Abortion: basic information, history, arguments, and statistics

Part One
According to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, an abortion refers to the termination of a pregnancy so that it avoids the birth of a child. Abortion is one of the most intense and hot-blooded topic in society today, provoking a host of opinions, contentions and fierce dogma. It’s definitely thought provoking to determine when and how abortion became so contentious, as for much of American history it really was considered to be a standard aspect of life (Reagan, 1996). In fact, for much of America’s existence the procedure was legal and used frequently. In fact, until the last quarter of the 19th century when the act of abortion was considered to be a crime, abortion was definitively legal before a period of time called the quickening—the fourth month of pregnancy (Reagan, 1996).
It’s important to consider that from a historical perspective, ending a pregnancy was considered common and something at least initially a woman could engage in herself. “Colonial home medical guides gave recipes for ‘bringing on the menses"’ with herbs that could be grown in one's garden or easily found in the woods. By the mid eighteenth century commercial preparations were so widely available that they had inspired their own euphemism (‘taking the trade’)” (Reagan, 1996). However, the major issues with these methods were that they caused many deaths. Hence the first laws in place regarding abortion were passed in the beginning of the 19th century and they actually manifested as poison control laws (Pollitt, 1997). Poisonous substances to create an abortion were banned, but the actual abortions were still legal. In fact during the mid 19th century, the abortion trade continued to thrive, as did the sale of illegal drugs to induce abortions (Pollitt, 1997). One of the more widely known practitioners of abortion was a woman by the name of Madame Restell and she served for decades in the tri-state area, with travelling sellers working her region selling the female monthly pills that could induce abortion (Pollitt, 1997).
The pros and cons of abortion still remain highly charged and highly controversial. One of the biggest pros in favor of abortion revolves around the right of a woman to control her destiny: that includes deciding when she will or will not have a child. An unplanned pregnancy can derail a woman’s career and redirect the course of her life. Another pro in favor of abortion is that it avoids a woman having to deal with psychological, social and financial issues from an unplanned child. Furthermore, abortions today are safe and can be done with minimal risk to the mother. The major arguments against abortion refer to how it violates the sanctity of life. These arguments argue that it is akin to murder and ultimately disrespect how precious human life is. They often address how babies can experience pain in the womb and implies that abortion is traumatic for them.
New York has had a long and storied relationship with abortion, not just during the 19th century but as recently as the 1970s. In 1970, New York distinguished itself from other states by passing the most open abortion law in America, one that gave it a new image as a refuge for women seeking an abortion. “Thirty-five years later, New York has the highest abortion rate in America. In 2000, the last year for which good data are available, 39 out of every 1,000 women in the state ended a pregnancy, for a total of 164,000 abortions that year. In America, one of every ten abortions occurs in New York, and in New York, seven of every ten abortions are performed in New York City” (Lizza, 2014). The rate of abortion is so high in New York City that in certain regions the ration of abortions to live births is actually one to one—at exactly the same rate (Lizza, 2014). States with much lower abortion rates are ones like Tennessee, where there are 15.5 abortions per 1,000 women and under 20,000 total abortions per year (CBSnews, 2011). Colorado also has a low rate of abortions with 15.7 abortions per 1,000 women and just fewer than 16,000 abortions per year (CBSnews, 2011). Louisiana is a state with also exceedingly low rates of abortion: 16 per 1,000 women and under 15,000 abortions completed per year (CBSNews, 2011). Texas, Pennsylvania and Oregon also have comparably low rates (CBSNews, 2011). Coastal states like New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC and California have the highest rates of abortion in the nation, with numbers around 27 abortions per 1,000 women (CBSNews, 2011).

Part Two: Interview
How did you find out you were pregnant?
I missed my period and I felt like my lower abs were getting oddly harder.

Why did you decide to have an abortion?
I am just too young to have a child at this time. I haven’t achieved financial stability. Also there are so many things I’d like to actually experience before having a child—like travel, art, etc.
How far along were you?
I was six weeks pregnant when I realized it and then I had the procedure at eight weeks.
How did you set up the procedure?
My doctor at Planned Parenthood helped me make the appointment and they were able to get me in just two weeks later.
Did the father go with you to have the procedure done?
No, I didn’t tell him. I wanted to keep this to myself.
How did it feel?
It was uncomfortable and sometimes painful. They gave me pain medication to make it less difficult.
How did you feel afterwards and during?
I was nervous during the procedure and I honestly wanted it done and to be out of there as soon as possible. Afterwards I felt sad, but I couldn’t explain why. I was sore and I had to keep up with some pain medication. I had a feeling of emptiness and sadness that I couldn’t explain. Maybe it was partly because I didn’t tell anyone about this and had to deal with it all myself.

Part 3: Conclusion
I’ve learned a tremendous amount about the bioethical decisions people make during their lives. There are enormous shades of gray to every situation and I know that people have to face. For the person I interviewed, she made it clear that she wanted to have children some day, she just felt like the timing was wrong. Furthermore, she explained that the man who was the father of the child was not someone she would ever want to raise a child with. She also explained that her parents were deeply religious and believed abortion to be a sin. She did not share their beliefs and truly thought she had a right to chart her own destiny. However, because of her large extended family and their firm beliefs, it left her feeling isolated during the abortion procedure as she felt she had no one to confide in—and she was right, she didn’t. I felt that as an independent party I could really validate her decision because she made it out of her desire for autonomy. She just wanted to be able to exercise a certain amount of freedom in her life and she did this responsibly and early in her pregnancy.
References
British Pregnancy Advisory Service. (n.d.). What is Abortion? | BPAS. Retrieved from https://www.bpas.org/abortion-care/considering-abortion/what-is-abortion/
CBSNews.com. (2011, January 13). 25 States with Most Abortions. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/25-states-with-most-abortions/21/
Lizza, R. (2014). The Abortion Capital of America. Retrieved from http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/features/15248/
Pollitt, K. (1997). Abortion in American History. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/05/abortion-in-american-history/376851/
Reagan, L. J. (1997). When abortion was a crime: Women, medicine, and law in the United States, 1867-1973. Univ of California Press.