authors purpose is to enlighten their audiences on the under-reported effects of abortion on women in order to spark a new conversation that doesn’t center around the unborn
Abortions were widely used in the early eighteen hundreds and kept secret due public scrutineer. Not only were they considered against the law in some places but were risky due to high risk of infection from unsterile equipment used to perform the actions.” Without today’s current technology, maternal and infant mortality rates during childbirth were extraordinarily high. “(National abortion Federation, 2016) as time contained states changed and modified their laws to accommodate political agendas, these opposed to legal abortion had begun to fight absent any stated funded abortion clines. Then there was Roe v. Wade this was the first major Supreme Court battle based on abortion laws and ethics. Roe v. Wade decision of the courts said that they “considered the constitutionality of a Texas statute made it a crime to obtain an abortion except when it was necessary to save the life of the mother”. (Harris, 2014) There was another Supreme Court case that changed the views of the courts based on how they judge the frame work of decision on the trimester model. The ethics involved in this are not just solely left to the mother of the potential life but in the network of people
Abortion has taken the lives of more than 50 million babies since 1973 (“About Abortion”). The issue of abortion is one of the most common controversial issues in American politics and culture. In modern society, many women that have an unintended pregnancy and they result to abortion without researching other options. Abortion is not a substitute for birth control and this issue should be taken seriously. The individual woman needs to understand that by agreeing to have an abortion she is agreeing to kill an innocent fetus. Abortion rips the unborn child from his or hers right to life. Society needs to let women see through the eyes of the fetus and find alternative ways to raise the baby. Abortion should be
(History in dispute) In addition, middle-class Americans were still debating whether married women, let alone teenage girls, should use contraception. This illuminates how little information was provided at this time, and how an unwanted pregnancy might yield confusion and controversy. (History in dispute) Abortion, as it still is presently, was a controversial action for one to take. Many believed in the idea of “immediate animation”, where when the first fetal movement is felt, it has been “infused with a soul” (Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113). It is very much apparent why killing a fetus “infused with a soul” might render one to disapprove. Terminating a pregnancy is killing unborn human life, and this concept inspired people to Those who believed in ideas like this would advocate against giving women access to abortion, or at least disapproved them doing so.
The acceptance and practice of abortions has greatly increased in America, with nearly 53 million legal abortions being performed from 1973 to 2011. To put this into perspective, that’s nearly 77 times the number of homicides and nonnegligent manslaughters from 1972 to 2007. ("Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics”). As of abortion rates in 2008, three in ten American women will have an abortion before the age of 45 (“Abortion ProCon.org”). Abortion has especially grown in acceptance among the younger generation, with 75% of women who have abortions being under the age of 30. Another shocking fact about abortion is that 9.3% of women who had abortions in 2011 had already had three or more abortions previously. In fact, a child is killed by an abortion in America every 26 seconds (“Online For Life”). While abortions can be dangerous for the mother, the mortality rate is only about 0.6 out of 100,000, which is about fourteen times smaller than the mortality rate of childbirth. So what do activists have to say about abortion?
Babies are born and killed every day. Not babies, but unborn fetuses. It’s a sensitive topic for some, more than others. But for me I feel the topic of abortion should be discussed and ideas should be shared with one another. Abortion is a permanent decision to have an unborn fetus, (between 12 and 20 weeks), removed from a woman's womb. There are more pro-life believers than pro-choice. I am one of those few pro-choice believers that laugh at the “anti-abortion” picketers outside Planned Parenthood. Although there are some instances where people think abortion is not moral, it is completely up to the woman and possibly her partner as well.
Many differences of opinion arise in regards to abortion, including the obvious “pro-life or pro-choice” question many people have defiant answers to. Abortion is a topic that most every person has a very strong, firm stance on, resulting in a worldwide debate of the matter. Differences of opinion persist within both movements. “Some pro-life activists may condone abortions in cases of rape or incest, while others take an uncompromising stance, believing that all abortion is murder” (“Abortion”). Most pro-life thinkers state that it is inhumane and immoral to abort a fetus under any circumstance, yet it is very important that the woman has the right to make her own decision based on her situation. If a woman needs to have an abortion, she
Talking about abortion brings out an emotional response in many women. This is because having an abortion takes a massive emotional toll on some women. As Nanyjo Mann said, three weeks after having an abortion, “I became preoccupied with the thoughts of death. I fantasized about how I would die. My baby struggled for two hours” (Reardon, 1987, p. xviii). In the forward of the book “Aborted Women, Silent No More” Nanyjo, a women telling
“After the first blush of sin comes it's indifference; and from immoral it becomes, as it were, unmoral, and not quite unnecessary to that life which we have made.” (Thoreau, paragraph 14, line 20). Abortion is an injustice. It is the rationalized “removal” of a human life from existence, and it is wrong. Arguably reminiscent of the dreaded extermination camps of the second world war, deciding the death of millions has become a matter of routine for the world today. Abortion has ceased to be considered as wrong by many, and the majority would argue that it is instead quite necessary for their lifestyle. Several scenarios which argue their point include teen pregnancy, rape, and finding out the unborn child is mentally retarded.
For recent years, people start to deny abortion and stated it as cruel and murder. While it does involve remove fetus or embryo from the mother and kill the baby before it was born, it might not be the worst thing that can happen to the baby. Most people who chose abortion is either can’t afford to have a kid or unable to take care of them. It was one of the case, while other concern about their right as a person. Some might say the baby have right to live, while others believe the mother have right for herself to do what she want to her body. The debate on abortion is not about who right, but it about the consequences of their action.
Thousands of women in the world have abortions. “ Since the 1970’s, abortion has been a very controversial issue throughout the United States. Anti-Abortion and pro choice organizations often express their differences of opinion in lawful demonstrations” (Andryszewski 10).Think of it this way, all of the fetuses are in life or death situations. Their mother is choosing whether or not she wants to keep them or abort them. The children that are getting aborted will never get the chance to live. The children that are aborted will never get a choice.They will never get to go through all of the good, and even the bad, times of life. Life is a blessing, and everyone should get the chance to live their life. Women who just don’t want a child, or even women who have been raped, are wanting abortions all throughout America. Whatever the reason for the abortion, the pregnant woman should not have the choice of taking a life that they created. There are reasons and other options why women should not get abortions. Abortions should be illegal because these women are murdering a child that is unborn, it could be harmful to women, and if not always, then almost always, women have the choice of adoption.
“Judith Arcana (1994) argued that abortion is a motherhood issue, a decision a woman makes because she believes it is the best for herself and her baby” (Arcana, p.216). The decision to have an abortion is one of the most difficult decisions a woman can take. What the woman wanted is not to be pregnant and they abort only when they have no other way to take. Also, the profile of the women who abort are very varied. For example, economic problems, health, to continue their education and even for deeper reasons that no one has the right to question. It is not possible to trivialize the decision of a woman, and it should not be forgotten that an abortion is a medical intervention, with its risks, causing fear and pain. On the other hand, today's
Abortion is an abomination and a serious confliction in civilization today. This heated topic is one inflicted upon by many different thought processes, morals, and religions, making it extremely controversial, but most do not realize one’s life is truly at stake. Abortion signifies revoking someone the opportunity of life, for the sole reason that things are not in our favor (Ladock). Ladock states the most important factor of abortion: human life is involved and killing it would be a crime. The innocent child in the womb is called innocent for a reason, and taking away the life of someone without their permission is cruelty and unjust. Just because a parent may not be prepared to have the child, does not mean they should be
Abortion has been around since a lot of years in every inhabited corner of the globe. It has always been accepted as a means to prevent the suffering of both woman and potential child. It has been practiced widely in every society for many reasons including famine, war, poverty, overpopulation, or simply because a woman felt she was not ready for a child (Whitney 40). No one ever questioned a woman’s right to this procedure till the 1800’s. During this era of change people began to turn their attention in a new direction, the fetus. They began to protest abortion as cruel, inhumane, and murderous. Abortionists who were once revered and depended upon were scorned and threatened. Though abortions still happened with regularity, they were kept silent and seen as a matter of shame. “Over the next hundred years, public sentiment for fetus continued to rise until the inevitable happened in America during the early 40’s; Abortion was made illegal.” (Cohen 17). The pro-life supporters had succeeded in saving the lives of innocent babies who would have been slaughtered for the convenience of selfish, ignorant and irresponsible women. This new law had made women actually settle down and raise families or give birth to beautiful children. We all know that, it has been proven time to time throughout history that the human spirit will not allow prohibition. Something inside us feels the need to strike out at that, which restrains us and holds us from the