The Right To Choose Should There Be A Constitutional Amendment Banning Abortion? Essay, Research Paper
In society today an agreement exists that when life becomes human life, that the human being must be protected. Many religions, organizations and individuals have passionately held conflicting beliefs about when human life begins. Is a fetus a human life at conception? Or is a child a human life at birth? Today, this question goes hand in hand with that question of abortion. There is so much controversy over this delicate issue that congress has been debating over it for nearly thirty years. This comes down to yet another heated question. Should there be a constitutional amendment banning abortion? It is nearly impossible to find someone who doesn?t have an opinion about abortion and probably a strong opinion at that. Debates on this topic usually go nowhere, leaving the opponents even more committed to their positions than before. Last month marked the twenty-sixth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of Roe vs. Wade. Prior to the case filed by Jane roe, the state of Texas made it a crime to perform a crime unless a child?s life was at stake. Jane Roe was an unmarried woman who wanted to safely and legally end her pregnancy end her pregnancy. The Supreme Court ruled that: (1) A woman and her doctor may freely decide to terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester.(2) State governments can restrict abortion access after the first trimester with laws intended to protect the woman?s health.(3) Abortions after fetal viability must be available if the women?s health or life is at risk; state governments can prohibit other abortions.The reason the Roe vs. Wade case was so important was because it has come to be known as the case that legalized abortion nationwide. At the time of the Roe vs. Wade decision, nearly two-thirds of the states outlawed abortion except to save a woman?s life. Before abortion was made legal to the majority of the states, many women lost their lives due to illegal abortion. In 1965 seventeen percent of all deaths due to pregnancy and childbirth were due to illegal abortion. The film If These Walls Could Talk portrays injuries such as this in the time period. In fact, by the time Roe restored the right to abortion, from 200,000 to1.2 million illegal abortions were performed annually and hundreds of women died every year to end unwanted pregnancies.The reason this issue is so hard to come to a conclusion is that people arguing for each side of pro-choice and pro-life are arguing for separate issues in the topic. The pro-abortionist focuses on the woman?s rights, and the anti abortionist focuses on the fetus? rights. This is part of the reason people become so confused and easily angry when discussing or debating the topic of abortion. Peaceful demonstrations have often become violent on account of emotions wrapped up in the topic.I personally find it hard to be completely one sided in an issue such as this. Having studied this topic before, I have looked at most aspects of both sides of the issue, and agree with many arguments of both sides. Although it is not realized, comparing both sides? views contain many agreements. Most would agree that the life of a child is a precious thing that deserves the full protection of the law. Even more would agree that it?s a woman?s exclusive right to make decisions concerning her body. The one conflict that keeps the two sides from getting along is when the fetus becomes a child. When it becomes down to which side I am for, I would say I am pro-choice and stick to their views. I believe the right should always be there for a woman to choose whether or not to have her child.Personally, I am not sure there could ever be an amendment regarding abortion on account of so many different views on the situation. I tried to find statistics on how the people sided, but in such a delicate issue, no poll could be accurate enough to be considered. A 1980 poll asked a similar poll in two different ways:?Do you think there should be an amendment to the constitution prohibiting abortions, or shouldn?t there be such an amendment??29% were in favor, 67% opposed, and 4% were undecided.?Do you believe there should be an amendment to the constitution protecting the life of an unborn child, or shouldn?t there be such an amendment??50%were in favor, 34% opposed, and 16% were undecided. At this point I find it hard for their to be any possible solutions because both sides of the issue are good and strong arguments. Because they are so strong they tend to even each other out, and no real settlement can come forth. However I hope soon there may be a compromise between sides for the common good of all people so that we may get on without demonstrations turned riotous and conflict among families and friends.