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Should Abortion be banned?

The question of whether abortion should be banned has been discussed for a long time, yet an agreement is yet to be achieved (Rebar, 2022). Religious and personal beliefs are amongst the critical factors that determine the practice of abortion. Considering that abortion is a crucial element that affects the health of women in the reproductive age, it is important to exhaustively discuss the question, determine the most suitable decision, and evaluate its related health advantages, to determine its fitness for implementation.

Abortion should not be banned; rather, the government system should focus to provide safer abortion services for women, to enhance their quality of lives. The majority of Americans agree that women should have the right to choose and decide on matters that affect their wellbeing. Majority of the population are also moving more toward supporting “safe, legal, affordable” abortion. Considering the health of women in the reproductive age, the future of our society, and the welfare of our children, we must support legal abortions and work towards making it easier to obtain. Legalizing abortion gives women the freedom and access to obtain a safe abortion. It is predicted that one in three American women will have an abortion by age 45, but only if they are wealthy enough to afford it. The majority of women who seek an abortion come from the working class and rely on public health providers for their medical care. If abortions were illegal, these women would have nowhere to turn except to unsafe clinics and back-alley practitioners; thus, endangering their lives. Legalizing abortion will enable women to seek quality services from experienced practitioners, and encourage them to confidently seek counselling to make correct decisions concerning pregnancies; more so the unwanted ones.

However, antiabortion activists in the society support that abortion should banned, and argue that abortion is murder and it is unethical (Hughes, 2022). The activists think that abortion should be restricted and they want to impose laws that prevent the procedure from being performed. In 1967, in a legislative debate for legalization of abortion, an antiabortion activist argued that the act is selfish, inhuman, and against the religious beliefs (Hughes, 2022). Antiabortion activists emphasize more on the religious obligations rather than the wellbeing of individuals. In my opinion, religious beliefs and practices should not deny people the right to make important decision; more so, those that affect their health. Religion definitely plays a significant role in the decision-making process, where Christians are against abortion for religious reasons, for example, the Catholic Church argues against abortion on religious grounds; however, many Christian churches have changed their position on abortion due to the advancement in technology and science. Religious practices and beliefs should therefore not be allowed to hinder the achievement of optimum health for women.

The health benefits of legal abortion include being able to avoid an unwanted pregnancy, and the physical, mental, and social effects of a pregnancy (Rebar, 2022). The major benefit for the woman is that if she is able to receive an abortion, it will give her secure knowledge about her body’s capacity for the pregnancy (Rebar, 2022). Additionally, in a society where abortion is not legal and affordable, there will be more unwanted pregnancies; thus, further increasing incidences of unplanned pregnancies that lead to abortions (Rebar, 2022). In comparison to other developed countries such as Singapore and Japan, there are more illegal abortions than legal ones (12% as opposed to 1%); therefore, not providing women with safe abortions has resulted in greater number of deaths due to unsafe abortions (4.5% as opposed to 0.1%) (Rebar, 2022).

In conclusion, abortion should be legalized since banning it simply risks the health of women, who have the right to choose what is best for them. It will positively impact the health of women, and will protect their rights, as banning would only force them to seek dangerous and illegal abortions.

References

Hughes, R. (2022). Tiny You: A Western History of the Anti-Abortion Movement. https://academic.oup.com/jah/article-abstract/108/4/879/6564972Rebar, R. W. (2022). Abortion and Me. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 10-1097. https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/9900/Abortion_and_Me.446.aspx