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Paulina Villarreal

ENGL 1302

Dr. Sharity Nelson

14 October 2022

Abortion VS. Morality

For years, abortion has been a debatable subject. Given the controversy and contentious

nature of the topic, Abortion is a difficult term to define. Most commonly it is known as the

deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. The reasons to why women deliberately terminate

their pregnancies differ for all of them. Whether that would be maternal health, inability to

support the child, domestic violence, or lack of support. Some people believe it to be murder

others believe it to a woman’s right. This paper demonstrates what scholars investigating

abortion and government involvement have found. Focusing on the different ways to terminate a

pregnancy, the safety, and the risks of terminating a pregnancy, and government involvement

within this subject.

A pregnancy can be deliberately aborted in several ways. Induction, Surgical, and

Medical being the most common ways to abort. Induction is typically used in the early stages of

pregnancy and is used to save the mothers life if it is known that the pregnancy will put her

health in risk. This form of abortion is also used when decided by the parents if the fetus is

known to be developing with abnormalities or has a significantly low chance of survival.

Surgical abortions can be the suction-aspirating or vacuuming of the fetus in very early stages or

can be a hysterotomy. A hysterotomy is a surgical procedure very similar to a caesarean but with

a smaller incision. This form of abortion is performed in the later stages of pregnancy. In the last

20 years pharmacologic agents capable of inducing abortion have become available. Drugs that
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inhibit the synthesis of progesterone (epostane) or block its receptor (mifepristone) reverse the

dominant influence of progesterone during pregnancy. As a result, a cascade of events is

initiated, including influx of leukocytes and red blood cells into the decidua, release of

prostaglandins and cytokines, and uterine contractions. Prostaglandins cause powerful

contractions of the uterus that lead eventually to expulsion of the fetal or embryonic tissue

(Baird). Because so many pharmaceuticals sell these types of medicines, it is now considered a

useful alternative to surgically induce abortion if performed safely.

From 2000 to 2008, the number of abortion facilities in the United States remained

relatively constant at approximately 1800 and then decreased somewhat to 1720 by 2011. A

potential important factor leading to the closing of abortion facilities during this time is state

targeted regulation of abortion providers (“TRAP”) laws that require clinics to meet certain

conditions to operate. As of 2016, 28 states had enacted restrictions on abortion facilities, the

clinicians, or both (Quast, et. al). If abortion facilities are constantly closing, unsafe abortions

will be more likely to be performed at home with unsafe medical procedures because of the

mother’s intense desire for an abortion. Motivation for an abortion can come from a mother is

the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest, there is a lack of support or lack of financial stability

to support the child, or the inability to carry a child because of the mother’s stage in life. Unsafe

abortions are made in places where it is legally restricted. This can cause the attempt to self-

induce an abortion without the help of a medical professional nor proper medical equipment.

This unsafe procedure can result in damage to internal organs, sepsis, or an incomplete abortion.

Government involvement in abortion has been on the rise as of late. Abortion laws in the

US have changed over the years. In 1973, Roe v. Wade ruled abortion as a constitutional right.

The supreme court ruled that a woman’s choice to have an abortion outweighs the state’s
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concern for prenatal life up until the “point of fetal viability” this point was determined to be 24-

28 weeks in 1973. In more recent years, Ken Paxton was the main reason as to why the supreme

court has now overtured Roe v. Wade and abortion has now become illegal in Texas encouraging

other states to do the same. The governments main fight is justifying that a fetus since the

moment of conception is a considered to be a human being giving them basic human rights.

Others believe a fetus is not considered a human until a heartbeat can be heard or the fetus can

survive on its own outside the woman’s body. Therefore, if the end of all law is the human being,

if there is an inextricable relationship between human rights and "being human", and if it is

critical for our understanding of international and human rights law to see how it can protect the

individual, then it is also important to address the legal status of the unborn from an international

law perspective (Freitas, Myburgh).

Abortion will always be a bioethically and legally debated procedure.

Nevertheless, there are inalienable rights for which politics and scientific community must

always fight. To try to solve bioethical issues related to the topic of abortion it will be essential to

define scientifically when a fetus can be considered a human being with the right to life. (Cioffi).
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Works Cited

Quast, Troy, et. al. “Abortion facility Closings and Abortion Rates in Texas.” The Journal of

Health Care Organization, provision, and Financing, vol. 54, no. 1-7, 2017, pp. 1-7.

Sage pub, DOI: 10.1177/0046958017700944.

Cioffi, Andrea, et.al. “Reflections about abortion limitations.” Health policy, Implementation of

Practices, 2020. EBSCO, DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232021269.2.09012020.

Banish, Roslyn. “Focus on Abortion: Americans Share Their Stories.” W W Norton, vol. 1, 2021,

pp. 1-1. EBSCO, Focus on Abortion-Introduction.pdf.

Marston, Cicely, Cleland, John. “Relationships between Contraception and Abortion: A Review

of the Evidence.” International Family Planning Perspectives, vol. 29, no. 1, 2003, pp. 6-

13. EBSCO, Relationships Between Contraception and Abortion.pdf.

Freitas, De S, et.al. “Seeking Deliberation on the Unborn in International Law.” Potchefstroom

Electronic Law Journal, vol. 14, no. 5, 2011, pp. 1-33. EBSCO, Seeking Deliberation on the

unborn in international law.pdf.

Baird, DT. “Mode of action of medical methods of abortion.” Journal of the American Medical

Women’s Association, vol. 55, no. 3, 2000, pp. 121-126. Europe PMC,

https://europepmc.org/article/med/10846320