The legality of abortion has been in question for the past couple of years and the banning of abortion is causing real problems. I believe that abortion when necessary is a woman’s right and her own decision to make. Making abortion illegal will take away that women’s right, so those who protest to make abortion illegal give no regard to those who are unready for pregnancy. At what point would an abortion be immoral? If a woman discovers that she is pregnant, it would usually be around the time when she has first missed her cycle according to NHS Inform (National Health Service) which can be up to 4 weeks after conception. The fetus first forms its heart around 3 weeks after conception. A victim of rape should also be taken into consideration for if abortion should be made accessible to them or not legally. 

A woman should have access and the right to an abortion, obtaining early evaluation and the support that is needed is essential to a woman’s physical and mental health when going through something as serious as an unexpected/unwanted pregnancy. Those who have no other option only have abortion to rely on, having that option taken away will ruin lives and force those who need abortions into dire situations. Faundes A and Hardy E state in their article that if abortion is legal: “the abortion rate will drop and the safety of the procedure will improve, parallel to the position women occupy in a given society, and to the level of recognition of their sexual and reproductive rights”, a right that will be violated if abortion is made illegal. According to Faundes A and Hardy E, “the legality of abortion does not influence the abortion rate and is instead associated with a much greater risk of complications and death regarding abortion” (E; Faúndes A;Hardy. “Illegal Abortion: Consequences for Women’s Health and the Health Care System.” International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics: the Official Organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2023, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9253669/). Those who are determined and require an abortion will be forced to perform dangerous procedures/unsafe abortions all because the law would state that abortion is illegal.  

There are hundreds of thousands of deaths that are caused yearly due to clandestine abortions suggesting that abortion is going to happen whether it is illegal or not, the legality of it only determines the safety and mortality of abortion. Should the argument that abortion is immoral in regards to the life of the fetus outweigh the argument that some pregnancies and illegal abortion take lives also? Abortion should be easily accessible and therefore safe, with the decision to have the abortion ultimately rests on whoever is getting the abortion.  

There are many articles that scientifically support the fact that a fetus is already a human being and that having an abortion would be considered murder. Although a fetus develops its vital organs like the heart within a couple of weeks, it only has the ability to feel emotions months later (Derbyshire, Stuart W G. “Can Fetuses Feel Pain?” BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 15 Apr. 2006,www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1440624/#:~:text=The%20stereotypical%20hormonal%20stress%20response,fetuses%20at%2018%20weeks’%20gestation.&text=Behavioural%20reactions%20and%20brain%20haemodynamic,occur%20by%2026%20weeks’%20gestation). Having an abortion would be like having the fetus dying in its sleep. An abortion would rob the potential future of the child’s life, but may save the future of the mother’s. 

In the summer of 2022, the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision in 1973 that established a constitutional right to abortion. This led to a banning of abortion in at least 18 states as of October 2022. The right to do what you want or need for your own body have been violated and restricts women in these states to a safe and legal abortion. This can only lead to more problems and increases the need for legal abortion because those who would even consider abortion are likely the ones that need to have one. Teenagers and victims of rape are likely going to keep their abortion discreet, and unable to have a legal abortion makes it even more unsafe and dangerous. 

According to an article by Lauren Hoffman, the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v, Wade which provided access to abortion and reproductive healthcare, research confirms the positive effects of the right to an abortion towards economic indicators such as labor force participation, educational attainment, earnings, and child poverty. The new case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturns this and research shows that when women are denied access to abortion, there are negative effects on economic security and state/local economies can suffer significant financial losses. This makes sense because when somebody is forced to take care of a child in which they were not prepared to do so, it can take up all of their time and therefore have an impact on the economy. Studies show that the biggest increase in women’s labor force participation occurred after the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973. Another study showed that “access to abortion for women facing early, undesired pregnancies increased the probability of their entering college by 41 percent and completing college by 71 percent”. Abortion legalization has also boosted women’s earnings, this has led to less children growing up and living in poverty. These are facts that are recorded and prove that there are actual benefits to society when abortion is legalized. 

Making abortion illegal not only harms the economy but it only takes into consideration the future of a fetus. There are studies that show laws that restrict access to abortion widened the gender pay gap for women of childbearing age by pushing them out of the labor force and into lower-paying jobs. The article also states that “women who were forced to carry a pregnancy to term experienced a wide range of negative financial consequences, including lower credit scores, increased debt, and more negative public financial records such as bankruptcies and evictions. In addition to the impact on women themselves, the study showed that these restrictions are associated with worse child developmental outcomes and a greater likelihood of child poverty”.

Researchers state that if abortion is banned throughout the United States, the overall maternal deaths would rise by 24 percent, and 39 percent for Black women. The restriction to abortion will only lead to unsafe abortions which will ultimately increase the chance for death. “When a person is barred from accessing abortion care, she is compelled to continue a pregnancy against her will, even when serious health threats exist. This is, itself, a violation of human rights”. 

But what about the teenagers who are not mature enough to handle a child, or those who are financially unstable? Allowing the future of those children to come into existence because of irresponsible parents would be forsaking them. The right to determine whether or not somebody is ready to be a parent should be that person’s own choice. It should also be their decision to have to go through the hardships of pregnancy for it is their body that develops and takes care of the child. Nobody should tell somebody else what to do with their own body, especially when it is a life changing decision like parenthood. 

Sources:

• E;, Faúndes A;Hardy. “Illegal Abortion: Consequences for Women’s Health and the Health Care System.” International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics: the Official Organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2023, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9253669/. 
• R;, Dixon-Mueller. “Abortion Policy and Women’s Health in Developing Countries.” International Journal of Health Services : Planning, Administration, Evaluation, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2023, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2332264/. 
• Egnor, Michael. “If a Fetus Isn’t a Human Being, What Is It?” Evolution News, 28 Dec. 2022, https://evolutionnews.org/2022/05/if-a-fetus-isnt-a-human-being-what-is-it/. 
• Proulx, Natalie. “What Is Your Reaction to the State of Abortion Rights in 2022?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Oct. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/learning/what-is-your-reaction-to-the-state-of-abortion-rights-in-2022.html. 
• Sarah, Nadeau “State Abortion Bans Will Harm Women and Families’ Economic Security across the U.S.” Center for American Progress, 14 Apr. 2023, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/state-abortion-bans-will-harm-women-and-families-economic-security-across-the-us/. 
• Sarah, Nadeau. “Abortion Bans Will Result in More Women Dying.” Center for American Progress, 21 Apr. 2023, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/abortion-bans-will-result-in-more-women-dying/. 
• Derbyshire, Stuart W G. “Can Fetuses Feel Pain?” BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 15 Apr. 2006, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1440624/#:~:text=The%20stereotypical%20hormonal%20stress%20response,fetuses%20at%2018%20weeks’%20gestation.&text=Behavioural%20reactions%20and%20brain%20haemodynamic,occur%20by%2026%20weeks’%20gestation