The History of Abortion in the United States
Essay title: The History of Abortion in the United States
Abortion is a topic that has been around since the beginning of time. Each person has their own viewpoints, but the problem is the majority of society has little knowledge about abortion. Abortion in teens is only increasing every year, since the morality factor seems to apply no longer. There are many medical hazards that also exist in procedure with an abortion. Americans feel that it is only the mother’s choice whether or not to abort the fetus.
The legalization of abortions occurred in 1973 after the Roe v. Wade case was won by Roe1 . Norma McCorrey, “Jane Roe,” claimed to have been raped and filed a lawsuit against Dallas County District Attorney, Henry Wade, for not allowing Roe to get the abortion that she wanted (Radl 46). When the case went to trial on January 22, 1973 a seven to three vote allowed Roe to proceed with the abortion ( 46). Later, after the verdict, Roe stated that she was never raped and only wanted an abortion for her own convenience. On January 11,1973 Doe v. Bolton and Roe v. Wade cases ultimately stated, “that an abortion, even when the unborn is seven, eight, or nine months old (after conception), can be performed for virtually any reason, including the mother’s emotional stress caused by her pregnancy as long as it is done by licensed physician,”
(Beckwith and Geisler 49).
Before 1973 the American Law Institute (ALI) held three conditions for legal abortions; rape or incest, fetus would be deformed, and women’s mental or physical health was in great danger (Radl 33). Webster’s Dictionary defines execution as, “to put to death in accordance with a legally impose sentence,” which murder is defined as, “to kill a person unlawfully with a malice,” (Bender and Leone 34). When people ignorantly say that abortion is murder that is an untrue statement because abortion is execution. No matter what people refer abortion to it as it is still killing a living human fetus. In Roe’s case the Supreme Court was blind to all aspects or moral limitations. About one million illegal abortions were performed in the United States in 1972 (174). The number of illegal abortion has increased to twelve million abortions a year. One woman changed history forever after a simple lie that she told just to save herself from having an unplanned child. If the law of 1959 still existed today with mandatory court cases for each abortion situation the teenagers and the women who do not desire a child would become more careful by using protection and avoiding pregnancy at all costs.
A child’s life begins from the very moment of conception (Radl 90-91). The right to life of neither the mother or the fetus can take precedence over that of the other (Callahan 439). The fetus contains the same value as its mother in the “Human Life Amendment.” This amendment conflicts with many moral issues since many religions feel that if a mother’s life is in danger of dying then the child should be aborted causing the mother to have precedence over the fetus. The “Human Life Amendment” also states that abortion under any and all circumstances would be considered murder. Even to preserve the life of a mother or in the case of rape or incest abortion would be against the law of the land (Radl 90-91). If the people voted on this amendment it would be thrown out .
There is only a very small number of people who support the passing of the “Human Life Amendment.” Only the mother’s life should be weighed against the child’s. Mostly because the mother has experienced life and the child has not. In society people consider it cruel to kill a fetus at seven months old, but they consider it moral to kill a fetus at only two months (Mensch and Freeman 44). There is not the least bit of difference between a two month old fetus; and a seven month old fetus, each is a living human life and has the same exact value. All embryos are babies and all babies have a right to live. Some people feel that the fourth amendment excludes the protective rights of killing a fetus (Beckwith and Geisler 41). This belief is untrue, because if it was that it would allow United States citizens to kill anyone who was born outside of the United
States. Although the fetus is not born there is no excuse to kill it. This amendment clearly extends the right to life, “to any person within jurisdiction” including the unborn (41). Many people need an assurance that abortions are moral and the law completely condones them causing the women who are pursuing the abortion do not have a feeling of guilt after they decide to have an abortion.
The morality factor in abortion depends solely on the individual’s own definition of morality. The morality of an individual weighs on what religion, if any, is the woman. The United States Presbyterian Church agrees with abortion if it would