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Kelsey Anthony

Augenbaugh

English 12

April 25, 2017

Abortion is a Human Right

In 2008 about 21.6 million women had unsafe abortions, out of those 21.6 million 47,000

died. (Safe and Legal Abortion is a Human Right) Other women were severely injured. In this

year alone 86 million women had unintended pregnancies. (Safe and Legal Abortion is a

Human Right) If the government tells you what you do with your body, what else will they

eventually be able to control? Abortion is a human right and should remain legal.

Birth control today is used to prevent many unwanted pregnancies. In the 1880s states

passed a law banning abortion. (Reproductive Rights) This caused many women to have

unsafe abortions. Women at this time were desperate. Biologist Gregory Pincus and obstetrician

John Rock created a version of birth control in the 1950s. (Reproductive Rights) Seven years

later the Federal Drug Association approved the pill. A few years later the Supreme Court struck

down laws that prohibited the use of birth control for married couples. (Reproductive Rights)

Unmarried couples were not given the same right until 1972. This was very unfair to couples

that were not married. Carey v Population Services International extended the right to use

contraceptives to minors in 1977. (Reproductive Rights)

Denying women access to legal abortion services is an arbitrary interference in their

private lives. (Safe and Legal Abortion is a Human Right) Making abortion illegal is taking
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away a womans human rights. (Safe and Legal Abortion is a Human right) Women should

have the right to do what they want with their body. The CEDAW (The Convection on the

Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women) committee stated that, laws that

criminalize medical procedures only needed by women and that punish women that undergo

those procedures as a barrier to womens access to appropriate health care, an example of this is

abortion. (Safe and Legal Abortion is a Human Right) Criminalizing a procedure that a

woman wants could cause her to try the procedure at home which would not be appropriate

health care. Laws that have an effect of preventing women from exercising their human rights is

discrimination. (Safe and Legal Abortion is a Human Right) Women should have the right to

choose what happens with their body. No one else knows how a person feels and abortion is an

option that should be left to the woman to decide what is right to do.

One in four college women report surviving rape or attempted rape at some point in their

lifetime. (Oneinfourusa.org) As a result of banning abortion women who are having problems in

their pregnancy and need therapeutic abortion are forced to suffer from life threatening

conditions. (Safe and Legal Abortion is a Human Right) Everyday women are traumatized

because they are sexually assaulted and often times get pregnant with an unwanted child.

Abortion clinics offer a safe way to abort a child instead of turning to unsafe home remedies that

could potentially cause harm to themselves. Home abortions usually cause women to gain

depression and other mental disorders. Home abortions can also cause women to get horrible

infection and sometimes even cause death. It is not fair for women to have to suffer over

something that should have been their choice.

Not only does abortion prevent unwanted children but it also reduces costs to tax payers.

For years people have been abusing the welfare system and do not work. This allows people to
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not pay for their children and the tax payers end up paying for it in the end. Abortion also helps

with population control. The world is already so over populated. Abortion helps reduce the

amount of people. Abortion is needed for developing countries to reduce population growth.

(ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

Many people beliefs are that abortion is immoral. Religion plays a big factor in making

abortion illegal. The sixth commandment states, Thou shalt not kill. Although many people

look at it as a fetus, it is still a living human being. (listland.com) Fetuses are not able to defend

themselves. (listland.com) These babies are protected from murder by the Unborn Victims of

Violence act. (listland.com) In many cases most women are not able to have children so they

adopt. Abortion reduces the number of babies available for adoption. In 2002 there were 14% of

women waiting to adopt and only 1% completed an adoption. (listland.com)

Abortion is a real world problem. No woman should ever have to do this procedure

alone. The government should not be able to tell women what they are able to do with their

body. If they take that right away from women what will they take next, will they take away

womens right to vote? Abortion is a human right and should remain legal.

Citations

"Safe and Legal Abortion Is a Human Right." Abortion, edited by Tamara Thompson,

Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010946212/OVIC?u=pl2127&xid=01ee2916. Accessed 30 Apr.

2017. Originally published as "Safe and Legal Abortion Is a Woman's Human Right,"

reproductiverights.org, Oct. 2011.

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Reproductive Rights. Opposing viewpoints online collection, Gale, 2016. Opposing viewpoints

in context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3010999318/OVIC?u=pl2127&xid=f7c57092.

Accessed 25 Feb. 2017.

Baklinski, Peter. "Birth Control Leads to More Abortions." Birth Control, edited by Jack Lasky,

Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010568283/OVIC?u=pl2127&xid=95ca196c. Accessed 30 Apr.

2017. Originally published as "Why the Fight Against Abortion Begins with Contraception,"

lifesitenews.com, 23 Apr. 2013.

Anderson, Dave. "10 Reasons Abortion Should be Illegal." ListLand. N.p., 25 Mar. 2015. Web.

15 Apr. 2017.

Mumford, SD, and Kessel E. "Role of Abortion in Control of Global Population Growth." Pub

Med. N.p., 13 Mar. 1986. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.