Abortion Essay, Research Paper

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In the H.L. vs. Matheson case, an unmarried 15 year old girl living with her parents in Utah and dependent on them, became pregnant. She was advised by her doctor that an abortion would be in her best interest (Flanders, 85). Because a state law required a physician to notify the parents of a minor before performing an abortion or face criminal penalties, the doctor refused to proceed without first contacting the mother or father. The girl sought to have the abortion without informing her parents (85). Beings how I am also 15, I know how this girl felt. I would be afraid to tell my parents but if I was dependent off of them I think I would be obligated to tell them.

She filed suit in Utah District Court, asking that the statute be declared unconstitutional (85). The Supreme Court upheld the Utah law. The ruling was that states may require parents be notified before a minor daughter undergoes an abortion, at least when the girl is living at home and dependent on the parents (85). I do not think the law is unconstitutional. A young girl such as her should not make a life threatening decision without her parents even having knowledge of what is going on.

Does rape justify an abortion? Should abortions be legal in such cases? These questions are frequently asked. There is no correct answer. We only have opinions about the subject. But there are issues that are

negotiable dealing with rape.

One negotiable question is will abortion erase the memory of the rape or heal the emotional and physical pain of the assault? Hardly. Rape is an act of violence inflicted upon a woman. She is an innocent victim, and this knowledge may someday help her come to terms with the rape and rebuild her life (Roleff, 135). Abortion, on the other hand, is an act of violence that a mother inflicts on her own child. Through abortion, the mother becomes the aggressor, and this knowledge may haunt her long after she has dealt with the

rape (135). I don?t think that just because the mother went through a terrible experience like rape that the child has to go through a terrible experience like abortion. The mother wasn?t killed so why should the child be?

Can you tell just by looking, how a person was conceived? No. Regardless of how a life begins, each person is as valuable as the next. It is no different with preborn children?s lives. They are valuable because they are human beings (137). Just because a person was conceived different from the way you were, does not give you the right to judge them as different.

Now days, statistics are very scary to look at. The numbers are usually astronomical and unbelievable. Between 50 and 60% of all

pregnancies in a year are unintended (Flanders, 13). The majority of American women obtaining abortions are single, young, and white (13). These numbers look terrible on the teens who are innocent and don?t get pregnant. I think the numbers will just grow over the years. That is very scary for the future.

The average abortion costs roughly two-hundred dollars. Although, prices may range from seventy-five dollars to nine-hundred dollars. Clinics are generally the cheapest and doctors? offices the most expensive (15). That is very expensive at a young age. Every year in the United States there are approximately 1.5 million abortions performed (Roleff, 31). 1.5 million is

a numerous amount of children killed in a year.

Of the 1.5 million abortions performed in the United States annually, nearly one-third are on minors. Many of the minor abortions are without parental consent or even knowledge (Cozic, 66). I think the parents of minors should at least be informed that their daughter is pregnant. If people know they can get pregnant and have an abortion and not have their parent find out, then what?s to stop them (94)? Nothing. Teens will just keep having fun by having sex because they know they can just get an abortion and not have to worry about the child they created.

There are many physical along with mental complications that come along with an abortion. One is a pelvic inflammatory disease. This is an

infection which can follow abortion, and happens up to 30 percent of the time. There is inflammation of the female genital tract, especially of the fallopian tubes. It is characterized by severe abdominal pain, high fever, vaginal discharge, and in some cases destruction of tissue that can result in sterility (Lowenstein, 44). This is a severe disease and it causes a great deal of pain.