Why the Arguments in Favor of Abortion Outweigh the Opposition
Today, the issue of abortion is at front and center of a heated national debate that could easily determine the next president of the United States as well as the reproductive freedom of American women for generations to come. Indeed, since the 50-year precedent established by Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, 2022 with the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, numerous states have enacted draconian anti-abortion laws. So-called pro-life proponents of the Dobbs decision maintain that the arguments against legal abortion are sufficiently compelling to allow the states to make this decision on behalf of their residents. Conversely, so-called pro-choice advocates argue that there are fundamental counterpoints that make it clear that legalized abortion should be the law of the entire land. The purpose of this paper is to provide clear reasons why the Dobbs decision was not only wrong, but downright cruel to women and their family members. Following this analysis, the paper provides a summary of the arguments for and against legal abortion as well as the rationale in support of the latter in the U.S. in the conclusion.
I. Right to life versus reproductive rights
On the one hand, anti-abortionists believed that life begins at conception and should be protected from the outset. In this regard, Jacobs reports that, [T]he scientific fact, which everyone really knows, that human life begins at conception (221). This view is echoed throughout the peer-reviewed and other scholarly literature in some shape or form, varying only in the amount of time that
…domestic supply of infants for private adoption. It is little wonder that this revelation was met with a social media outcry, but domestic private adoption is estimated to be a multibillion-dollar industry [and] the cost of a typical adoption averages between $20,000 and $45,000 per child (Madden et al. 428). In other words, this counterargument is not only misguided, it places the interests of the
over womens right to make choices about their own bodies and lives.
The research showed that the Dobbs decision represents a significant setback for women's reproductive rights in the United States, undermining decades of progress since Roe v. Wade. While anti-abortion advocates emphasize the sanctity of life and argue for state control over abortion laws, the pro-choice stance highlights the importance of bodily autonomy, personal decision-making, and the economic realities that many women face today. By overturning federally protected rights to abortion, the Supreme Court has not only jeopardized the well-being of women but has also paved the way for future encroachments on their personal freedoms. The arguments in favor of legal abortion are compelling and necessary for safeguarding reproductive rights for generations to…
