For hundreds of years, abortion has been an exceptionally controversial subject.

There are many issues pertaining to abortion like whether a woman should be permitted by law to have an abortion and if so then under what circumstances. Many people believe that every woman has a natural right to her own body and therefore if she feels the need for an abortion, she may get one. Those who believe that women should have the right to an abortion refer to themselves as pro choice. Many people approve of abortion under certain circumstances. Some approve of abortion if a womans life or health is endangered by her pregnancy. Others find abortion acceptable when there is danger that the child will be born with a serious mental or physical defect. They also approve of abortion when pregnancy has resulted from incest or rape. It is a womans right to choose what she does with her body, and it should not be altered or influenced by anyone else. This right is guaranteed by the ninth amendment, which holds the right to privacy. The ninth amendment states, The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. This right guarantees the right to women, to have an abortion, up to the end of the first trimester. People believe that a woman should have an unrestricted right to choose to have an abortion, especially before the fetus becomes viable. This means that a fetus is not considered a human until it comes into the world. Until the fetus is born, it has no legal rights. The rights belong to the woman carrying the fetus who can decide whether to bring the pregnancy to full term. People who favor an unrestricted abortion up to the time of birth believe that fetuses are not people and are therefore not entitled to rights which are given to humans. There are many reasons given by women for why abortion is necessary. There have been millions of women who were diagnosed and informed that they have a life threatening condition that could be detrimental if they have a child. To force a woman in this condition to have a child is like forcing her to commit suicide. A woman with these circumstances would most likely be going through a lot of hard feelings knowing that she cannot have a baby because it would affect her greatly. To now force her to have this baby would just make everything worse. Many people who are pro life feel that the fetus should be given a chance at life. However, it is also a mothers right to have a healthy baby. In todays world, doctors are able to detect early signs of defects while the fetus is in the mothers stomach. Many women do not want to go through the strain of dealing with a sick child and the costs of taking care of the sick child. They feel that having to deal with a sick child would be extremely hard for their family to handle and by bringing this baby into the world, they would only be bringing it to a life of pain and suffering. Most parents want to die before their children because that is supposed to be the way of the world. A very unhealthy baby would most likely die before the parents, causing the parents lots of grief and sorrow. These are reasons why abortions are definitely necessary. Nowadays, women are not willing to give up their careers or drop out of school in order to support a child they dont really want anyway. Todays women do not feel that they should be forced into having a child when they are pursuing their careers. Men have been seen as going to work and women are portrayed as staying home taking care of the children. However, today there are many women with careers and therefore, if abortion were illegal, their jobs and their future would be jeopardized. Legal abortion does not only protect womens lives, it also protects their health. Thousands of women, with life threatening sicknesses and diseases say that abortion has helped avert serious

complications that could have resulted if they had a child. Before abortion was legalized, many women endured expensive, dangerous and sometimes fatal procedures in order to get rid of their pregnancies. In particular, many poorer women performed dangerous abortion methods on themselves in order to prevent their pregnancies. Many women who became pregnant because they were raped also wanted illegal and dangerous methods to get rid of their pregnancies. Legalizing abortion has eliminated many illegal abortions performed by unskilled doctors under unsanitary conditions. Illegal abortions mostly caused deaths and permanent reproductive injuries. Abortion also prevents many unwanted births and is therefore a factor in lowering child abuse and death rates. If women are forced to have unwanted children, the result will be unwanted children. There will be many children uncared for, neglected, abused and abandoned by their parents. The state cannot interfere in the private lives of a citizen. Without the right to choose an abortion the 14th Amendments guarantee of liberty has little meaning for women. With the right to choose abortion, women are able to enjoy, like men, the rights to fully control their bodies. A man can withdraw from a relationship as soon as he finds out about a pregnancy. He has made his choice and there is no guarantee that he will take any responsibility of the child. It is only fair that women too, should be given the same choice. If a woman does not want to hold the responsibilities of a child than she should be able to have the choice of an abortion. In the mid 1900s, almost every state prohibited abortion except under certain medical circumstances. Those circumstances were if the life or health of the mother had to be protected. In 1973, the case of Roe v. Wade was put before the Supreme Court. In this case, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law that banned abortion except when necessary to save the life of a mother. Roes pregnancy did not threaten her life, but she was a poor single woman who could not afford to raise a child on her own. On this issue, the case held that the 14th amendments right of privacy encompasses a womans decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. The court ruled in favor of Roe claiming that her constitutional rights to privacy were violated. In deciding the case, the court ruled that an unborn fetus was not a living person and therefore was not entitled to Constitutional protection. The court ruled that during the first trimester of pregnancy, which would be the first three months, a state must recognize a womans right to choose an abortion, if having a baby will really affect her. During the second trimester a state can make reasonable regulations about how, when and where abortions can take place. It was also ruled that during the final trimester, a state can prohibit abortion laws except those necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother. Today, Legal abortion is recognized for decreasing both maternal and infant death. Abortion is eleven times safer than childbirth and less than 1% of those who go through abortion procedures experience major complications. It has been stated in USA Today, that by allowing women to control their own bodies, it has given them an equal opportunity to participate in the economic and social life of the nation. This is why, as a woman it is important to be pro choice and fight for the legalization of abortion. According to USA TODAY, after abortion became legalized in 1973, there was an increasing trend in the amount of abortions being performed between 1973 and 1985. This rate has since leveled off, and the abortion rate has been on a continuous decline since 1991. The legalization of abortion

contributed to an increase in contraceptive methods and use which has resulted in fewer pregnancies and therefore a declining abortion rate. Legalizing abortion has also helped decrease the amount of unwanted children brought into environments that are not necessarily advantageous to the child, and that are sometimes hazardous to its health.