Abortion is becoming a more and more debated issue in America. Many pregnant teenagers in America take “the easy way out”. In other words, pregnant teenagers would rather have an abortion than give birth. Abortion has become an easy way out for women who have “unwanted” pregnancies. Some argue that pregnant teenage women should be able to have the choice to abort their fetus because of health issues; however, the majority of abortions in the U.S. are for “unwanted” pregnancies.
Prior to 1973 abortion was illegal in the United States. Then the famous case of Roe v. Wade was decided by the U.S Supreme Court, it legalized abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy without any restrictions. In the second trimester, the state may regulate an abortion provided that is related to the mother’s health. In the last trimester, the state can choose to restrict or prescribe depending on preservation of life. “As it stands today, American women have the legal right to obtain an abortion in all 50 states, through all nine months of pregnancy, for virtually any reason at all.” Says Justice Harry Blackmun. Blackmun’s ruling opened the door for women to have abortions for any reason regardless of health concerns for the fetus in the first trimester.
People who support abortion rights believe that abortion is necessary because of incest, rape, and health concerns for the mother and/or the fetus. A majority of women will argue that it is a personal freedom of choice. They don’t want the government or religious leaders making the decision for them. This has become a heated national debate on women’s rights regardless of the health concerns of the fetus and/or mother.
The definition of abortion is the termination of an established pregnancy. An established pregnancy means when the cell is considered an actual human being, or a fetus. Interestingly, the definition of murder is the unlawful termination of another human being without justification or excuse. People find both definitions extremely similar.
According to Abortionno.org, seven percent of all abortions occur because of rape or incest or health concerns to the mother or the child. That means 93 percent of all abortions occur for social reasons or “unwanted” pregnancies. That means 3,441 abortions everyday are for “unwanted” pregnancies in the U.S. That’s a total of 1,256,000 per year in the U.S. alone! Women are using the incest/ health concerns of the fetus/mother to have an abortion of an “unwanted” pregnancy.
Most people turn to abortion because they are scared or are unable to care for the child. If you are a pregnant teenager, take a reality check. If you are part of the seven percent (incest/health concerns), then abortion may be the right solution for you. If you are part of the 93 percent (“unwanted” pregnancies), then you need to consider keeping the child or adoption. There are more couples waiting to adopt children then there are children to adopt. In fact, I have two neighbors that have adopted babies from other countries because the wait was too long in the U.S. Abortion could be hard on a teenage girl. Adoption is also hard, yet the child will be in a stable healthy environment in which the mother could not have provided.
Overall, the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion has changed the landscape of America. Their ruling has killed millions of fetuses. In fact, abortion has become a form of birth control.
