The Data Shows That More And More Abortions Are Taken by Women

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Abortion
Abortion can be defined as a medical practice that involves ending a pregnancy so that it does not result in giving birth to a baby (NHS Choices). This is also referred to as termination of a pregnancy. In some of the cases, the patients that wants to terminate their pregnancy will use medication, while in other cases the procedure may involve having a minor surgery that will involve the removal of the fetus. This is a topic that has generated some of the most controversial debates across the health sector, in most of the states and countries across the globe (NHS Choices). It is a topic that traverses the medical, legal, ethical and religious fields, with either of the sides citing the reasons for or against the practice. Over the last several years, the debate about abortion being legalized has raised concerns among the religious groups, citing that this is a practice that is no different to murder. On the other hand, there is the ethical debate surrounding health complications for the mother and the baby and the need to terminate the life of the child, in order the save the mother. This has also been tied to the issues of women having the right to their bodies, where they can decide to have a baby or not depending on their circumstances and better judgement (Haelle, Tara). As such, it is a volatile topic which has quite a number of facets to the debate it elicits within the society. It is important to consider the two main sides as to why abortion should be legalized and at the same time, why it should not be practiced as often. This paper addresses the basic merits associated with legalizing abortion along with the reasons that the practice should be avoided (Haelle, Tara).
Thesis: Abortion is one of the most important invention to this world, many people choose to take an abortion in their lives, as it can truly change people’s lives, but people should try to avoid having abortion.
A: The Data Shows That More And More Abortions Are Taken by Women
Teenage mothers
For most teenagers, sex a volatile topic and one that elicits mixed reaction in the society. However, the fact the matter is that, teenagers are having sex with more informed choices that they had in the past. More importantly, there are dangers associated with underage sex especially with reference to the fact that, this could lead to unwanted pregnancies along with sexually transmitted diseases (Lowen, Linda). The most important part of the conversation however, is the element of becoming pregnant as an underage. The fact that teenagers are still dependent on their parents and guardians along with the fact that they still have a lot goals they have not achieved in their lives including clearing school and achieving professional goals, is a complication that has to be considered (Lowen, Linda). However, it is also important to consider that, factors such as, religious beliefs, relationship with parents, access to family planning services, where she lives and the behavior among her peers are going to define the decision to abort.
For most of the teenagers, this is a subtle challenge and one that revolves around three main complexities. One of the complexities is the fact that, having a child is bound to profoundly change the lives of a teenager. This is relative to the fact that, they have to sacrifice their educational goals, career objectives and freedom to offer care for the newborn. Having a baby is a subtle responsibility and one that requires a mother to be ready for the challenges that come with raising another human being. For an underage girl, this is a complex challenge (Lowen, Linda). It is also important to consider that raising a baby comes at a cost to the mother and even the family. As such, for a teenager, the logistics of raising a baby becomes a major challenge relative to the fact that they are still dependent on their family. Where the teenager has some income, it is hardly enough for them to use and raise a child. This is not just a challenge that is unique to teenagers as even adults consider the fact that they have to provide for the child. If they are unstable financially, they may have to consider the abortion option even though it may not be a comfortable choice for them (Lowen, Linda).
The other consideration that has to be made is with reference to the maturity of the teenager. This is a crucial point as most of the teenagers are not mature enough to handle their own issues let alone handling those of another person, in this case a child. There are decisions to be made, most of which the teenager has not even made over their lives (Lowen, Linda). For example, an underage girl has hardly made any significant plans about how they are going to complete their college and the funds to be spent on their education. Having to now think about how they are going to take their child to school is a complexity that they can’t handle (Lowen, Linda). There is also the complexity associated with the fact that such a decision may have to be debated with their parents or guardians.
Women Rights to Their Bodies
Every other woman has a right to what happens to her body. This implies that, if they choose to carry the baby, this should be a decision that is not forced upon them. In the recent years with the development of the women rights, there has been a rise in the debates about whether women should be allowed to make the choice of whether to carry a pregnancy or terminate. This is largely argued that some of the times the woman and the man in the relationship are not ready. As such, it is not fair that the woman should be left with the burden. There are also cases where the pregnancy is as a result of involuntary sexual encounter, such as rape. This way, the woman in question should have the right to decide if they would want to keep the child or if they would want to terminate the pregnancy considering that it is unplanned and traumatizing (Upadhyay, Ushma, et al).
Birth Rate Affected by Abortion
The availability of the abortion services across the globe has been cited as one of the factors affecting the rate of birth (DeVeaux, Amelia Thomson). There are an estimated 26 million legal abortions and 20 million of unsafe abortions that are carried out each year (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). This is a concern considering that there are an estimated 190 million pregnancies per year. When the rest of the factors such as still births are included, the rate of birth is seriously hampered. This is a major concern and one that should be considered when evaluating the positive and negative impacts of the practice in the society (DeVeaux, Amelia Thomson).
Fair Life Guarantee
However, there is also a concern over the life that the teenagers and unprepared ladies would have if they carried their pregnancies to full term. This is relative to the fact that most of them that seek termination are not prepared not just financially but also psychologically. This is an aspect that is bound to affect their ability to bring up the child. Given the level of responsibility that is associated with the process of bringing up a child, it is most likely that mothers who are not prepared are going to have a difficult time adjusting and some may not adjust at all (Haelle, Tara). Where the situation involved unwanted sexual encounters, the girl or lady is left at disadvantage, where she is not given her right to the choices that she can make with her life. This is also the case when it comes to a teenage who is introduced to motherhood at an early age (Haelle, Tara). Their ability to change their life is unfairly taken away from them. It is important that girls are also given a fair chance to decide if they would want to keep the child or they feel that, this would simply derail their life goals and aspirations.
Why Teenagers Abort
There are a number of reasons that are considered to be the lead cause for women to seek abortion services (Lowen, Linda). According to data from the United States, rape accounts for 0.3%, incest 0.03%, risk to maternal life 0.1%, risk to maternal health 0.8% and fetal health complications account for an estimated 0.5%. An estimated 98% of the abortions that are carried out in the United States are largely elective and this also includes social economic reasons that are considered for birth control (Johnston, W.M. Robert). When considering social economic reasons primarily, this largely comes up to 30%. There are cases where abortion has been carried out relative to sex selections with an estimated 0.1% of the patients using this reason (Johnston, W.M. Robert).
B: People Should Avoid Having an Abortion
Physical Impacts of Abortion Procedures
It is important to consider the fact that, like any other medical procedure there are risks involved. Some of which may be immediate and others take time before the patient can experience them (Virk, Jasveer, Zhang, Jun, and Jø Olsen). Surgical abortion for example involves an intrusive p...