Table of Contents
Abortion is a major debatable issue in the community. I choose the topic in my research because it contradicts many individuals’ beliefs and values. Abortion is the termination of the life of a human fetus from the mother’s womb before its natural birth. Religious individuals assert that abortion is wrong and hence it should be banned entirely. On the other hand, non-religious persons claim that abortion is an individual choice and should not be banned. In this research, I will explore relevant history, background, and an overview of different positions on abortion.
The issue of abortion has regularly taken a significant stage in over the last forty years especially in the American politics. The independent and influential Supreme Court, decentralized political system, weak political party elites and strong personal medical specialists have made abortion a politically explosive topic in different parts of the world.
In America, the abortion laws that prevented abortion after the first semester of pregnancy started appearing in the 1820s. Initially, even though abortion was not safe for the expecting woman who terminated the pregnancy, abortion was allowed (Lewis, 2017). The efforts of legislators, physicians, and different medical associations, abortions had been outlawed in 1900 in various parts of the United States. Feminists such as Susan B. Anthony was against abortion. She believed that the women were endangering their health and life during an abortion. She claimed that the only way the women could become free and equal to men in the society was to end the need for abortion. Various feminists asserted that prevention was better than cure and accused men who forced women to abort. National Clergy Consultation and Abortion Rights Action League are examples of groups that worked selflessly to liberalize anti-abortion laws.
In the late 1960s, reforms were made in the United States, Britain, and Canada to make abortion regularly available. In Britain and Canada, the federal parliaments acted and defined abortion as a “Health right” and gave a person to health specialists to perform the act when medically necessary (Lewis, 2017). The two states tried to be sensitive to the indistinct public opinion. A few state lawmakers passed modest changes in the United States, and later in 1973, a sweeping ruling issued by nine justices of the Supreme Court demanded the expansion of the abortion rights. The ruling surprised the society and even the lawyers. The nine Justices recognized abortion as a privacy right and created great chances to abortion among the pregnant women at their wish. The policy outpaced public opinion and the challengers reacted by arguing that the democratically-elected legislatures had surrendered their power to professionals.
Medical Professionals and organizations
Britain and Canada’s Medical professions advocated for the categorization of abortion as a “medical necessity.” On the other side, United States physicians initially took the same position, but finally rejected it because they were more dedicated on political fights to maintain the American for-profit medicine. The medical specialists and the Supreme Court identified abortion as a process to be requested by expecting mothers for private reasons. Most of the American abortions are performed in single-purpose health centers and the individual health specialists in abortion are held in low esteem.
The Canadian and British medical groups further fortified abortion services and aimed for their development, while the United States Medicine Association sustained their ignorance on the matter. There was the liberation of the Canadian and British practices over time and in 1988, arbitrary restrictions were ruled out by the Supreme Court of Canada. Moreover, public financial aid for abortions have always been provided in Canada, and this has gradually expanded in Britain (Halfmann, 2013). Publicly funded abortions for the unfortunate members in the United States were initially allowed, but it is faced with various legislative barriers because abortion is not seen as a medical necessity but as an “elective” process.
Can party elites moderate abortion disputes?
Only American movement in the three nations has succeeded in moving the abortion issue onto the agenda of the main political parties. Political party leaders in Britain and Canada planned to focus on economic issues instead of the abortion fights. Unavailability of remarkable powers of state party influential people in the United States parliamentary system hinders its politicians from doing the same (Lewis, 2017). Political leaders in UK and Canada select candidates and finance their campaigns, initiate most policies, and advise legislators on how to vote. In America, this is not the case as national-level parties identified diverse matters and specified candidates and policymakers forge ahead in reaction to financing and pressure from single-issue collections.
Overview of different positions on the issue of abortion
Right to life
Persons who are against abortion assert that the state government has a moral duty to protect the unborn and that there should be no legal right to any pregnancy termination (Lowen, 2017). Most of the opponents of abortion feel that abortion ban should only be allowed in cases where there is rape, need to protect the pregnant woman or incest.
State decision
In the United States, not every person who opposes abortion right believe that the state has to prohibit all abortions. Some argue that the federal government should not be involved in abortion right discussions. The Republican presidential candidates in 2008 claimed that the state legislature should be given the freedom to choose whether to ban or not to ban abortion.
Pro-choice
According to the opinions of most Americans and the United States Supreme Court members, people have a constitutional right to abortion. They feel that abortion should remain legal and this was expressed in the Roe v. Wade (1973) Supreme Court majority ruling (Head, 2013).
The supporters and opponents of abortion have persuasive arguments on the issue, and this creates considerable confusion. The abortion ban may promote sexual morality among persons who engage in unprotected sex. Nevertheless, the ban may cause depression as a result of raising unwanted children. On the other hand, if states allow abortions, many people may become irresponsible in using birth control methods. On the positive side, freedom of abortion may help families to overcome the stress of raising unwanted babies.
The abortion controversies continue in different parts of the world. Every group wants to be heard. Women have known how to claim their rights, and they are gaining ground in the medical profession. Different nations have tried to implement reforms to develop Medicaid coverage for all reproductive care services.
Despite different measures to favor abortion rights the abortion controversy will continue. The lawmakers have a hard task to perform to satisfy all the involved parties. Intensely motivated activists may pressurize the unsteady elites, and this may regularize abortion.
- Halfmann, Drew. “Why Abortion Controversies are So Central to U.S. Politics.” Scholars Strategy Network, April 2013, www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/brief/why-abortion-controversies-are-so-central-us-politics. Accessed 3 November 2017.
- Head, Tom. “Here Are the Most Common Views in the Abortion Debate.” ThoughtCo., 19 Feb, 2017, www.thoughtco.com/most-common-views-on-abortion-721103. Accessed 3 November 2017.
- Lewis, Jone Johnson. “A Brief History of the Abortion Controversy in the United States.” ThoughtCo., 2 Oct. 2017, www.thoughtco.com/history-of-abortion-3528243. Accessed 3 November 2017.
- Lowen, Linda. “10 Common Arguments For and Against Abortion.” ThoughtCo., 11 Oct. 2017, www.thoughtco.com/arguments-for-and-against-abortion-3534153. Accessed 3 November 2017.