BY KATIE ORTIZ
English 9/Mr. Davis

Abortions are an unpleasant thing to think about, as well as go through. Although for years, abortions have been an easy solution to for unplanned pregnances or unwanted ones caused by rape for example. However, in order to have a child, you must consider the cost, the mentality, the physical things you have to endure, and overall, you must have the responsibility and readiness to care for another human being. So, the government should not be the ones deciding when a woman can or can not have a child, a woman should have their own human and civil rights of choosing what to do with their own bodies. Women should have their own right to choose what to do and when they are fully ready to commit to having a child.

Unwanted pregnancies are a very real and unfortunate thing, that happens more than you think. However, unwanted pregnancies are not always caused by unprotected sex, the cause is sometimes much more serious, such as rape or incest. Rape and/or incest is an extremely psychologically damaging and emotionally damaging experience to go through, and women who do not have the choice of abortion have to relive the pain and shame of their rape and/or incest every day they are living with the unwanted fetus growing within them. “If abortion were to be banned, women who have gotten pregnant through rape and/or incest would have to withstand the shame and pain of knowing that an unwanted child is growing inside them. Victims would be forced to have a constant reminder of their rape,” (Dalisay). Over 32,000 pregnancies a year are caused by rape, women who have experienced rape are 26 times more likely to abuse drugs and 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol. This leads to over 30,000 children being raised in homes where they are not only unwanted and a reminder of their mother’s trauma, but they are also neglected due to substance and/or alcohol abuse (Holmes). Being able to get closure from such a traumatic, horrible event means a lot to a woman emotionally and psychologically. Banning abortions would just take that safe option away from her, and most likely would not stop her from trying to get closure and rid of the fetus, but only cause her to find an illegal and unsafe way for it to happen, putting her life in danger.

There is an understanding of why some people see abortion as a heinous, unforgivable thing to do. Adoption is a nice, simple way that could be an easy alternative to unplanned pregnancies. Giving the baby to a family that truly wants it seems like a great solution, as well as benefiting the family getting the child (Dalisay). Another example is religious beliefs. Many religious women see abortion as a sin, saying the fetus is considered a life and therefore abortion is murder. However, not all unplanned pregnancies are simply an accident, rape victims need access to a safe way of abortions. These victims experience trauma and live with shame while the unwanted fetus is inside of them. Carrying the baby to term would only hurt the victim more (Nicholson).

However, rape vicitms are not the only women who need abortions, they are a sold solution to unplanned pregnancies overall. Although contraceptives exist, over fifty percent of women who have had abortions claimed to have used a contraceptive within the month they got pregnant (Dalisay). Safe abortions are already hard enough to go through, considering the cost, feelings, and even just how hard it is for a young woman to speak out about needing an abortion. If the government’s decision is to ban safe and legal abortions, that would not simply stop them from happening, it would only stop them from happening legally and safely. For example, this could mean a young teenage girl with an unwanted fetus growing inside of her due to rape would have to go through an illegal, unsafe abortion that could lead to her death. Before the legalization of abortions, women would find other awful ways in order to “have an abortion”, including purposefully falling down stairs, drinking ‘poison’, using various objects such as coat hangers or knitting needles, and simply finding an illegal “abortionist” to perform the procedure for you (Nicholson). Most of these “abortions” led to deaths of many women from bleeding out or other injuries. A woman’s access to safe, professionally done abortions prevents death in thousands of illegal and unsafe abortions (news24). Banning them would only lead to women revolting and bringing back unsafe ways of abortion, resulting in injuries and even death in a countless amount of women.

Human rights and civil rights are something greatly valued and protected in this country along with the fact that they apply to everyone. “Authoritative interpretations of international human rights law establish that denying women, girls, and other pregnant people access to abortion is a form of discrimination and jeopardizes a range of human rights,” (hrw.org). Every country should protect their citizens along with their rights that each of them are guaranteed too. Women being inaccessible to abortions puts many human rights in jeopardy including: 

Rights to nondiscrimination and equality; to life, health, and information; to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment; to privacy and bodily autonomy and integrity; to decide the number and spacing of children; to liberty; to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress; and to freedom of conscience and religion (hrw.org).

Sentence

The choice of what a woman should do with her body should be her own choice, not the governments or anyone else’s. Unplanned pregnancies are not a nice thing to deal with. However, they will continue to happen due to unprotected sex or other, horrible reasons such as rape. Because of this, Abortions need to be accessible to all women who need it. Having access to these safe, legal, and professionally done abortions protects all women’s health and bodies. Making abortion illegal does not help anyone, only hurts them.

Annotated Bibliography

Dalisay, Jazatte. “Argumentative Essay – PEN America.” PEN America, 2 Feb. 2015, https://pen.org/argumentative-essay/. Accessed 14 May 2024.

(Dalisay)

Holmes, MM, Resnick, HS, Kilpatrick, DG, and Best, CL. “Rape-Related Pregnancy: Estimates and Descriptive Characteristics from a National Sample of Women – PubMed.” PubMed, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8765248/. Accessed 14 May 2024.

(Holmes)

Kilpatrick, Dean. “The Mental Health Impact of Rape.” Musc.Edu, https://mainweb-v.musc.edu/vawprevention/research/mentalimpact.shtml.  Accessed 14 May 2024.

(Kilpatrick)

“Why Abortion Should Be Legal | News24.” News24, News24, 31 Dec. 2013, https://www.news24.com/news24/why-abortion-should-be-legal-20131230. Accessed 14 May 2024.

(news24) 

Nicholson, Jill. Why Abortion Must Remain Legal. https://spot.pcc.edu/map/abortion_essay.html.  Accessed 14 May 2024.

(Nicholson)

“Q&A: Access to Abortion Is a Human Right | Human Rights Watch.” Human Rights Watch, https://www.facebook.com/HumanRightsWatch, 24 June 2022, https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/24/qa-access-abortion-human-right. Accessed 14 May 2024.

(hrw.org)