Friday, September 11, 2009

When is it appropriate?

Abortion is a multifaceted issue that continues to be a hot topic of debate. Even when focusing on the legal aspects of abortion moral issues and fetus rights are brought into the argument. Nick argues that he believes some abortions are wrong but they should be allowed under other circumstances, which brings in the whole host of issues I listed above. If he is referring to morally wrong he may have a point. Many people think abortion is morally wrong and to some extent I agree. I believe that the choice to have an abortion creates a moral dilemma for most women but their circumstances don't allow for a decision based on morals alone. It is also true that morals differ from person to person and cannot be considered in the law protecting women's health and reproductive freedom.

The other topic Nick's argument brings to mind is regarding the circumstances that would have to exist for an abortion to be deemed appropriate and also which instances would abortion be considered unnecessary. An editorial quote from the New York Times eloquently stated the point I would like to make, "The argument for unregulated abortion rests on the idea that where there are exceptions, there cannot be a rule. Because rape and incest can lead to pregnancy, because abortion can save women's lives, because babies can be born into suffering and certain death, there should be no restrictions on abortion whatsoever" (Douthat par. 7). Now this is only a portion of this article, the writer goes on to list some disturbing statistics that argue against the medical necessity of the majority of abortions. He states that half of the 1,000,000 abortions performed in the U.S. each year are repeat abortions and around a quarter are third or fourth procedures. He goes on to say, "Of the more than 100,000 abortions that are performed after the first trimester very few involve medical complications of any kind" (par. 6) Yes, these statistics are unnerving and are very good arguments against abortion, but there will always be cases that will be considered exceptions to any law banning abortion. This means if abortion became illegal then each woman pursuing an abortion would have to prove her case in court. Not only would this cost taxpayers a ridiculous amount of money in court fees but women in need of an abortion would be delayed for weeks or even months before a decision was made in their case. Regulating abortion on a case by case basis sounds like a good idea in theory but it is not a viable option.

Works Cited

Douthat, Ross. "Not All Abortions Are Equal." New York Times 9 June 2009. Lexis Nexis. Century College Library, White Bear Lake, MN. Web. 11 Sept. 2009.

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