Pro Choice (Abortion): No Woman Should Be Deprived From The Right To Their Body

“Women know what they’re getting themselves into when they have sex.” This is a very common thought pro-life believers have. By this they are saying that a woman should take full responsibility if they end up pregnant because they knew they ran the risk of getting pregnant. They don’t take into consideration that not all women are properly exposed to sex education and have access to contraception. But let’s say that we live in a perfect world in which everyone had proper sex education and access to contraception. Even then, no contraception is 100% effective. There have been cases in where the contraception has been used perfectly and even then, the woman ends up pregnant. Some types of contraception’s commonly used are cervical caps, condoms (female and male), Depo-Provera injections, diaphragms, spermicide, and a sponge. It has been found for these to be not 100% effective. Cervical caps were found to have a 12% failure rate (“Birth”). Condoms for females have a 21% failure rate and male condoms have a failure rate of 18% (“Birth”). Depo-Provera injections have a failure rate of 6%. Diaphragms have a failure rate of 12% (“Birth”). Spermicide has a failure rate of 28% and sponges have a failure rate of 20% (40% after childbirth) (“Birth”). If even opposing abortions in the case of contraception failures, your decision is solely based on the women’s behavior and not on the other factors such as listed above. It’s unfair to the woman when you forbid them from getting an abortion in such cases of contraceptive failures.

A fetus will feel pain is one very common misconception pro-life believers have. There have been studies such as that done by Maureen Condic, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy and Adjunct Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She has explained that the ‘most primitive response to pain, the spinal reflex,’ is developed by eight weeks gestation, and added that ‘There is universal agreement that pain is detected by the fetus in the first trimester’ (“Pros”). I’m not stating that this research is false but there have been other studies that have contradicted what she has researched. It has been found by Britain’s Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that ‘most neuroscientists believe that the cortex is necessary for pain perception’ (“Pros”). The cortex does not become functional until at least the 26th week of a fetus’ development, which is long after most abortions are performed (“Pros”). Without it developed the fetus is uncapable of feeling pain. To support this the University of California at San Francisco conducted a study that said fetuses probably can’t feel pain until the 29th or 30th week of development (“Pros”). Legal abortions are extremely rare that late in a pregnancy and are often restricted by state laws (“Pros”). There is often flinching and other reactions in fetuses when they detect pain stimuli. This has been mistaken to be indicators of the fetus feeling pain, but they are just reflexes. Based on various studies a fetus is uncapable of feeling pain during an abortion. Saying that a fetus can feel pain would not be a valid argument for opposing abortion.

Many people say that abortion puts women in danger, but this is another common misconception. In fact, childbirth puts a mother in more harm than legalized abortion. A study in Obstetrics & Gynecology found a woman’s risk of dying from having an abortion is 0.6 in 100,000, while the risk of dying from giving birth is around 14 times higher (8.8 in 100,000) (“Pros”). Just how now everything leads to cancer it’s a common belief that abortion can as well lead to cancer. The National Cancer Institute (NCI), the American Cancer Society (ACS), and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists all refuted this belief though (“Pros”). Having an abortion is one of the safest procedures performed in the United States.

Not only are legalized abortions safe for a woman, they also prevent women from getting illegal abortions. An example of an illegal abortion would be using a sharp object such as a clothing hanger to break the amniotic sac inside the womb. These types of abortions are usually performed in areas where abortion is illegal. Women who have such unsafe abortions are at risk of serious medical problems, including incomplete abortion, hemorrhage (heavy bleeding), infection, uterine perforation (caused when the uterus is pierced by a sharp object), and damage to the genital tract and internal organs (by inserting dangerous objects such as sticks, knitting needles, or broken glass into the vagina or anus) (“OBOS”). Around 7 million women are admitted to hospitals for complications of unsafe abortions every year and between 4.7% – 13.2% of maternal deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortion (“OBOS”). In the United States the rates of death due to abortion have decreased. In the 1950s and 1960s it was estimated that there were 200,000 to 1.2 million deaths per year (“OBOS”). Today the death rate was found to be 0.6 per 100,000 procedures, according to the World Health Organization, which is extremely low (“OBOS”). Providing legal abortions allows woman to obtain timely abortions, thereby reducing the risk of complications. It is vital to keep abortion legal for the sake of women’s health and well-being.

Putting up your child for adoption has always been an alternative to abortion. There are several aspiring mothers out there who are unable to carry a child themselves and they look to adoption. Adoption is a viable solution to preventing abortion, but many chose not to go through with it since many think it would be difficult to give up their child. Although abortion may be a viable solution, it is not always assured that every child will get adopted. There are many cases in which a child remains in the system until they are adults. It was found that those who age-out of the foster care system without being adopted are over-represented in rates of incarceration, suicide and substance abuse (Dinwoodie). Which brings me to the fact that the foster care system ruins the lives of children. According to a University of California, Irvine sociologist, children who have been in the U.S. foster care system are at a significantly higher risk of mental and physical health problems — ranging from learning disabilities, developmental delays and depression to behavioral issues, asthma and obesity (Contributor). Researchers have found that children in foster care are seven times as likely to experience depression, six times as likely to exhibit behavioral problems, five times as likely to feel anxiety, three times as likely to have attention deficit disorder, hearing impairments and vision issues, and twice as likely to suffer from learning disabilities, developmental delays, asthma, obesity and speech problems (Contributor). Not only are they at risk to these problems they become exposed to abuse. In Oregon and Washington, it was found that nearly one third of foster children reported being abused by a foster parent or another adult in a foster home (Wexler). A study of cases in metropolitan Atlanta found that among a group of children, 34 percent had experienced abuse, neglect or other harmful conditions (Wexler). For those children who had recently entered the system, 15 percent had experienced abuse, neglect or other harmful conditions in just one year (Wexler). As to why children are abused in the foster system the main cause is simple. Since foster parents are paid, they simply do it for the money and not to care for a child. So why bring an unwanted child into the world?

No woman should be deprived from the right to their body. It’s in their right to have abortion as an option. It has been proved to be safer for women when it is legalized. Not only this it will decrease the amount of suffering children in the world. It’s our choice, the women’s choice.