Abortion: Should We Talk About It?

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women provide as excuses to why they cannot continue their pregnancy. However, when a woman engages in sexual relations she is automatically putting herself at risk for pregnancy. So while all of these justifications are in fact real hardships that make having a child inconvenient, they are not excuses for a woman to ignore the consequences of a situation she put herself in. Many Pro Life activists pose the question, “Why not adoption?” Unfortunately, to a scared woman in a serious situation, a secretive, one time surgery initially sounds more appealing than carrying a child for nine months and undergoing the legal processes of adoption. So while abortion may not be the most ethical or moral decision, it seems to be the quicker and easier solution in the minds of many women. If more women discuss why they decided to undergo an abortion, more women will think it is acceptable and might also consider abortion as an alternative to continuing an unwanted pregnancy.

There is also a large a difference between what Americans think should be legal and what they think is moral (Lipka). One can compare this statement to the idea of separation of church and state. There have been many court cases involving the issue of abortion. Most notably, Roe vs. Wade where the U.S. Supreme Court officially declared in a 7-2 vote, that under the Fourteenth amendment to the Constitution a woman legally has the right to have an abortion. This ruling is still a touchy subject in the eyes of many Americans. Women do have the right to undergo an abortion as long as they follow the proper protocol; however, they’re right to discuss their abortions seems to be threatened by vicious critic.

As a society, we are starting to encourage women to keep telling their stories in order to come to a solution on the hateful discrimination issue. “Part of breaking the stigma is removing the silence and we are doing it loudly and clearly. By talking about abortion stigma we can recognize how it is created and perpetuated and what our individual roles and responsibilities are in working toward stigma-free language, concepts, and services (Rewire).” Employee of International Planned Parenthood Federation Kelly Culwell shares that in their offices they are working to change provider-client interactions by displaying signs that say “stigma-free services” (Rewire). While speaking out and improving work relations may certainly enable abortion rights to grow, many can also counter-argue that speaking out will only make the situation worse by causing more riots and hateful outbursts on abortionists and abortion clinics in our country.

Women speak out against abortion because they want to gain support and understanding from the hateful discriminants in society. However, speaking out proves to be a win-lose solution for women. While we cannot argue against the fact that abortion is killing the life of a living human being, we cannot deny that it is also a constitutional right that a woman possesses. Just recently with the new 2016 election results, the Obama administration has issued a new Title X rule that will prevent states from defunding Planned Parenthood or any type of family planning provider for political reasons (Huffington Post). In the Huffington Post article, “Obama Moves To Protect Planned Parenthood Funding, Permanently” Cecile Richards acknowledges the Constitution when she states “This rule makes it clear that politicians cannot ignore the law as they pursue their agenda to stop women from getting the care they need.” While statistics show that our country seems to be leaning more towards the support of abortion, there is still much discrimination that is occurring on this controversial issue. Pro Choice and Pro Life supporters are constantly at each other’s throats with new arguments and facts. Religion, culture, morals, and individual perspectives all play a part in one’s view of abortion. But the challenge that is presented to our society is, can we put our personal and moral views aside to respect person’s Constitutional given rights?

Works Cited

Basset, Laura. "Obama Moves to Protect Planned Parenthood, Permanently." Www.huffingtonpost.com. N.p., 9 Sept. 2016. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.

Lipka, Michael. "5 Facts about Abortion." Pew Research Center RSS. N.p., 27 June 2016. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.

Moscatello, Caitlin. "6 Women Talk About Why They Had Abortions." Cosmopolitan. N.p., 10 Oct. 2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

Mietus, A. C., and Norbert J. Mietus. “Criminal Abortion: ‘A Failure of Law’ or a Challenge to Society?” American Bar Association Journal, vol. 51, no. 10, 1965, pp. 924–928.Web. 24 Oct. 2016

@rewire_news. "Abortion Stigma Is Simply Discrimination: Here Is How We Get Rid of It - Rewire." Rewire. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.

Tietze, Christopher. “The `Problem’ of Repeat Abortions.” Family Planning Perspectives, vol. 6, no. 3, 1974, pp. 148–150. Web. 24 Oct. 2016

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