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Kyle Goodin

Professor Holly Batty

English 28

27 April 2017

Who has the say in Abortion

Abortion is the removal of a human embryo or fetus from a pregnant woman before her

pregnancy is done. Abortion has been around since the early thirteenth century and was a capital

offense until well into the nineteenth century. It wasnt until the 1960s and 1970s women can get

an abortion if their health was in danger, rape, or incest. In January 22, 1973 abortion became

legal in the United States because of the court case Roe v. Wade. Through the history of

abortion, we see that woman can only have an abortion when they have a medical reason.

Although all life is precious, abortion should always be the mothers choice to have.

Abortion has always been a controversial topic. People who believed that abortion should

be illegal are pro-life, and on the other hand people who want abortion to be legal are pro-choice.

In a poll taken by University of Texas, you can see that theres a split between the two sides.

Both sides are showing at forty percent while the rest dont know or dont care where they stand

on the issue.

There are a few reasons why women get abortions. Before the 1973, the only way a

woman can get an abortion is if the woman is having medical complications such as cancer, heart

disease, HIV, or AIDS. The medical complications dont only land on the mother, the health of

the baby can be a factor in why they mother decides to get an abortion.

From personal experience, having a kid should be something both parents decide on

bringing into this world. If the mother and or father knows that the environment for the child
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isnt ideal or that the parents cant afford taking care of one, why would you birth a child? If

every life is precious then shouldnt each life be thought about and be able to succeed in this

world. I know someone who was forced to birth a child she didnt want because the father said

he would, commit suicide if she got an abortion. The father doesnt have a steady job, and the

household for the child isnt the greatest. Her parents are constantly fighting, and theyre living

paycheck to paycheck. That isnt the life anyone should live.

Everyone should be able to do whatever they want to their body. Women should be able

to determine if they want an abortion in whatever the situation theyre in. In the book, Surrogate

Motherhood and Abortion for Fetal Abnormality the authors Ruth Walker and Zyl Liezl, talk

about controversial topics of who gets the right to say anything for the child. The book shows us

a court case in Connecticut where the intended parents saw that the baby had serious abnormities

and wanted an abortion while the mother who was bearing the child didnt want to get an

abortion. Who has the right in this case the mother or the intended parents? Shouldnt the mother

have the right to say if she wants the abortion or not. I know that the intended parents paid her to

have a baby, but its not their body. The person bearing the child should be able to say she

doesnt want to get an abortion.

In the book, The immortal life of Herrieta Lacks the author Rebecca reviles to the

world that Herrietas cells were taken from her immorally, but shows us that they were used for

the greater good. This book shows that women should have the right to do whatever they want to

their body. Roe V. Wade is a Supreme Court case that made abortions legal from 1970 to now as

told to us by Alex McBride. Roe wanted to get an abortion but at the time abortion was illegal

unless the mother there were medical reasons why she couldnt birth the child. As we see here
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both women, Henrietta Lacks and Roe both show that not only women but everyone has the right

to say and do whatever they want to their body.

There are always two sides to an argument and in this case, the counter argument is pro-

life. Most pro-life supporters argue that all life is precious and almost everyone would agree to

that statement, but what is considered a life? According to the court ruling for Roe v. Wade, the

human fetus might be viable (capable of meaningful life) outside the mothers womb after

six months. This says that the embryo isnt considered a life yet. It does have the DNA structure

of a human, but it cannot survive in the outside world. This means that since 1973 to now, a

woman can get an abortion during the first and second trimester.

Another counter argument pro-life supporters believe in is that you dont know if the

person is going to grow up to be a person of significance. This is true because we do not have

predetermined lives, or that we dont know what is in store for our life, but you can always use

the counter argument to that. Couldnt the child grow up to be a bad person? We dont know

who the child will grow up to be so wouldnt it be better to leave that choice to the mother?

With all of this in mind, we should know that the only person who should have a say in

whether or not the mother should have an abortion is the mother herself. If the mother doesnt

have that right to have an abortion or not, wouldnt you be taking away their right over their

body? Because they dont have a say in whether or not a mother can or cant have an abortion,

would it eventually spread to other things and start taking away womens rights? Didnt we get

out of those ages where women couldnt vote and people only saw women as mothers and

housewives?
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Work Cited