Why should Abortion be Made Illegal

Introduction

The debate that has been ongoing in the United States and across the world surrounding whether abortion is ethical or not is a complex one. On one side are healthcare professionals who believe women should have the autonomy to decide what they do with their bodies. Women's rights activists convey that it is ultimately a woman's choice based on logical rights and principles. Others come from different backgrounds that dictate their religious or political beliefs. These individuals believe that life begins at conception and that the termination of a pregnancy is, in no uncertain terms, wrong.

Public opinion is set at approximately 1:1 regarding whether or not it should be legal. It should be noted that people are significantly more likely to say abortion should be legal in "a few" cases.

Laws surrounding abortion have been in existence since before the United States was established. English Common Law, adopted by all 13 colonies, made abortions illegal after "quickening." This is an average of about 18 weeks into a pregnancy when most women report feeling fetal movement. In 1965, the American Law Institute relaxed this policy, allowing a broader range of circumstances for legal abortions. All of this goes to say that the law surrounding abortion has been an ever-evolving matter in this country. It is clear that the discussion surrounding the ethics of abortion must be bifurcated between the legal machinations in place and the personal, staunchly belief-based opinions of individuals. The ethics of whether or not an abortion should ever occur is best categorized before the question of what the legal implications are of the act occurring.

Ethical Perspectives on Abortion

Debates about abortion in general benefit from being considered within an ethical context. In this section, we delve into ethical frameworks that inform the abortion debate, as well as some of the legal implications of these views. Certainly, if we think about abortion in terms of interests and rights, uncertainty results regarding the point at which abortion becomes seriously wrong, if it ever does. The conflict facing those with ethical views on abortion is, essentially, the trichotomous one. Abortion presents an ethical conflict between a woman’s personal autonomy, freedom, or rights, on the one hand, and the rights of her unborn child, on the other. Ethically, the competing values and duties have been adopted and argued from the perspective of utilitarian, deontological, and virtue approaches.

From the perspective of consequentialism – the utilitarian tradition of ethics – abortion might be acceptable in purely psychological, moral, emotional, or social welfare terms. Consequentialists are concerned with actions that produce the best results for the greatest number of people. Central to the abortion issue is the never-ending debates on the moral status of the fetus. Is the life of the unborn human being of sufficient “moral weight” to take precedence over the rights, desires, or interests of the woman? The debate on the ethical and legal implications regarding abortion has given rise to a host of impossibly difficult questions that exert strong emotional pressures on any thinking person. From the perspective of deontology – the moral duty tradition – an action is right if it conforms to a moral rule.

Legal Frameworks and Abortion Laws

Legal frameworks within the United States alter the parameters of reproductive expression. Although the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision extended the right to abortion that was acquired through the Bill of Rights and affirmed by the 14th Amendment, the political undulating of the past decade demonstrates that specific political ideology often dictates any nation's laws. Democratic presidents might indicate a preference for restricting embryo research, but there is no political party that predominantly believes in regulating conception. It is primarily conservative culture warriors who thrive on issues like making abortion illegal. Nevertheless, despite supporters of mandatory pregnancy attempting to bolster abortion as murder and feticide, the distinction is that abortion is performed with the pregnant woman's consent, and that makes all the ethical—indeed, the moral—difference in the world.

No nation delineates individuals as repositories of unenforceable obligations like the United States does with its Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses respectively grant individuals the right to be free from government interference regarding medical decisions and procreative expression. The actual parameters of these rights, in conjunction with states' rights, are crafted and shaped by court rulings, statutes, and case legislation. Highlighting such contextual implications is not meant to be dismissive or unsympathetic relative to providers and women arranging for or seeking services in states whose laws demarcate abortion as illegal. However, the intricate web of jurisdiction that comprises federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances is necessary to gauge the complex landscape of ethical considerations. Such constitutional elements limit both the temporal and geographic scope of laws criminalizing abortion for families and providers.

Impact of Making Abortion Illegal

In regions where abortion is illegal, there is a rise in the number of unsafe abortions performed and an increase in the number of women seeking health care for the complications related to unsafe abortion. It is a well-established fact that women deciding to continue or to terminate a pregnancy experience significant distress and certain negative psychological consequences. Factors contributing to the negative experience of these events include personal, social, and economic circumstances, as well as the legality and availability of safe termination services. Women who seek out illegal abortions often experience feelings of guilt and powerlessness, as well as social stigma. Further, they may suffer serious health, psychological, and socioeconomic consequences.

The restrictive laws and practices pertaining to abortion can be seen as a violation of women's right to autonomy and bodily integrity. An increasing number of documents from a broad range of human rights sources now explicitly link abortion restrictions to the denial of women's human rights. Additionally, access to safe, legal pregnancy termination has important implications for public health; it is necessary to protect the health of the woman. Policies that restrict women's access to legal services for pregnancy termination have no impact on the overall incidence of abortion. Rather, they drive women to seek out alternative, often dangerous means of termination. These enterprising individuals, at risk to their lives and liberty, occupy the lowest strata of those still vulnerable to the fortunes of fertility. Few studies have focused on their access to resources, impact on their health, or the abuse and violations they face because of their illegal activity.

Conclusion and Future Considerations

Conclusion Abortion is an ethical and legal minefield. As I have highlighted here, the implications of current and future laws in this area are complex, and their implementation, as well as their likely impacts, are the subjects of significant ongoing debates. But continuing to shift the focus onto individual choices presents a very narrow view of a wider issue. It has been argued that this way of thinking pathologizes a natural process, placing it in the medical realm and out of the control of women’s bodies and experiences. It is a disturbing perspective given the potential effects on the health and rights of huge numbers of people worldwide. This paper has highlighted some of the ways in which abortion laws and women’s access are shifting and may change in the future. It has been suggested that access to safe abortion is a women’s health and rights issue and that restrictive laws need to be challenged by means of public pressure and new laws. These perspectives are certainly part of the landscape, but future changes may be driven by other factors, including political changes, which may result in increased restrictions. Additionally, some people are taking comfort from a political sea change that might reverse the status quo, with countries retreating from their global role as enthusiasm for reproductive justice among voters diminishes. But as I have associated, social and political forces can have unpredictable impacts on abortion law and policies. There are a great many moral questions surrounding abortion that we all need to consider seriously. They include the role of men in this decision-making process, our responsibilities towards mothers, and the upstream and downstream impacts of allowing abortion up to and beyond the point of fetal viability. Relatively few moral concerns have so far been considered in these debates. Legislative responses that respect the rights of the pregnant woman, while remaining alive to ethical considerations, seem the most appropriate at this time.

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