Andrew Bennett
Honors 9 Period 6
February 11
A Woman’s Fundamental Choice
Abortion is the act of ending a pregnancy early the operation stops the growth of
the fetus, which is removed by a doctor. Many people believe abortion is a crime, and it
hurts unborn babies. The people that want to ban abortion want to control every aspect of
a woman’s sex life; however, the Supreme Court already made the decision, in the case
Roe v. Wade, to let a woman do what she thinks is best. The women and the doctors, who
perform the abortions, would become criminals if abortion were illegal. With no choice
but to break the law, women would be forced to have a “back-alley” abortion performed
instead of doing it in a clean, sterile, clinical environment. Abortion should be a legal
option for any woman: what happens to her body is her choice, her and the doctors would
become criminals, and she would be more at risk to health complications from an illegal
abortion.
Illegal abortions done in dirty and non-sterile areas are more likely to kill the
woman during the operation, or from complications post surgery. Having a licensed
doctor perform the abortion in a clean and sterile clinic is the only safe way to have an
abortion and end a pregnancy. When abortion was illegal, women that were pregnant and
did not want to have children used a coat hanger or other forms of removing the fetus
from their uterus. In 1964, 28-year-old Geraldine Santoro bled to death on the floor of a
Connecticut hotel room after she and her former lover, Clyde Dixon, attempted an
abortion on their own. Dixon, who had no medical experience of any kind, used a
textbook and some borrowed tools. When things went terribly wrong, he fled the scene,
and Santoro died alone. Finally, the legalization of abortion showed a decrease in
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maternal deaths. The statistics show the deaths resulting from illegal abortions accounted
for 42 percent of the maternal mortality rate in 1962,and after abortion was legalized in
1973, maternal mortality dropped by 45 percent. A woman’s health is dependent on the
legality of abortions.
Illegal abortions caused women to either die from complications, or become
criminals. The doctors who perform the abortions would also become criminals; driving
more women to “back-alley” abortions. If every woman who was raped and got pregnant
could not get an abortion, there would be more unwanted children. Most unwanted
children are abused or abandoned, and are more likely to exhibit what was done to them
in the future. The unwanted children would continue the cycle of rape, pregnancy, and
criminal behavior. In fact the Center for Disease Control say’s, forty percent of fourteen-
year-old girls will become pregnant before they turn twenty; however, they are not ready
physically, mentally, or financially to be mothers. Their only choice is to get an abortion
to save their childhood and continue on with a successful life. If women are denied the
right to make decisions about their own body, the case Roe v. Wade was for nothing.
Roe v. Wade was the deciding lawsuit on abortion in the United States, the
Supreme Court case, in 1973, legalized abortion for the first time in the United States. If
abortion is legal now it should be kept legal. In some states laws are being made that strip
theses rights away from women. For instance, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds
signed into law a pro-life statute, which made performing abortions a felony, directly
challenging Roe v. Wade. More importantly, the Roe v. Wade decision did not result in
an increase in abortion. The legality of abortions will not stop women from getting them.
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The Supreme Court case already decided that women should have the right to make the
decisions that will affect them.
A woman’s right to make decisions about her own body is the most important
right that she has in this country. Abortion should be kept legal: it is healthier for a
woman, she should not become a criminal for doing what is best for her, and it is already
legal. Imagine a woman, from South Dakota, was raped and got pregnant; she couldn’t go
to a doctor and ask to get an abortion. If she did, the doctor and her would both become
felons for trying to help the woman take care of herself. Since she didn’t have the doctor
perform the procedure, the woman may try to remove the fetus herself, or have someone
else do it for her. She may rip, tear, or somehow hurt her body so she cannot have
children when she wants. She may also die from the actual procedure, or from
hemorrhaging or tearing after the operation. The much more safe, effective, and healthy
route is to get a legal abortion. She can as long as Roe v. Wade is upheld and abortion is
legal.
