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BraxtenPrice
JohnKubler
English114A
27October2014
Abortion:TheStruggleforWomensRights
Abortionhasbeeninthecenterofdiscussionforalmost50years.Withprochoiceandprolife
activistdebatingtheprosandconsofallowingwomentherighttoanabortionithasnowbecomeoneof
theUSAsmostcontroversialissue.Abortionisillegalin30states(legalundercertaincircumstancesi.e.
rapeandincest)andlegalin20states.Bythegovernmentdenyingwomentherighttoanabortionitisa
violationoftheirfreedom.Webelievethatwomenshouldhavetheoptiontochooseabortion.Today
theycan,thankstotheSupremeCourt'sRoev.Wadedecisionin1973.Buteventhoughaccessto
abortionislegal,ourrighttoitisfarfromsafe.Antichoicegroupsattackourrighttochooseatevery
opportunity,(prochoiceamerica.org).Fetussaregrowninsideofwomenthereforeitisawomens
choiceastoifshewantstohaveanabortionornot.Theonlydecidingfactorsthatshouldbeincludedin
awoman'sdecisionastowhetherornotsheshouldhaveanabortionshouldbebetweenherandthe
physicianperformingtheproducer.
AbortionwasfirstruledillegalinConnecticutin1821.Thislawmadeitillegalforapothecaries
in1821toprovidewomenwithpoisonsthatwouldhelpterminateapregnancy.By1900abortionwas
illegalineverystateintheUSA.Howeverabortionsstillcontinuedtooccurandbythe1930sphysicians
performedaround800,000abortionsperyear.Oncebirthcontrolwasinventedinthe1960stherateof
womenreceivingabortsdecreased.Birthcontrolallowedforwomentocontrolwhentheywouldbe
fertile.Eventhoughbirthcontrolwasavailablesomewomenstillneededabortionsandthatwassoon
madedifficultforthem.Certainextrinsicfactorssuchasfamily,societyshaming,andreligionareafew

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ofthehundredofreasonswhywomenareafraidandscaredtoreceiveanabortioninAmerica.The
massmediashameswomenforreceivingabortionsunderthecircumstancesthatdontrelatetoincestor
rape.InanarticlewrittenbyRachelCohenshediscussmassmediaseffectonwomenreceiving
abortions,Accordingtotheright,womenaremotivatedtoendpregnanciesforreasonslikelaziness,
promiscuity,selfishnessorimmaturity.Theonlyexceptionwomenwhoareseentohaveamorally
justifiedreasonforabortionarevictimsofrapeorincest,(par.31).Thisquoteshowsthatwomenwho
wantanabortionandhavenotbeenaffectedbyrapeorincestareseenasselfishandincompetent.
Thesekindofideasthatarespreadingthroughmassmediaaretryingtouseguiltasawaytoforce
womentonotabortbabiesthattheymightnotbereadytocarefor.Womenshouldnotbeforcedinto
motherhoodbysocietyofthemedia.
Bythestatesmakingitdifficultforwomentoreceiveabortionsthisiscausingthemtoperform
doityourselfabortions.Doityourselfabortionsincludewomenpushingthemselvesdownthestairs,
swallowinghugeamountsofpills,coathangerabortions,anddouchingwithextremlydangerous
chemicals.Performingthesekindsofabortionaredangerousandcanleadtodeath.TheRoevs.Wade
SupremeCourtCaseof1973stated,TheCourtheldthatawoman'srighttoanabortionfellwithinthe
righttoprivacy(recognizedinGriswoldv.Connecticut)protectedbytheFourteenthAmendment.The
decisiongaveawomanarighttoabortionduringtheentiretyofthepregnancyanddefineddifferent
levelsofstateinterestforregulatingabortioninthesecondandthirdtrimesters,(section.1/par.1).Even
thoughthesesruleswereputinplacetoprotecttherightsofthewomenstatessuchasTexashave
foughthardagainstthem.InanarticlewrittenbyIrinCarmonforMSNBCshewritesaboutTexas
closingdownmoreabortionclinics,Underthelawsforce,whichwillclose13clinics,oneoutofsix
Texanwomenseekinganabortionwillnowlivemorethan150milesfromthenearestclinic.Alower
courtjudgehadpreviouslyruledonAugust28thatthelawwasunconstitutional,becauseitwould

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operateforasignificantnumberofwomeninTexasjustasdrasticallyasacompletebanonabortion.
ButinThursdaysruling,thethreejudgepanelinNewOrleanssaidthelawwouldnotimposean
undueburden,stayingthedistrictcourtdecisionasthestateappeals,(par.2).Texashasfoundways
toworkaroundtheRoevs.Waderuling.InsteadofdenyingwomentherighttohaveanabortionTexas
hascloseddownalmostalloftheabortionclinicsvirtuallymakingitimpossibleforwomentohavean
abortion.Texasisaveryconservativestateanddueitsviewswomenwhodonthavethesameviews
areforcedtocomplytotheonsiderulesTexasenforces.Thisgoesagainstwomensrightsandwomens
choiceastowhatshewantstodotoherbody.
AstudydoneonInducedAbortionsintheUnitedStatesbytheGuttmacherInstituteshowed
thatnearly21%ofpregnanciesendedinabortion.Womenintheir20sresultinmorethanhalfofthe
abortionsperformed.Whenaskedwhytheywantedanabortionmostwomengaveseveralexamples
saying,Thereasonswomengiveforhavinganabortionunderscoretheirunderstandingofthe
responsibilitiesofparenthoodandfamilylife.Threefourthsofwomenciteconcernfororresponsibility
tootherindividualsthreefourthssaytheycannotaffordachildthreefourthssaythathavingababy
wouldinterferewithwork,schoolortheabilitytocarefordependentsandhalfsaytheydonotwantto
beasingleparentorarehavingproblemswiththeirhusbandorpartner,(section.2/par.9).These
resultsrejectthemassmediasideasastowhywomenwantanabortion.Thisquotesshowsthatwomen
whowantanabortionandhavenotbeenrapedoraffectedbyinceststillhavevalidreasonsastowhy
theyarenotreadtobecomeparents.Abortionsperformedinthefirsttrimesteraresafeandvirtually
causenoproblemsforthewoman.Onthetopicofwomenshealthwhenitcometoabortions
Guttermachwrotethat,Afirsttrimesterabortionisoneofthesafestmedicalprocedures,withminimal
risklessthan0.05%ofmajorcomplicationsthatmightneedhospitalcare.Abortionsperformedin
thefirsttrimesterposevirtuallynolongtermriskofsuchproblemsasinfertility,ectopicpregnancy,

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spontaneousabortion(miscarriage)orbirthdefect,andlittleornoriskofpretermorlowbirthweight
deliveries,(section.5/par.12).Toputitbluntlyabortionsdoneintheappropriatetimeframecan
resultinnocomplicationsforthewomen.
Tosummarize,womenshouldbegiventherighttohaveanabortionbecauseitistheirchoiceas
towhetherornottheywantababy.Ifeelthatabortionsshouldbeleftuptothedecisionofthewoman
andherphysician.Themediaandsocietyliketodictatewhatwomenshouldandshouldnotdowith
theirbodies.Alloverthemediayouseeoverseaxualadsthatpromotesexforteensandyoungadults.
Theymakeitseemasifsexisnothingandhasnomajorconsequences.Thenoncethegirlsgetpregnant
themediawantstoshamethemanddegradethemforwantinganabortion.Cohendescribeditbestby
saying,Nowmorethanever,weneedarenewedmovementtodefendabortionasacrucialaspectof
women'srightstoparticipateasfullyequalmembersofsociety,(par.41).Ifeelthatuntilabortionsare
legalinall50stateswomensrightswillforeverbedenied.Womensrightshavealwaysbeeninthe
controlofmenitisnowtimeformentoallowwomentherighttomaketheirowndecisionsregarding
theirownbody.

WorksCited

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"Abortion."::NARALProChoiceAmerica.Web.26Oct.2014.
"InducedAbortionintheUnitedStates."InducedAbortionintheUnitedStates.Web.26Oct.2014.
"Roev.WadeFastFacts."CNN.CableNewsNetwork,04Nov.2013.Web.26Oct.2014.
"WhyWomenNeedAbortionRights."SocialistWorker.org.27Oct.2014.Web.28Oct.2014.