Legalization of Abortion

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Legalization of Abortion

Abortion, the contested right of women

Abortion has emerged as a symbol for U.S. society as a debatable argument among the myriad of contested issues. Abortion holds as an important belief of religious secular society, the potential of medical sciences and an aspect of legal authorities in regulating the individual's life. Abortion clinics and rights of women have become the focus of an ideological battle, with increasing degree of resentment. The burning question remains the same: Should abortion be legal?

Abortion is still considered as deeply contested right under the constitutional protection which; however, this embattled right deserves. Abortion as a woman's right should be understood, acknowledged and accepted as the right to protect herself from the non consensual, invasive taking, appropriation and utilization of her physical body by an unwanted fetus. Abortion is a fundamental right of a woman to dismiss nonconsensual pregnancy and is a part of her liberal right to defend her physical self against any assaultive appropriations.

Law and Statistical Analysis

In 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that, women shall have a right to an abortion, in consultation with her physician, in early stages of pregnancy. In 1992, however, the court weakened the former legal protections available to women and physicians by providing the states with the right to enact limitations for women seeking abortion. Among the American women, almost half of the pregnancies are unintended, and twenty-two percent of these pregnancies end in abortion. The number of abortions performed in U.S. in year 2008 was 1.21 million. Since 1973 to 2008, the legal abortions occurrence is around 50 million in U.S (Guttmacher Institute, 2011).

Arguments

Two fundamental implications are of great importance to the abortion debate (Sedgh, G. et al, 2007). These implications follow the basic right of women to terminate a pregnancy. Firstly, if the right of woman to an abortion is indeed precisely understood as a right to protect herself against the resented appropriation and usage of her body by a fetus then, whether the consideration of the fetus as “a human being”, it no longer matters. Whether or not there is the existence of genetic linkage, whether that person is an intentional or not, whether the person is a child, an adult or is a fetus or not, it should not be considered fatal to the right of women to an abortion. This argument clarifies the contours of the right.

Secondly, in the liberal societies where the law rules, women typically have rights not only for the protection of their bodies and body parts against non consensual appropriations, but they also firmly expect the assistance of state in perfecting their defense. The purpose of existence of the states includes its people's protection from untimely and assaultive invasions. The only way states can ensure this realistically is by funding abortions. However, U.S. Congress has explicitly rejected the refusal to fund the abortions of impoverished women and have restricted the use of federal funds only when the female's life ...