The entrenchment of abortion in different countries

Legalizing or not legalizing abortion is one of the most controversial subjects in the world. Arguments for and against abortion have taken religious, political and moral perspectives with the proponents and opponents giving substantive claims to support their arguments.

The entrenchment of abortion in different countries’ constitution has raised resistance from the conservatives who claims that the laws are contradicting when they impose death penalty on individual convicted of murder while legalizing abortion is itself legalizes murder of unborn. Despite the ensuing arguments over the subject, it is clear that abortion is practices in every corner of the world regardless of whether it is legal or illegal.

My thesis is that abortion should be legalized since illegalizing does not deter people from aborting and it deteriorates and risks life of women. Abortion can be defined as a premature expulsion of a human fetus, whether in naturally like in case of a miscarriage or artificially induced through the use of surgical or chemical equipment.

However the controversy around the subject surrounds about 93% of the abortion cases which are carried out for elective, based on no medical reason.

Abortion should be legalized in cases case where a woman has undergone a painful ordeal like rape or incest which may affect the whole of their live and bearing such a child will rekindle painful memories of the ordeal.

With rising population of homeless people and street children and families, abortion should be legalized so that those who feel that they cannot raise their children are not compelled to give birth to children who they cannot support and will leave them to wander on the street. Even in countries where abortion has not been legalized, there are rising cases of backstreet abortion where many women lose their life.

These and other facts support the reasons why abortion should be legalized. I once again restate that abortion should be legalized since illegalizing does not deter people from aborting and it deteriorates and risks life of women.

Why abortion should be legalized

My first argument is that abortion should be legalized in case where a woman conceive after undergoing a painful ordeal like rape, incest, and other sex related ordeals. Such an ordeal is likely to haunt a woman for the rest of her life.

Research has revealed that one out of every six case of rape or incest usually results to pregnancy. Apart from the danger of the mother contracting venereal disease which may affect fetal formation, women who give birth to children conceived in such circumstances are likely to suffer repeated emotionally every time they see that child since they remember the ordeal.

Research reveals that more than 50% of pregnancies resulting from such cases are usually aborted all over the world where abortion is legalized or illegalized (Johnson, 2008). Most women turn to backstreet abortion while many are not likely to report pregnancy resulting from rapes and incest fearing stigma. Therefore, they end up undergoing crude methods of abortion where not one risking their health.  In order to save women from such ordeals, I feel that abortion should be legalized.

My second argument supporting abortion is that there are many women who conceive when they have no means of bringing up the child.  Many women will enter into a relationship and when they conceive, their partners depart them.

Some have no jobs or any economic means and they end up bearing children who are left to wander in the streets.  With the declining welfare supports, abortion should be legalized in order to save women from undergoing such ordeals which are likely to affect their life and that of their children.

Research shows that more than 21% of the cases if abortions are related to women who are not ready for responsibilities while 11% are related to young pregnancies mostly to teenagers who cannot take responsibility for the children they bear (Johnson, 2008).

Women should have the choice to decide carrying to full term pregnancies which they are prepared to handle and bring up the child in a good environment. I feel that abortion should be legalized in order to give women a chance to make choices of giving birth to children who they can take care.

My third argument supporting abortion is that even in countries where abortion has been illegalized, people have not been deterred from performing abortion. In contrast to countries which are legalized where women seek abortion in hospitals, there are more people who are seeking abortion in backstreet clinics through crude methods risking their health. A study by Henshaw et al.

(1999) showed there were more than 26 legal and 20 illegal abortions worldwide in 1999, concluding that stringent measures against legal abortion did not guaranteed low rate of abortion.

Another study by Sedgh et al. (2007) concluded that the rate of abortion in countries where it is legalized has been decreasing with time. Legalized abortion help women to access safe abortion which is not detrimental to their health while illegalizing abortion expose women to health hazards. Therefore abortion should be legalized to help women access safe abortion.

Conclusion

Abortion remains a controversial subject in the world. My thesis is that abortion should be legalized since illegalizing abortion does not deter people from aborting and it exposes women to health risks. Abortion should be legalized for women who undergo painful ordeals like rape and incest which are likely to haunt them throughout their life.