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Galen DeShields
Ms. Cowart
ENGL 1301
June 10, 2016

Is Abortion a Human Right?

Many people question whether the act of abortion is a human right or an abomination
because of the different political and personal opinions on this particular situation. As citizens of
the United States, each person has the right to speak his or her perspectives, so everyone has to
learn how to agree to disagree. This article speaks about how America and other different
countries view this situation, and how a certain judge changed the opinion of many individuals.
Is Abortion a Human Right? speaks truthfully about how a certain persons action brought out
how a country views an abortion. Susan Milligan gives specifics about what actually happened
during the time of this certain ruling in Ireland and even explains how people reacted to this.
Milligan stated that in 2012, a judge from Northern Ireland made a ruling that could ease
the countrys abortions restrictions, which are strictest in Europe. Luckily, for the lives of unborn
fetuses, this judge believes that abortion is a human right to a certain degree, unlike many other
countries. This judge has attached a new rhetoric to the procedure: human rights. (Milligan 1)
What even seems to be an issue in the United States is also an issue all around the world,
including in Ireland; and that is Womens Rights. Women's rights, says Tarah Demant, senior

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director of the Identity and Discrimination Unit for Amnesty International USA, ought to be seen
as human rights. It's a sad statement that human rights have not become extremely politicized,"
with both political parties in the U.S. working to advance human rights around the world.
Instead, women's rights have been politicized. That's an indictment of our political climate here,"
she says. (Milligan 2) As Tarah Demant has slightly stated women rights are the same as human
rights, or at least they should be. If one looks at it from the outside, abortion goes hand in hand
with womens rights. As most believe, women should have their own say in what actions they
take with their bodies.
The British parliament passed a law in 1967, The Abortion Act, which made the
procedure of an abortion legal up until the woman was 28 weeks pregnant. For some reason,
however, the law did not extend to Northern Ireland, even though it is part of the United
Kingdom. Until the decision this week by a Belfast judge, abortion in Northern Ireland was legal
only to save the life, health and even the mental health of the pregnant woman or girl. Anyone
who performs illegal abortions faces up to life in prison, while the patients can be sentenced to
14 years behind bars. (Milligan 2) Once reading this you wonder why The British parliament
didnt pass in Ireland, this is also a curious thought this judge wondered. Many agree with this
new law that has been passed in Ireland. Yes, women have their rights just like men do, but there
needs to be a limit set, especially on a tragic decision like abortions. If a woman is put into a
situation in which she is carrying a child who was forcefully imbedded in her, she should have
the right to decide what to do with her fetus. However, if it is a situation in which a woman
becomes impregnated consensually, she should have to take responsibility for her actions,
whether the child was wanted or not.

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The Belfast ruling does not ease the law in the neighboring Republic of Ireland, but
theoretically might make it less onerous for an Irish woman to travel for an abortion, says
Gemma Murphy of the Royal College of Midwives. But "it's a huge cultural and professional
change for midwives and women in Northern Ireland," Murphy says. "Midwives in Northern
Ireland have said they will now be able to treat pregnant women with the 'appropriate care and
support' without fear of prosecution, following this landmark ruling." (Milligan 3) So although
the ruling was passed, there are women who do not agree with this new law, which is quite
understandable. Women now feel like their rights have been taken, while other women (including
myself) believe there is a need for this new law.
In the United States, pro-abortion rights activists have not pushed the "human rights"
moniker, largely because all American states, while having varying abortion laws, meet the base
standard that advocates want for abortion rights. Planned Parenthood is under fire on Capitol
Hill, where mostly Republican lawmakers are seeking to deprive the family planning clinic of
federal funds after videos highly edited, Planned Parenthood says show a group officials
discussing the price for the transport of fetal tissue to research centers. (Milligan 3) I believe
Susan stated these facts in her article because she was to show her audience that abortion and
human rights is an ongoing and even a sensitive topic all over the world. It was easy to see that
abortion is not only an underlying topic in the United Kingdom, but also in the United States.
I chose this article because I liked learning that abortion is not only a valued principle in
the United States, but also in other countries around the world. I also enjoy listening to others
opinions on this situation. I believe Susan stated her argument and even gave detailed facts from
this situation to prove the story she wanted to tell.

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Works Cited
Miligan, Susan. "Is Abortion a Human Right?" A Northern Ireland Judge Thinks so and
Amnesty International Hopes the Rest of the World Will Agree. U.S News and World
Reporter, 2 Dec. 2015. Web. 5 June 2016.
<http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/12/02/is-abortion-a-human-right>.