Why Abortion Should Be Legal: Three Key Arguments
This essay presents three central arguments for the legality of abortion: the trauma imposed on victims of rape or incest who become pregnant, the serious health risks that pregnancy can pose to women, and the fundamental right of every woman to make decisions about her own body. Drawing on the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade, statistics from the Guttmacher Institute, and data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the paper contends that criminalizing abortion does not prevent it but only makes it more dangerous. The essay also briefly addresses the misuse of abortion as routine birth control and suggests that federally funded contraception education is a preferable policy response.
- Introduction: Three core arguments for legal abortion introduced
- Rape and Incest: A Case for Legal Abortion: Trauma of forced pregnancy after sexual violence
- Health Risks and the Right to Physical Safety: Medical complications justify access to abortion
- Bodily Autonomy and Roe v. Wade: Supreme Court affirms fundamental right to choose
- Criminalization Does Not Stop Abortion: Illegal abortion remains common and dangerous
- Abortion as Birth Control and the Case for Contraception Education: Contraception funding preferred over abortion restrictions
- Conclusion: Abortion legality upheld across health and rights grounds
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper organizes its argument into three clearly distinct categories — trauma from rape/incest, physical health risks, and bodily autonomy — giving each rationale its own focused treatment before synthesizing them.
- It supports each claim with specific cited sources, including government data, medical organizations, and a landmark Supreme Court ruling, lending credibility to what is fundamentally a values-based argument.
- The essay acknowledges a counter-consideration — abortion used as routine birth control — and addresses it honestly without undermining the overall pro-legality position, demonstrating argumentative balance.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper effectively employs the concession-and-rebuttal structure: it grants that there is one scenario where abortion use is problematic, then pivots to argue that education and contraception funding are better policy solutions than criminalization. This technique strengthens the overall argument by showing the writer has considered opposing concerns.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a thesis listing three pro-legality arguments, then devotes one body paragraph to each. A fourth paragraph addresses the futility of criminalization, and a fifth introduces a limited counterpoint alongside a policy alternative. The conclusion restates the core position and ends with a comparative policy observation about federal funding of Viagra versus birth control.
Introduction
There are at least three compelling reasons that abortion should be legal: abortion in cases of rape or incest, abortion when a woman's health is at risk, and abortion as a matter of personal choice. These reasons have been extensively discussed and analyzed, and after considerable deliberation by legal and medical authorities, abortion has been upheld as legal under specific circumstances. The only situation in which abortion might reasonably be restricted is when it can be documented that an individual is using it repeatedly as a primary means of birth control.
Rape and Incest: A Case for Legal Abortion
When a woman or girl becomes pregnant as a result of incest or rape, that pregnancy is a direct consequence of a violent act committed against her. It is worth noting that only 1% of all abortions fall into this category, yet for this reason alone abortion must remain legal (Guttmacher Institute, 2011). If it were not, a person who has already suffered tremendous mental and physical anguish would be forced to continue suffering. Even without becoming pregnant, some women and children never recover from the traumatic experience of sexual violence. Moreover, pregnancy itself can cause or worsen depression (American Pregnancy Association, 2011).
Adding the physical and mental burden of carrying an unwanted fetus for nine months to the suffering of a crime victim is morally reprehensible. She would be forced to endure a constant reminder of the harm done to her body. Beyond the emotional toll, carrying a fetus to term can be extremely difficult even under the best circumstances. The victim would also bear substantial monetary costs, including prenatal care, maternity clothing, lost wages, and the expense of childbirth itself.
Health Risks and the Right to Physical Safety
No woman or girl should be required to carry a fetus to term when doing so will cause serious harm to her health — whether mental or physical. Pregnancy complications that may arise include, but are not limited to, anemia, depression, ectopic pregnancy, gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, hyperemesis gravidarum, placenta previa, placental abruption, and toxemia (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Any of these conditions can cause severe physical pain and lasting health problems. In the most extreme cases, the mother's life may be directly at risk. Under no circumstances should a woman be legally compelled to undergo a bodily process that endangers her well-being.
Conclusion
For all of the above reasons, abortion should remain legal. The evidence drawn from health data, legal precedent, and fundamental principles of human rights consistently supports women's access to safe, legal abortion services. Rather than restricting abortion, policymakers would be better served by investing in contraception education and expanding access to birth control — measures that address the root causes of unwanted pregnancy while respecting women's autonomy.
References
American Pregnancy Association. (2011). Depression during pregnancy. Retrieved from http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/depressionduringpregnancy.html
Guttmacher Institute. (2011, August). Facts on induced abortion in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html
Pro-Choice Action Network. (2011). Misconceptions about abortion. Retrieved from http://www.prochoiceactionnetwork-canada.org/abortioninfo/misconce.shtml
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1972).
Silverman, E. (2011, March 15). Medicare dollars paid for Grandpa's Viagra. Pharmalot. Retrieved December 13, 2011, from
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2010, September 27). Pregnancy complications. Retrieved December 13, 2011, from Womenshealth.gov:
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