Abortion is the choice to end/terminate a pregnancy, by law this choice the act must be carried out within the first trimester of pregnancy. In the U.S. laws for abortion began around 1820, concluding it was legal to have an abortion. But during the mid 1800's it was then deemed illegal. The medical procedure to have an abortion was seen as unsafe and posed a great risk to the health and life of women. Between the period of 1967 and 1973 some states began to reinstate abortion laws. In 1973 the case of Roe vs Wade persuaded the Supreme Court to make abortion legal in all 50 states in the case of Since then, there has been a great deal of debating on the subject. Two groups have been protesting against each other for decades. Pro-Life sees abortion as inhumane and unethical, while Pro-Choice feels, if abortion of a pregnancy was illegal women would die in "back alley" abortions.
Pro-life is the group that defies the act of abortion. One argument pro-life stands by is that a fetus is actually a human and should be allowed to live. “Fetus -- literally meaning "little one" in Latin -- refers to the pre-born baby after eight week's gestation.” (prolife.com). And they also state that Webster's Dictionary says a fetus has, "passed the early stages of development and attained the basic final form prior to parturition (birth). Since Pro-life sees fetus’ as humans, they recognize the different procedures of abortion as inhumane. To describe the savage acts of abortion pro-life’s lists the type of abortion and how it is carried out. “Suction Abortion: Used during the first three months of pregnancy - A suction tube (27 times stronger than a home vacuum cleaner) is inserted into the womb. The powerful suction tears the baby apart limb from limb and sucks it from the womb along with the placenta. The baby's remains are deposited into an attached waste bottle. Dilation and Curettage (D&C): Used at the end of the third month of pregnancy (approximately 12 weeks) - The cervix is dilated, ring forceps are inserted into the womb and the baby is extracted piece by piece. Then a curette (a sharp knife in a loop shape) is inserted and used to scrape away any of the baby or the placenta that remains. Profuse bleeding follows. Dilationand Extraction (D&E): Used after 13 weeks - The cervix is dilated and the unborn child is dismembered with plier-like forceps. Force is needed to pull the baby apart. The instrument is used to seize a leg or other part of the body and then, with a twisting motion, tear it from the baby's body. The baby's spine is snapped and the skull crushed. After the baby parts are removed, they are
reassembled outside the womb to be sure all are removed. Frequently baby parts are left inside the mother's womb. This can cause serious complications and sometimes death.” And the fourth method “Partial-Birth Abortion: Partial-Birth Abortions are used from the 4th month through the end of the 9th month of pregnancy. These late-term abortions are regularly used to kill healthy babies that pose no danger or threat to their mother. For this abortion, the abortionist uses ultrasound to locate the unborn baby's legs. Forceps are then used to pull the baby's legs through the birth canal, delivering the baby feet first, except for the head. Scissors are then used to puncture the base of the back of the head. A suction device is then inserted to
suction out the baby's brain so the skull will easily collapse. The dead baby is then removed.” Pro-life website makes it clear that abortions can be seen as inhumane. I never fully understood how an abortion is carried out and this disturbingly taught me how different techniques prevent potential children from being born.
In the 2003 Partial Life Abortion Act banned the abortions of third trimester pregnancies. Partial birth abortion is described as follows "An abortion in which the person performing the abortion, deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother, or, in the case of breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother, for the purpose of performing an overt act that the person knows will kill the partially delivered living fetus; and performs the overt act, other than completion of delivery, that kills the partially delivered living fetus."(http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/PBAall110403.html). Partial birth is seen by Congress as inhumane, the child if nearly fully developed and should not be murdered. Pro-life activists can see
this as a step in the right direction for abortion laws. This act I feel is absolutely atrocious, it is murder of a baby. Any person that takes this route should be prosecuted.
Pro-choice is in support of legal abortion laws. Prochoice .org discusses the long history of abortions. Abortions have been practiced for thousands of years. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s abortion was ruled illegal. The main push for illegalizing abortion was from doctors. Doctors wanted to have exclusive rights to practice medicine. They wanted to prevent "untrained" practitioners, including midwives, apothecaries, and homeopaths, from competing with them for patients and for patient fees (prochoice).The best way to complete this goal was to terminate the means used by competitors. The newly formed American Medical Association (AMA) made it a point to consider that abortion was both unethical and dangerous to the health of women. “By 1910 all but one state had criminalized abortion except where necessary, in a doctor's judgment, to save the woman's life.” (prochoice). This was the AMA’s way of making legal abortion a "physicians-only" practice. However this law did not halt abortions. Years leading to Roe vs Wade (1973), abortions were estimated around 1.2 million a year (prochoice.org). As a result of illegalizing abortion, women who wanted an abortion had the option of a back alley abortion; self induce abortions, poorly trained practitioners in unsanitary conditions. And because of this choice women died.
Another group in support of legal abortion is the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). The IPPF’s abortion guideline book discusses the appropriate protocol for an abortion. IPPF's mission statement claims "IPPF works towards a world where women, men and young people everywhere have control over their own bodies, and therefore their destinies. A world where they are free to choose parenthood or not; free to decide how many children they will have and when; free to pursue healthy sexual lives without fear of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. A world where gender or sexuality are no longer a source of inequality or stigma. We will not retreat from doing everything we can to safeguard these important choices and rights for current and future generations." (IPPF.org). IPPF offers post abortion counseling and medical evaluation, post abortion treatment is essential to ensure the patient is going to be healthy. Such treatments could resolve questioning of abortion; Was abortion the right choice? Did I just kill a child? Is abortion a cruel way out? Did the child feel anything? IPPF could also manipulate women into thinking they made the right choice.
The following that has been written makes it hard to argue that abortion methods not are cruel and unusal. This could open up a new debate and on the eighth amendment. Slaughtering fetus' I feel is inhumane. Another means of carrying out abortions needs to be discovered. Executions in the U.S over time have becom more humane, so why can't abortions? This issue needs to be more recognized throughout the country. Protesting is just not getting the job done. Abortions shouldn't be banned they should be less horrendous.
Pro-life is the group that defies the act of abortion. One argument pro-life stands by is that a fetus is actually a human and should be allowed to live. “Fetus -- literally meaning "little one" in Latin -- refers to the pre-born baby after eight week's gestation.” (prolife.com). And they also state that Webster's Dictionary says a fetus has, "passed the early stages of development and attained the basic final form prior to parturition (birth). Since Pro-life sees fetus’ as humans, they recognize the different procedures of abortion as inhumane. To describe the savage acts of abortion pro-life’s lists the type of abortion and how it is carried out. “Suction Abortion: Used during the first three months of pregnancy - A suction tube (27 times stronger than a home vacuum cleaner) is inserted into the womb. The powerful suction tears the baby apart limb from limb and sucks it from the womb along with the placenta. The baby's remains are deposited into an attached waste bottle. Dilation and Curettage (D&C): Used at the end of the third month of pregnancy (approximately 12 weeks) - The cervix is dilated, ring forceps are inserted into the womb and the baby is extracted piece by piece. Then a curette (a sharp knife in a loop shape) is inserted and used to scrape away any of the baby or the placenta that remains. Profuse bleeding follows. Dilationand Extraction (D&E): Used after 13 weeks - The cervix is dilated and the unborn child is dismembered with plier-like forceps. Force is needed to pull the baby apart. The instrument is used to seize a leg or other part of the body and then, with a twisting motion, tear it from the baby's body. The baby's spine is snapped and the skull crushed. After the baby parts are removed, they are
reassembled outside the womb to be sure all are removed. Frequently baby parts are left inside the mother's womb. This can cause serious complications and sometimes death.” And the fourth method “Partial-Birth Abortion: Partial-Birth Abortions are used from the 4th month through the end of the 9th month of pregnancy. These late-term abortions are regularly used to kill healthy babies that pose no danger or threat to their mother. For this abortion, the abortionist uses ultrasound to locate the unborn baby's legs. Forceps are then used to pull the baby's legs through the birth canal, delivering the baby feet first, except for the head. Scissors are then used to puncture the base of the back of the head. A suction device is then inserted to
suction out the baby's brain so the skull will easily collapse. The dead baby is then removed.” Pro-life website makes it clear that abortions can be seen as inhumane. I never fully understood how an abortion is carried out and this disturbingly taught me how different techniques prevent potential children from being born.
In the 2003 Partial Life Abortion Act banned the abortions of third trimester pregnancies. Partial birth abortion is described as follows "An abortion in which the person performing the abortion, deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother, or, in the case of breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother, for the purpose of performing an overt act that the person knows will kill the partially delivered living fetus; and performs the overt act, other than completion of delivery, that kills the partially delivered living fetus."(http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/PBAall110403.html). Partial birth is seen by Congress as inhumane, the child if nearly fully developed and should not be murdered. Pro-life activists can see
this as a step in the right direction for abortion laws. This act I feel is absolutely atrocious, it is murder of a baby. Any person that takes this route should be prosecuted.
Pro-choice is in support of legal abortion laws. Prochoice .org discusses the long history of abortions. Abortions have been practiced for thousands of years. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s abortion was ruled illegal. The main push for illegalizing abortion was from doctors. Doctors wanted to have exclusive rights to practice medicine. They wanted to prevent "untrained" practitioners, including midwives, apothecaries, and homeopaths, from competing with them for patients and for patient fees (prochoice).The best way to complete this goal was to terminate the means used by competitors. The newly formed American Medical Association (AMA) made it a point to consider that abortion was both unethical and dangerous to the health of women. “By 1910 all but one state had criminalized abortion except where necessary, in a doctor's judgment, to save the woman's life.” (prochoice). This was the AMA’s way of making legal abortion a "physicians-only" practice. However this law did not halt abortions. Years leading to Roe vs Wade (1973), abortions were estimated around 1.2 million a year (prochoice.org). As a result of illegalizing abortion, women who wanted an abortion had the option of a back alley abortion; self induce abortions, poorly trained practitioners in unsanitary conditions. And because of this choice women died.
Another group in support of legal abortion is the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). The IPPF’s abortion guideline book discusses the appropriate protocol for an abortion. IPPF's mission statement claims "IPPF works towards a world where women, men and young people everywhere have control over their own bodies, and therefore their destinies. A world where they are free to choose parenthood or not; free to decide how many children they will have and when; free to pursue healthy sexual lives without fear of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. A world where gender or sexuality are no longer a source of inequality or stigma. We will not retreat from doing everything we can to safeguard these important choices and rights for current and future generations." (IPPF.org). IPPF offers post abortion counseling and medical evaluation, post abortion treatment is essential to ensure the patient is going to be healthy. Such treatments could resolve questioning of abortion; Was abortion the right choice? Did I just kill a child? Is abortion a cruel way out? Did the child feel anything? IPPF could also manipulate women into thinking they made the right choice.
The following that has been written makes it hard to argue that abortion methods not are cruel and unusal. This could open up a new debate and on the eighth amendment. Slaughtering fetus' I feel is inhumane. Another means of carrying out abortions needs to be discovered. Executions in the U.S over time have becom more humane, so why can't abortions? This issue needs to be more recognized throughout the country. Protesting is just not getting the job done. Abortions shouldn't be banned they should be less horrendous.
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