Abortion Controversy

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Institution

Abortion Controversy

The on-going controversy over abortion in US excites like no other topic for over two centuries. The issue continues to dominate the media and public, and; therefore, abortion has divided the country, society, families, religions and politics. This is evident with the emergence of two opposing groups (pro-choice and pro-life) with different ideologies. The controversy seems to arise from the struggle over whose deep-rooted morals and beliefs are good for society.

The pro-life strongly condemn the act of abortion, and they want abortion to be declared as an illegal act. Some pro-life organizations and groups include the Pro-Life Action League, National Right to Life and Prolife America. They view abortion as a vulnerability to their life morals and values. On the other hand, the pro-choice advocate for legalization of abortion i.e. women should have constitutional rights to have control over their body. They call for sexual awareness programs, access to contraceptives and trained doctors to provide abortion. The proponents like National Abortion Rights Action League, Planned Parenthood and the national Abortion Federation are fighting against restrictions to abortion such as 24-hours waiting periods, mandatory parental notification, right of doctors to deny contraceptive and abstinence. They believe that such initiatives are spreading misleading, false and distorted information to the public (Hopely, Carr, Chon, Harari, & Chavez, 2006).

One of the major debates about abortion arises from the question of when life begins. The pro-life debate that the commencement of life is a biological fact, given their understanding that existence begins at the moment of conception; hence, the commencement of life is not a moral, personal or religious debate. Therefore, if the right to life, i.e. the right to live and develop naturally on earth, is to be taken as the key privilege of a human being, then abortion should be regarded as one way of violating this assumed right. Pro-choice on the other side, argue that the question of when life starts, is frequently undermined as a spiritual question. Hence, their position is not a moral judgment call but the right of a woman. Also, the proponents assume that the fetus is rather a potential person and not a person. Hence, its right should not be same to an actual person (Hopely, Carr, Chon, Harari, & Chavez, 2006).

About contraceptives, or sexual awareness, the pro-life believe that the most desirable and appropriate contraceptive is abstinence or family planning (least option). They believe contraceptive can accelerate juveniles’ desire for sex in the first place, resulting to early pregnancies. It is clear that pro-life followers are aware that contraceptives means are readily available and can lead to reduction in the abortion rate. Therefore, this implies that they reject the method on social and religious grounds. The position of the pro-choice is to legalize emergency contraceptive to ladies and non-surgical abortions. They believe this will transform abortion in US by making it more available and confidential. This is more fueled by the proposed HB 16, an act that will allow pharmacies to refuse to issue out emergency contraceptive like plan B. a pill bars egg fertilization, implantation in the Uterus or even ovulation. The drug can also reduce the chances of a lady becoming pregnant by 89% since it is a concentrated dose of birth control pill (Hopely, Carr, Chon, Harari, & Chavez, 2006).

Also, the pro-life proponents agree that women possess the right to control their own bodies; however, this does not substantiate the right to end a fetus’ life through abortion. They believe that there are several ways an expectant woman can deal with a problematic situation that do not necessarily resort to abortion. They assume the nine months of mental and physical burden required to raise a child to terms. Here, their reference bases on moral claims due to lack of evidence to why a lady should have a say over her body and not the right to decide whether she needs an abortion or not. On the other hand, the pro-choice followers not only champion for constitutional rights of a lady to have privacy, but also abortion primarily a struggle for a lady’s right to manage her body. They condemn unjustifiable government infringement in to women’s private and personal affairs. Their supportive evidence includes the comparison of the death-rates from legal abortion as least than from a shot of penicillin (Hopely, Carr, Chon, Harari, & Chavez, 2006).

Another controversy arises from pregnancy due to incest or rape. The pro-life argue that it is not good to turn this evil in to second crime (killing of a fetus). They also citing evidence from testimonies by mothers who decided not to abort the fetus and in the end, they transformed something horrible into something worth. Also, there are low statistics indicating cases of abortion due to incest or rape; hence, this can not justify the legalization of abortion. If abortion is to be removed, there will many cases of illegal abortion, unplanned families, and a population boom just to mention a few which can lead in to economic tragedy.

There are numerous articles with different topics about abortion. For instance, an article from “Take the red pill!” presents a story of a lady who was raped, during her teen age, by her father at 15. When her father learnt that she was pregnant, he forced her to abort the fetus. Her parent told her that abortion would solve the issues, when it was never truly a crisis in the first place. She argues that her baby and she were not given a choice, and the incident still haunts her (Kalasky, 2012). An article by “Adoption.com” (2012), provides reasons to why ladies choose to abort. They include failed contraceptive that lead to unplanned pregnancy, teens pregnancy, medical reasons i.e. when there are chances of birth defects abortion may be encouraged for the safety and wellbeing of the expectant mother, incest, rape and other forms of crimes. Lastly, another article from “AbortionFacts.com” has information about psychological and physical effects of abortion on the victims. Physical effects are excessive bleeding, infection (sterility), perforation of the Uterus, cervical injury among others. While psychological effects include a sense of relief, nervous disorder, sleep disturbance, sexual dysfunction i.e. loss of pleasure from intercourse, trauma and other serious psychiatric complications (Monahan, 2006).

New communication technologies like evolving mobile technology and online publishing software have accelerated the debate on abortion than traditional methods. Therefore, the public (recipients) is increasingly turning to online source of news, where they can post supplementary information to give context, respond online, and counterpoints about abortion. This has forced traditional news outlets to adopt open publishing features to their online versions. The media environment is now moving to a more inclusive model in which the public and audiences possess voices, from a broadcast method where few communicate to many. Despite the longtime debate between the two parties, the controversy over rights remains unsolved, and the emerging trends in media seem to escalate the issue rather than to offer the solution. The Medias run different and conflicting views on abortion, thereby leaving the public divided on the issue (AIMS, 2008).

From the discussion, it is evident that people beliefs are closely affected by social makers like race, religious, sex, age and affiliation. Controversies on abortion abases on social issues like unwanted kids, poverty, risks of illegal abortion, abuse and overpopulation. Hence, with the changing trends in media, expect the abortion controversy to worsen even more.

Adoption.com. (2012). Common Reasons People Choose Abortion. Retrieved from http://pregnancy.adoption.com/pregnant/common-reasons-people-choose-abortion.htmlAdvisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (AIMS). (2008). // engaging new media / / challenging old assumptions. Retrieved from http://app.mica.gov.sg/Data/0/AIMS%20Report%20%28Dec%2008%29%20-%20Engaging%20New%20Media,%20Challenging%20Old%20Assumptions.pdfHopely, E. Carr, A. Chon, S. Harari, F. & Chavez, J. (n.d). The Abortion Debate. Retrieved from http://www.nyu.edu/classes/jackson/social.issues/papers/AbortGrB.htmlKalasky, D. (2012). “Take the Red Pill.” Abortion: The Great Incest Cover-Up … A Young Mother’s Story. Retrieved from http://www.truthusa.org/articles/life/incest.htmMonahan, M. (2006). AbortionFacts.com: The After Effects of Abortion. Retrieved from http://www.abortionfacts.com/reardon/after_effects_of_abortion.asp