Should abortion be legal?

Should Abortion be Legal? Charlette Williams Luke Van Horn PHI103: Informal Logic October 29, 2012 I. Introduction A. Thesis Statement Everyone has their own opinion based on whether or not abortion should be legal or not. However, there are many reasons why some may have to have an abortion. There are cases that may cause a person to have to make such a decision. Having an abortion should be based on the person with the issue. Abortion should be legal based on health issues, the situation surrounding the pregnancy and if there is a young child involved. II. Should abortion be legal? While abortion can come off as being a bad judgment on ones part, some may feel like it should be legal. There can be situations where abortion is very much needed due to difficult situations. It should be a woman’s right to choose abortion. A fetus is not a human being. Abortion is terminating a pregnancy, not a baby. A. Supporting Evidence Access to abortion is necessary because contraceptives are not always easily available. Women need doctor prescriptions to buy many birth control methods, such as the pill, the patch, the shot, and the diaphragm. About half of all large group-insurance plans do not cover any form of prescription contraception. B. Explanation Abortion gives couples the option to choose not to birth babies with severe and life-threatening medical conditions. Motherhood must never be a punishment for having sexual intercourse. There are cases where a mother has to have an abortion due to complications. III. Professional opinion “ According to non objectors, conscientious objection affects quality of service. In the first months of the program, objecting ob/gyns and other health-care professionals who did not agree with legal abortion created an atmosphere of hostility, causing women to wait longer for services than necessary, making disparaging remarks, and refusing to provide appropriate services post-procedure–for example, offering only a wheelchair instead of a hospital bed in which to recover” (Contreras, 2011). A. Supporting Evidence “ According to some health-care professionals participating in the legal abortion program, the right of conscientious objection created problems for hospitals and health centers providing legal abortion services. After passage of the law, many professionals were uncertain about who had the right to refuse service provision based on conscientious objection” (Contreras, 2011). B. Explanation Often times, there have been cases as to where women have been victims of a rape situation, and they end up pregnant. Under no circumstances should they be forced to keep a baby that was conceived in such a way. Things that happen like this should be grounds for abortion is the woman feels that she knows she would not want this child nor love it. C. So What? With this type of information, how cases like this should be handled. If the mother feels that she does not want the baby, then she should be allowed to make the decision of having an abortion. Then, there are times when a child may have been molested and abortion is very much necessary. If a child is entirely too young to be having a baby and they cannot afford to take care of it, then their options that they are able to make. IV. Body paragraph Finally, even though abortion is one of the most common surgical procedures performed in the United States, the number of abortion providers is declining. A. Supporting Evidence “ More than one in five pregnancies ends in abortion. Despite a relatively fixed demand for services, the number of abortion providers is declining” (Balch, 2007) B. Explanation Abortion lowers crime. Some estimates claim that legalized abortion accounted for as much as 50% of the drop in murder, property crime, and violent crime between 1973 and 2001. Teenage girls, unmarried women, and poor women are more likely to have unintended pregnancies. Unwanted babies are often raised poor, increasing their chances of leading criminal lives in adulthood. C. So What? A baby should not come into this world unwanted. Birthing children is an important lifelong decision that requires responsible consideration, preparation, and planning. “ The call, at a time of concern about teenage pregnancy, will increase concerns that women will turn to abortion instead of contraception. Research in New Zealand this year showed that women who had abortions suffered twice the level of mental health problems and three times the risk of serious depression as other women” (Smith, 2006). V. Conclusion A. Thesis Statement Abortion should be legal because it is an effective tool in population control. Having an abortion should be based on the person with the issue. Abortion should be legal based on health issues, the situation surrounding the pregnancy and if there is a young child involved Malnutrition, starvation, poverty, lack of medical and educational services, pollution, underdevelopment, and conflict over resources are all consequences of overpopulation. References Contreras, X., van Dijk, M. G., Sanchez, T., & Sanhueza Smith, P. (2011). Experiences and Opinions of Health-Care Professionals Regarding Legal Abortion in Mexico City: A Qualitative Study. Studies In Family Planning. Balch Samora, J., & Leslie, N. (2007). The role of advanced practice clinicians in the availability of abortion services in the United States. JOGNN: Journal Of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing. Smith, L. (2006, Nov 28). Abortions should be made easier on demand, says charity. The Times. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com “ Abortion FAQ”, Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern Arizona, at http://www. ppcna. org/abortfaq. html.