Should abortion be legal in the united states?
The issue of abortion dates back early in the 1960s when America began liberalizing its abortion laws. Since then, the topic has been hotly disputed between political parties and other interest groups. While abortion remains legal in the 50 states, it is still challenging for women to access abortion services. Women seeking abortion services often face significant financial and legal difficulties following the implementation of various restrictive regulations, insufficient funding, lack of healthcare abortion providers, and political opposition regarding the matter.
It has been more than four decades since the supreme court decision on Roe v. Wade. The ruling gave women the right to decide concerning abortion and as a matter of privacy. However, years later, both federal and state regulators have continuously changed the regulations, limiting access to legal abortion. In 2019 alone, 42 abortion restrictions were enacted. These measures include the “heartbeat bills” passed by four states (Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, And Georgia), which banned abortion when the fetus’s heartbeat s can be detected. This has limited the abortion to as early as six weeks gestation, a period when only very few people can tell whether they are pregnant.
Recently, Alabama passed an even more restrictive bill prohibiting abortion at all stages with no exemptions of rape or incest. The bill only legalizes abortion to women whose life is at risk because of the pregnancy. The state of Missouri also passed a bill prohibiting abortion past eight weeks with no exemptions to rape or incest but only in cases of a medical emergency. However, none of these laws has taken effect yet because most are being challenged in court and others are also likely to be challenged. These and other newly enacted abortion measures have sought to curtail women from accessing legal abortion or limiting access to specific populations such as rape victims and women whose lives are endangered by the pregnancy.
But even with the new regulations, abortion is still very common. Anti-abortion laws do not reduce or stop abortion but make women seek unsafe abortion options out of frustration. According to statistics, unsafe abortions and complications resulting from these practices are on the rise. Unsafe abortions are also among the four major causes of maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States. This can be easily eliminated by relaxing the current abortion restrictions and availing abortion services through trained providers and sanitary conditions. But when abortion is restricted, women end up seeking unsafe abortion procedures that endanger their lives.
Beckman, Linda J. “Abortion in the United States: The continuing controversy.” Feminism & Psychology 27.1 (2017): 101-113.
Nobis, Nathan, and Kristina Grob. “Is your Opinion on Abortion Wrong? Critical Thinking & Abortion.” (2020).
Tasset, Julia, and Lisa H. Harris. “Harm reduction for abortion in the United States.” Obstetrics & Gynecology 131.4 (2018): 621-624.
