Abortion
Contrary to the belief, making abortion illegal will not prevent unprepared mothers from giving birth to their child. Instead, it will only force these unprepared mothers to take the initiative of having an abortion not only illegally, but also dangerously. Having abortions illegally not only increase the chances of death among the pregnant women, but also increases the amount of illegal abortion procedures. In fact, every seven minutes, a woman dies due to an unsafe and illegal abortion. A woman should have the right to choose what she can and cannot do to her body, and the law should not stand in the way of their decisions.
The appalling photo of Geraldine Santoro, kneeling on the floor of her motel room-dead, grasped the attention of the media and the world. At the time, Santoro was separated from her abusive husband when she met Clyde Dixon and became pregnant. After six and a half months of pregnancy, Santoro’s husband announced his coming-home. Geraldine feared for her life, so she and Clyde attempted to abort the baby themselves. After a hemorrhage caused during the procedure, Clyde fled the scene and Geraldine was found dead the next day. This situation could have been avoided if the procedure were legal, which only proves that, despite being illegal, people will find a way to do what they need to do regardless if it is legal or not. It may be illegal, but it is not impossible. In countries where abortion is illegal, underground abortion procedures remain a leading cause of maternal deaths. In reality, nearly 25% of pregnancies are terminated yearly, and about 20 million of the 42 are done illegally.1
People may say that abortion is a dangerous and risky procedure; however, risks associated with the procedure are minimal and less than 0.3% of patients experience difficulties with the procedure, making it as safe, if not safer, than a routine injection of Penicillin.2 In reality, abortion procedures are one of the safest types of medical procedures. Complications involved with the procedure are less frequent than those associated with giving birth. Death associated with childbirth is 10 times higher than those caused by abortions. 3 Up to 50% of the procedures that were performed illegally needed medical attention. However, women chose not to seek the medical care they need for fear of being reported and arrested. Each year, an estimated amount of about 68,000 women die due to unsafe abortion procedures.
Pro-life supporters may say that it is the woman’s fault for getting pregnant in the first place. However, there are many factors that go into getting pregnant. After all, there is no contraceptive method that can prevent pregnancy 100% of the time. Abortion can also result from being a victim of rape or incest. In fact, every year, more than 13,000 women have abortions after being victims of rape or incest. In addition, a woman has to think about her baby’s future and what their life will be like after she gives birth. If the baby’s
