Running Head: ABORTION

Abortion: A Review of the Literature

The University of Texas at El Paso
Ruben C. Campos

ABORTION

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Abstract

There have been many debates over abortion and what could cause the people
involved to make the choice to have this procedure done or not to have the procedure
done. This literature review will inform you on the many sides and topics on abortion and
to why some people are for abortion and other are not. This review also will show many
peer-reviewed academic articles with experts research on this topic. This paper will also
show when abortion really started to take off as a well-known topic in our society. All
this and more well be looked over and discussed in this literature review.

ABORTION

Abortion: A Review of the Literature

Abortion has been a known practice in the world since the 1800s and even
though there were a few disputes on abortion, it was never as big of an issue as it is today
in our society. A big reason to why abortion is a bigger issue now is because of what
happen in the year 1973. There was a certain Supreme Court case named Roe V. Wade.
In this Supreme Court case Roe was a single, unmarried, pregnant women who lived in
Dallas, Texas who wanted an abortion. She did not feel that it was unconstitutional for
her to be denied an abortion because her life was not in danger. Wade was the District
Attorney in Dallas who supported the law against abortion, which stated that the only
way a women could have an abortion in Texas is if their life was at state. This ended with
the decision under the 14th amendment The right to Privacy that women may have the
right to have an abortion.
This case awakened people and abortion became the grand issue it is today with
two groups of people going for and against abortion. The people who are against abortion
have labeled themselves as (Pro-Life). This group of people have decided that whomever

is planning on getting an abortion shouldnt and instead, have their baby. On the other
hand people that are for abortion have labeled themselves as (Pro-Choice). This group of
people thinks that everyone has the right to choose to either abort their child or to keep it.
In order to inform you about abortion and its aspects of the cause the following
questions will be used to convey the information to you.
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1) Should the race or sex of a child in the womb affect the choice to have an
abortion?
2) Should abortion have a negative outlook?
3) Should abortion be legal?
This literature review will analyze the pros, cons, and situations of
abortion. It will cover almost everything you need to know about this subject and
the different viewpoints of both groups.

Should the race or sex of a child in the womb affect the choice to have an
abortion?

According to experts something that has become a point worth looking into is if
an abortion should be allowed if the choice is based on the unborn babies race and or
sex. The author of (Pregnant And Prejudiced: The Constitutionality Of Sex- And RaceSelective Abortion Restrictions.) states that six states of the U.S.A. prohibits a womens
choice to get an abortion based on the womans reason for wanting the procedure. For
example if a pregnant woman was seeking an abortion because she found out she was

having a boy who was white it would be illegal for to do that in such a state. This is
known as a motive-based abortion. (Gillette, J, 2013) Ms. Gillettes article is going
against motive-based abortions and is trying to inform the public about this new option of
abortion. author mentions the court case Gonzales V. Carhart. This case supported
restrictions on abortions that are supported by moral issues.
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On the other hand the author of (Justice O'connor And The Substance Of Equal
Citizenship.) focuses on the U.S. Supreme Courts standpoints on motive-based abortions
such as sex discrimination, religious freedom, racial discrimination and abortion choice.
Viewing these stand points the author explains that even if the abortion is motive-based
in the end it is the mothers constitutional right to decide if she will have the baby or not.
The author commits to the protection of equal citizenship. (Karst, Kenneth L., 2003)

Should abortion have a negative outlook?

According to the experts people have found abortion as a negative or evil thing.
The people who are most associated with this thought on abortion are the Catholic
Church. The church believes that when you abort your child even before it has a
heartbeat, you are still killing the child because the church also believes that the baby s
alive at conception or when the sperm reaches the egg.
The author of (A Not- So-Silent Scream) reviews gothic narratives about abortion
written in the United States during the 19th century. These reading stated that all
abortionists and the idea of abortion was to be considered evil and violent. The author

also states the dangers of aborting your child. Some of these dangers were the mother
could die or suffer traumatically due to the abortion and the mother could also suffer
from unneeded damages to her body and her hormones. (Varlerius k., 2013)
However the author of (A long way from home: restrictions on federal funding of
abortions for Peace Corps volunteers) states in her article that she believes abortion is a
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necessary procedure not only in or country but also in 2nd and 3rd world countries. The
reason that she states to why this needs to be done is because of certain cases she has seen
at first hand. In these cases women have been raped, involved in incest, and mothers have
been in danger of dying when the baby is going to be born. She also claims that the
government has stopped the Peace Corps from aiding the people in these cases which
goes against the domestic abortion polices active in Medicaid and federal prisons. She
believes that these policies should be open to everyone and not just certain people in
higher places. (Valerius, K., 2013).

Should abortion be legal?

Abortion has become a well know issue in the todays society and there has been a
large amount of debates on the matter and if abortion should be legalized fully in the
Untied States Of America. Experts on this issue have new research analyzing this
problem. The author of the article (No happy medium: the role of Americans ambivalent
view of fetal rights in political conflict over abortion legalization) discusses a role of
opinion from the pubic on abortions and the rights of the child within the womb. He

states that there has been political conflict on the legalization on abortion ever since the
case Roe V. Wade in 1973.
This conflict caused the development of the pro-choice movement and the rights
of an unborn child. The rights that have been given to fetus are rather strange but are
accepted. The rights of a fetus are that the fetus may have a lawyer to defend she/he, if
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the mother is using or drinking a certain amount of alcohol the government may
figuratively take the baby and provide foster parents to the child an the baby has rights
from the time that it is 8 weeks old till birth. (Williams, K., 2013)
Other experts like the author of (Abortion: opposing viewpoints) take both sides of
abortion and gives the more evidence on the issue. She states how human rights has been
violated by abortion. She claims that when having an abortion you are killing a human
being even if the baby is less than 8 weeks old that is still or was a human being that a
women was going to give birth to. The life of a child in the womb is unpredictable and an
abortion could prevent that life from becoming something good in the world.
Though choice to have an abortion should be allowed in certain cases such as rape
it should not be seen as a way out for an accidental pregnancy. Abortion should stay as a
respected practice that should only be used to aid victims of rape and when the mothers
life is in danger. For the cases of rape abortion is seen as a way to forget the traumatic
event they have experienced. For the cases where the mothers life is in danger an
abortion should be seen as an option but it is not always the definite answer as some
mothers choose to have the baby in the end. She believes that abortion is a good thing
and should stay legal for those who may actually need it aside from those who see it as a

way out and misuse their right to abort. (Williams, E., 2002)

Conclusion
As you can see there are many different views on abortion and reasons on why it
should stay legal and why it should be illegal. There are also an abundance of reasons
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why people may want an abortion in the first place and how that abortion can be justified
and be demined wrong. Hopefully this literature review has provided the information
needed on abortion and has informed you on the issue. This review should give you a
bigger picture on both sides of abortion and has opened your eyes to make your on
decision on this topic.