Abortion
Women’s Right or Murder?
Kaycclynn Cudo
Senior Research Paper
Sonja Linman
15 January 2016
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Outline
Thesis:
There are no circumstances that are sufficient to justify the killing of human beings after birth, how can they be sufficient to justify the killing of human beings before birth? Even more so, the State of Colorado should implement regulations to prevent women from getting abortions as much as possible. By increasing funding and education of birth control options, we could fully eliminate this horrific choice.
- Medical Procedures
a. Trimesters and stages
a. Once the embryo has been developed women should not be able to get the procedure done.
b. Studies show there is a huge percentage that of women getting more than one abortion.
c. Getting an abortion is not a form of birth control, as some people abuse it like that.
3. Getting this type of procedure done will not unrape women in rape situations.
a. Getting rid of one problem will not solve or take back another problem.
b. Unforgettable and Unforgiving.
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4. Women need to know there are more options to consider to eliminate abortion from the situation.
a. There are other options that women can consider if they do not want to keep the baby. For example. adoption.
b. More support, they are not the only one going through the same thing.
c. The more women know and be educated about the other options and the regulations than the adoption rate would go up, abortion rate will go down, and the deaths of babies before birth will go down as well.
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Abortion
Women’s Right or Murder?
As of 2005, there have been approximately 1.21 million abortions a year in the United States alone (Guttmacher Institute). The debate on whether abortion should be legal has been a continuous argumentative topic that has lead to the division of Americans across the country. On January 22, 1973, the case of Roe versus Wade (RvW) declared the procedure a fundamental right for women. The Roe versus Wade case recognized that the constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman’s right to make her own personal medical decisions, including the decision to have an abortion without interference from politicians. Over 40 years later, Americans are still standing by this decision with seven in ten Americans believing Roe v. Wade should remain the law of the land (www.plannedparenthood.org). From RvW in 1973 through 2011, there were nearly 53 million legal abortions that were performed in the United States, an average of 1.4 million abortions per year (abortion.procon.org). There are no circumstances that are sufficient to justify the killing of human beings after birth, how can they be sufficient to justify the killing of human beings before birth? Even more so, the State of Colorado should implement regulations to prevent women from getting abortions as much as possible. By increasing funding and education of birth control options and awareness, we could fully eliminate this horrific choice.
In addition to the ”Morning After Pill,” or RU486, which is not considered an abortion technique, there are several other abortion procedures. In the State of Colorado, patients may choose to obtain abortions up to 26 weeks. Later termination up to 34 weeks is an option in cases of certain medical conditions (www.prochoice.org). However, only 1.2 percent
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of women in Colorado engage in abortion from 21 weeks up to term (https://www.guttmacher.org). The parental notification Act is a law passed by the Colorado Legislature in 2003. Under this law, if the women is under the age of 18 and becomes pregnant for any reason and chooses to terminate the pregnancy, the health care provider must notify her parent or guardian 48 hours before she can have an abortion. However, there is a choice for teens who can not tell their parent about their decision to have an abortion. It is called a Judicial Bypass. If teens can not tell their parent or guardian about the pregnancy, they can ask for an order from a judge to allow them to have an abortion without telling anyone (www.plannedparenthood.org).
During the first trimester (six to sixteen weeks) of the pregnancy medical or surgical procedures can be performed. A medical procedure entails taking an “abortion pill”. The abortion pill consists of completing two doses of Mifepristone which is given both orally and/or vaginally during two separate office visits. The Mifepristone blocks progesterone from entering the uterine lining causing it to break down, induce contractions, and eventually expel the fetus. This process may take a few hours or as long as a few days (www.americanpregnancy.org). After the second visit, a follow up visit is scheduled to confirm successful results. There are several surgical methods that can be used during the first trimester, one of the procedures is called Aspiration. Aspiration is an invasive surgical procedure in which the cervix is dilated, absorbent rods are used to support the opening, then the fetus and placenta are suctioned outward from the
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uterus. The procedure usually lasts 10-15 minutes, but recovery can require staying at the clinic for a few hours (www.americanpregnancy.org).
All the procedures explained above are horrific, gut wrenching, unbelievably astonishing ways women turn to when thinking there is no other solution. The dilemma is that there are more options for positive outcomes than what women think. In the process of educating and providing more protection, we will reassure women that there are better ways to overcome the obstacle.
The Point of Conception
Pro choice activists would argue that the fetus does not feel pain until the fetus has a heart beat, which is three to four weeks into the pregnancy (www.ehd.org). Doctor Jeremy Jones from Royal Hospital from the United Kingdom said, “Although the myocardium begins to contract rhythmically by 3 weeks after conception (from spontaneously depolarizing myocardial pacemaker cells in the embryonic heart) it is first visible on sonography around 6 weeks of gestation. The FHR is then usually around 100 to 120 beats per minute (bpm).” (http://radiopaedia.org/articles/fetal-heart-rate).
Pro choice activists would also agree with the statement that getting an abortion while the fetus is in the embryonic stage is not harming or hurting the fetus. The point of conception occurs when the embryo is formed, so, whether the fetus has a heart beat or not, the child has begun to develop and has viability, thus women should not be allowed to get an abortion once the embryo has developed.
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On the contrary, there are a significant amount of women who are getting one, two, or even three abortions in their lifetime. Each year, 1.7 percent of women aged 15 to 44 have an abortion. Half have had at least one previous abortion (www.guttmacher.org).
Women who get repeat abortions are simply using it as a form a birth control to solve an unwanted pregnancy. Susan Cohan wrote, “Women having more than one are trying to avoid unintended pregnancy, but are having trouble doing so.” (www.guttmacher.org). She also wrote, that in order to reduce repeat abortions we must start with reducing unwanted pregnancies in the first place, which leads to the fact that more funding needs to go to clinics to support and help women to not get pregnant so abortion is not an option anymore (www.guttmacher.org). By increasing funding and education of birth control options, we could fully eliminate this horrific choice.
Aborting a Rape Child
Astonishing research shows that over 17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape. In 2012, alone 346,830 women were raped; resulting in 346,830 female survivors, many of whom had an unwanted pregnancy, the estimation was that there were at least 17,342 pregnancies that have resulted from rape in 2012 (rainn.org). Additionally, in 2013 there were 8.3 million women who received publicly funded family planning services. With the help of these services women were able to avoid 2 million unintended pregnancies.
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Unfortunately, out of the 8.3 million women, 700,000 abortions occurred, and approximately 1 million unplanned births took place (www.guttmacher.org).
If women were supported and received medical treatment immediately, many abortions could be avoided because the morning after pill would offer relief prior to the development of the
fetus. It is critical that we shift our culture to avoid victim blaming. The Medical University of South Carolina did research with 34 rape cases. Within those 34 cases only 11.7 percent of those victims sought immediate medical attention after the assault. Forty Seven point one percent received absolutely no medical attention related to rape. A total of 32.4 percent of those victims did not know they were pregnant until the beginning of their second trimester. Thirty two point two percent decided to keep their infants, 50 percent underwent abortion, and 5.9 percent relinquished parental rights. Also, an additional 11.8 percent had spontaneous abortions as well (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). To no surprise, abortion was the most common results that women went with, because the pregnancies resulted from rape.
More people should be aware of this problem considering more than 50 percent of women, in 34 cases, got rid of their problem in a negative way, in attempt to make the other problem go away. In hopes of getting the abortions rates to decrease, women should have more support and knowledge about other options they have, to insure women know that getting one problem taken care of will not change the result of something else.
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The unforgettable and possibly unforgiving procedure will affect women, men, and families more than women understand while making the decision. The Alan Guttmacher Institute did a study to see just how many women would have major emotional side effects from getting an abortion. Within the first few weeks of having the procedure, studies show that
between 40 and 60 percent of women have negative reactions. Eight weeks after their abortion 55 percent have expressed guilt, 44 percent expressed nervous disorders, 36 percent experienced
sleep disturbances, 31 percent had many regrets about their decision, and 11 percent had been prescribed psychotropic medicine (www.guttmacher.org).
In one study of 500 women who got an abortion, researchers found that 50 percent expressed negative feelings, and up to 10 percent were classified as having developed “serious psychiatric complications.” In a study of teenage abortion patients, half suffered a worsening of psychosocial functioning within seven months after the abortion. The immediate impact appeared to be greatest on the patients who were under 17 years of age and for those with previous psychosocial problems. Symptoms included: self-reproach, depression, social regression, withdrawal, obsession with need to become pregnant again, and hasty marriages. Women who have undergone post-abortion counseling report over 100 major reactions to abortion. Among the most frequently reported are: depression, loss of self-esteem, self-destructive behavior, sleep disorders, memory loss, sexual dysfunction, chronic problems with relationships, dramatic personality changes, anxiety attacks, guilt and remorse, difficulty grieving, increased tendency toward violence, chronic crying, difficulty concentrating, flashbacks, loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities and people, and difficulty bonding
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with later children. Women do not think about what abortions can and will do to them. There is a higher percentage of women and teens who end up regretting their decision. Women will have to deal with the emotional struggles and the bitterness for the rest of their lives (http://www.iowartl.org/).
Women are not alone in the struggle of dealing with the death of their unborn child. Kay shared her story explaining the pain she went through and the thoughts that will always be in her head:
I realize it was only a small seed of cells, this was the reassurance I gave myself to follow through with the abortion. What hurts me now to this day is the potential of what that little seed of cells would have become. I hurt because I consciously decided to end the life growing inside of my before it started. That life would have been a part of me and him, but was never given the chance. When I do decide that I’m ready to have a family I will always be affected by the choice I made. I will always think each year how old that person would be, how different my life would have been. I chose this path, and I did it out of a selfish love for myself and my future, but that doesn’t mean it won’t feel like an open wound for all of time (http://iregretmyabortion.org.au/).
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Another powerful story told by Andie, tells how she dealt with the heart breaking procedure that she was pressured to do.
Walking in there numb to all that was around me still hoping he would change his mind until my name was called. I walked back there and had my abortion. For eight years I walked a destructive path of choices because I could not believe anyone could love me least of all God for what I had done. It wasn’t till I heard someone have a story like mine and reach out to help through post abortive counseling that I was able to change my life around.. (http://iregretmyabortion.org.au/).
The aftermath of getting an abortion is forever memorable. Although, it is a long, unforgiving, and an unforgettable time in one's life, survivors are never alone. There are thousands of abortion counseling, groups, and therapy sessions where women can participate as a coping method with other women of all ages that have experienced and felt the same thing they have.
More Options
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The conservative movement that is trying to defund Planned Parenthood, will expand the rates of abortions and unplanned pregnancies throughout Colorado alone. All women should have the right to access any birth control. Planned Parenthood is a clinic where women seek to avoid pregnancy. Thousands of women go to Planned Parenthood for their birth control each year. To solve predicaments, we need to educate citizens of Colorado by starting at a young age with classes in schools about reproductive health and birth control and how critical it is to manage personal sexual planning. We also need to express that we can not afford to defund Planned Parenthood, rather, we should be increasing the funding and support to insure women that there are ways to avoid pregnancy. By educating students of all ages in schools we would have the power to shut down all the shame that women carry, ensuring fewer unwanted pregnancies and thus fewer abortions.
There are a total of 5.356 million people in the state of Colorado. With over 60 percent of high school students reporting that they have had sexual intercourse and over 30 percent of teenagers in high school diagnosed with STDs, pregnancy rates could soar without access to birth control. With statistics that high of teens having sex and getting STDs, we are still under educating our students about their options. Depressingly, only 19 of 50 states require high schoool studetns to take a sex education classes, three states require parental consent, and in 35 states parents are able to opt-out their child from taking the class (http://www.ncsl.org and http://www.advocatesforyouth.org). Having more education in schools will allow students to
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have access to birth control at an early age to prevent unintended pregnancies and STD’s from happening.
Unintended pregnancies from rapes and sexual assaults will also decrease with a conscious effort to reduce the shame associated with rape. If women immediately pursue medical attention, they will not only have a solution to the situation at an early stage, but they will also feel comfort in knowing that they are receiving help, getting medical attention, and are able to pursue their life without shame of what happened in the past.
If the other options did not fit specific situations, there is another positive outcome that women can choose to do if they decide to not keep the child. Families throughout the United States long for children and are willing to adopt under almost any circumstances. Women and teens do not have to go through the trauma of an abortion when there is another option, a safer and healthier option.
The more women and teens know about other solutions, the more people will realize that abortion is wrong and we need to take a stand on it and apply stronger regulations. Through increasing educational options, empowering the ability for women to feel shameless, and by researching different options for women to manage their own reproductive health, we will surely decrease unplanned pregnancies and abortions and provide a safe future for children who deserve a chance to live.
Work Cited Page
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"Advocates for Youth." Advocates for Youth. 2008. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.
"Abortion." Iowa Right to Life. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.
"Dilation and Curettage." - SPUC. 2016. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.
"National Center for Biotechnology Information." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.
"State Facts About Abortion: Colorado." State Facts About Abortion: Colorado. Susan A. Cohan. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.
"Your Developing Baby - American Pregnancy Association." American Pregnancy Association. 2016. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.