Should Abortion Be Legal - 1482 Words

Andrew Uekert 2/10/2016 Human Secuality; S. Gutierrez SJCC Spring 2016 To Abort Or Not To Abort? Abortion in the United States has been controversial for decades. Abortion has created a public, political, and moral divide. Some feel that abortion should be illegal, others feel it should be restricted. Still some feel it should be legal and freely accessed. Society associates the issue of abortion with determining when life truly begins, and at what point in a woman’s pregnancy does the fetus have the legal rights of a human being? Which begs the question of a fetus’s rights versus the woman’s right to choose and determine issues that deal with her body. Throughout history abortion has existed in some form. The moral†¦show more content†¦The alternative is surgical abortion, which ends a pregnancy by emptying the uterus (or womb) with special instruments.† (NAF) In ancient Greek and Roman times, abortion was an accepted practice and only contested if the father felt robbed of his heir. Colonial America follow ed English Common Law. Which was a felony after ‘quickening’ (18 to 20 weeks). Abortion was common during this time but was kept secret due to the strict laws against unmarried sexual activity. In the 19th century, states began to pass their own laws making it a felony for post quickening abortion. In the mid-19th century, a movement led by the medical community wanted more restrictions put on abortion. Only when there is a great risk to her own life could a woman have an abortion. This law and similar laws stayed in place for the next 50 years. From 1995 to 2000, President Clinton vetoed Congress’ ban on partial abortion. In 2003 a federal bill was passed by President George W. Bush that banned partial birth abortion but this bill did not include a health exception. Several states tried to change their laws to allow it and, in 2004, a federal judge declared it unconstitutional because of the lack of a health exception. Joseph B. Tamney, Ronald Burton and Steph en D Johnson collectively wrote The Abortion Controversy: Conflicting Beliefs and Values in American Society in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion which said, â€Å"The public’s division over abortion