Abortion as a Women’s Right to Choose: Critical Analysis

Abortion is a contentious subject that continues to alter the course of American culture as it did since its conception. Throughout United States history, abortion laws have fluctuated between leftist and rightist views constantly, either legalizing safe abortions or prohibiting them. Regarding more progressive views, the main concern with this political topic is that laws that restrict access to abortions are fundamentally oppressive to women. In terms of a woman’s right to choose, the search for equality has always become a topic up for discussion, but with the advent of new court cases and laws that restrict and infringe the right to abortion, equality may become more difficult to reach.

Abortion has been prevalent since the birth of this country. Along with the struggle between restricting its procedures and preserving the right to get one, it has been an ongoing battle for decades. The author of Before Roe: abortion policy in the states “Between 1800 and 1900, abortions were widely performed, and the practice of abortion before quickening was not considered to be a criminal offense under common law. By the mid-1840s abortion was commonplace” (Nossiff, 2001, p. 31). Receiving an abortion was nothing out of the norm.

It was not until the twentieth century when restrictions on abortion started to emerge. Nossiff discusses the first time abortion laws came into effect in America. According to Nossiff, “By 1900, the physicians had succeeded in criminalizing all abortions, except when the woman’s life was endangered” (2001, p. 34). When abortion was illegal in the United States, women who needed or wanted to terminate their pregnancy were forced to undergo hazardous procedures discreetly. Medicine Doctors Lisa B. Haddad and Nawal M Nour from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital discuss the dangerous home abortion procedures and their outcomes. They clarify:

Methods of unsafe abortion include drinking toxic fluids such as turpentine, bleach, or drinkable concoctions mixed with livestock manure. Other methods involve inflicting direct injury to the vagina or elsewhere—for example, inserting herbal preparations into the vagina or cervix; placing a foreign body such as a twig, coat hanger, or chicken bone into the uterus; or placing inappropriate medication into the vagina or rectum. Unskilled providers also improperly perform dilation and curettage in unhygienic settings, causing uterine perforations and infections. Methods of external injury are also used, such as jumping from the top of stairs or a roof, or inflicting blunt trauma to the abdomen. (Haddad & Nour, 2009)

This lists the many harmful ways a woman could terminate their pregnancy when safe abortion is inaccessible. These dangerous methods should not be practiced as they can cause a flurry of physical and mental damage. This also comes to show how women will still abort whether abortion is legal or not. The fact that women are willing to undergo these extreme methods because of the pregnancy is not fit for them demonstrates the severity of the issue. There are many reasons why someone would want or need to abort their pregnancy, but conclusively, the mother should determine the outcome of what happens in or to her body. However, at this time, women were neglected of this right, and oftentimes, their struggles were overlooked.

Soon, a particular case would make an impact on women’s rights and change the laws on a national scale. This particular fight is known as the Roe v. Wade case.

The Roe v. Wade case started in 1970 and lasted three years. This court case originated in Texas and found its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In summary, a woman by the alias Jane Roe initiated federal action when she wished to receive an abortion, but it was illegal at the time. She fought against the district attorney of Texas, Henry Wade and argued that women should have the right to an abortion at any time. It was not until 1973 when abortion became legal in the United States. Restrictive state regulation on abortion was found to be violating the constitution, thus granting women more control of their bodies. This was a step forward towards equality in regards to women’s rights because their rights given by the constitution were finally acknowledged.

Along with the women’s right to choose, many other societal and economical advantages came with the legalization of abortion. For instance, one benefit was a decrease in children living in substandard conditions. Authors of the working paper “Abortion Legalization and Child Living Circumstances: Who is the ‘Marginal Child?’” conducted a study on the relationship pertaining to the matter. They reported:

Our estimates imply that the marginal child who was not born due to legalization would have been 70% more likely to live in a single parent family, 40% more likely to live in poverty, 50% more likely to receive welfare, and 35% more likely to die as an infant. (Gruber, Levine, and Staiger, 1999)

Essentially, it showed that if those children were forced to be born, they would have an increased likelihood of living in poorer conditions across the board.

The legalization of abortion nationwide had a shockingly bigger impact than one may have thought. An overlooked consequence of allowing women access to safe, legal abortions was a fall in the crime rate. Authors Levitt and Dubner acknowledge a few

During the 1990s, the unemployment rate fell by 2 percentage points; nonviolent crime, meanwhile, fell by roughly 40 percent. But an even bigger flaw in the strong-economy theory concerns violent crime. Homicide fell at a greater rate during the 1990s than any other sort of crime, and a number of reliable studies have shown virtually no link between the economy and violent crime. (Levitt & Dubner, 2005, p. 109-110)

This was an astonishing time in American history; it was a change for the better. Now, this alone shows no relation to the legalization of abortion. In fact, it was unclear what caused this phenomenon if the economy was not the factor, but further evidence can exhibit a link between the two. The proof that legal abortions and crime rate are connected can be supported by applying some simple math. The case of Roe v. Wade passed in 1973 and the crime rate fell spectacularly in the 1990s. Authors Levitt and Dubner of Freakonomics elaborate on this notion by referring to children who would be more inclined to commit a crime:

In the early 1990s, just as the first cohort of children born after Roe v. Wade was hitting its late teen years—the years during which young men enter their criminal prime—the rate of crime began to fall. What this cohort was missing, of course, were the children who stood the greatest chance of becoming criminals. And the crime rate continued to fall as an entire generation came of age minus the children whose mothers had not wanted to bring a child into the world. Legalized abortion led to less unwantedness; unwantedness leads to high crime; legalized abortion, therefore, led to less crime. (Levitt & Dubner, 2005, p. 127)

Let us break this down. It has been established that if mothers who felt they were not adequately suited to have children were still forced to give birth, the children would more likely be put on a forlorn path in life. However, due to the ruling Roe v. Wade, less of these kinds of kids were born. Fast forward 15-19 years later from 1973, when they would have been a prime crime age, they were not alive, leading to believe the timing of the legalization of abortion and the plunge of the U.S. crime rate to be no coincidence.

It is interesting to see how greatly impacted society was from the legalization of abortion. The list of advantages can continue.

Evidently, making abortion legal once again has brought many advantages to American society. Women have battled for equality for a long time, and this struggle that is being fought against is a demonstration of that. It was not too long ago since abortion rights were granted, even if with issues like the split in parties or shortcomings of the passed laws. However, many of those involved in the efforts are losing traction with the rapid and ever-changing political landscape. But, as it iterated before, abortions occur whether it is legal or not, thus banning it will only cause large domestic issues within United States society and economy. Furthermore, being aware of the extent of this issue can combat these anti-abortion laws. Ignorance is dangerous and commonplace, but by informing the public, it will push people toward equality. In addition to this, it can serve as a call to action for men in positions of power to not make decisions on problems they can not relate to or be affected by. Equality is to be an American ideal, so if it should be achieved, then a woman’s right to abortion must be acknowledged again. As a nation, we must preserve liberty in recognizing that women have a choice.

References

1. Gruber, J., Levine, P., & Staiger, D. (1997, May 01). Abortion Legalization and Child Living Circumstances: Who is the ‘Marginal Child?’ Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/ papers/w6034
2. Haddad L. B., Nour N. M. (2009). Unsafe Abortion: Unnecessary Maternal Mortality. The National Center for Biotechnology. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pmc/articles/PMC2709326/
3. Levitt, S. D., & Dubner, S. J. (2005). Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything. New York: William Morrow.
4. Nossiff, R. (2001). Before Roe: abortion policy in the states. Philadelphia: Temple Univ. Press.