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Abortion
Clinics Should Not be Closed in the U.S.
In 1973, the Supreme Court’s decision made
it possible for women to get safe, legal abortions from well-trained medical
surgeons, and therefore led to dramatic decreases in pregnancy-related
injury and death (“abortion”). Now there is a new proposal to close abortion
clinics. This proposal takes away the privacy rights of American women
that are guaranteed by our Constitution. By closing abortion clinics the
government is not only taking away women’s rights, but is also punishing
those whom want to exercise their right of a pro-choice woman.
Abortion clinics allow thousands of women
every year to have abortions. Having the abortion should be woman’s personal
choice. By closing these clinics, there will be no providers to perform
the operation, so the choice has already been made for them. Closing the
clinics will increase the barriers of having an abortion. When there are
too many obstacles, the right to make their own choice is taken away from
them. In 1973 the American Supreme Court ruled that Americans’ right to
privacy included: “the right of a woman to decide whether to have children,
and the right of a woman and her doctor to make that decision without state
interference” (“abortion”). The Constitution says we have a right to privacy,
so taking away a woman’s chance to make decisions about her own body violates
that right.
The American Civil Liberties Union defends
the Constitution and peoples’ rights.
ACLU has protected the rights of abortion
for women, and in recent years has argued mayor cases opposing restrictions
that deny woman access to reproductive health care (“ACLU”). Policy 263
states: “The ACLU holds that every woman, as a matter of her right to the
enjoyment of life, liberty, and privacy, should be free to determine whether
and when to bear children.”(The American Civil Liberties Union)
The closure of abortion clinics will be
done with the purpose to reduce the number of abortions. This raises the
question whether this will be an effective method or not. Before 1973 abortions
were illegal yet the number of women who sought abortions did not decrease
(“abortion”). Before 1973 many thousands of women died or suffered serious
medical problems after attempting to perform their own abortions, or going
to untrained doctors who performed cheap abortions with uncivilized methods
or in unsanitary conditions (The Abortion Law Homepage.). If clinics are
closed, women will still continue to attempt, and succeed, in ending unwanted
pregnancies just like before 1973. Women will risk their health and possibly
even their lives. By keeping these abortions clinics open it ensures a
higher probability that the women who do have abortions will be in a safe,
sanitary environment, and therefore injuries will be fewer in number.
If clinics are shut, the waiting lists
of abortion clinics in other countries will be much longer. Women will
have to wait longer to get an abortion, and will be treated later in their
pregnancy which is much more dangerous for the pregnant women.
Pro-life activists claim that the unborn
baby is alive and has feelings when the heart begins beating. But, the
heartbeat begins between the eighteenth and twenty-fifth day (“Fetus”).
They also say that women who have abortions are “murderers”. This problem
could be solved by keeping abortion clinics open, because then the woman
can be treated before the twenty fifth day when the fetus is not yet a
living baby. She will not have to wait because of long waiting lists, but
instead will have the abortion as soon as possible with as less psychological
pain.
If a woman has to travel to another country
to have a legal abortion, she will have to pay more money. She will now
not only have to pay for the abortion itself, but also the traveling costs
and that does not include the psychological costs as well. Not all people
can afford these costs. So by keeping clinics open more women will have
the chance to exercise their right and have their desired abortion. If
a working woman or student suddenly has to leave the country, this means
she will have to think of excuses and lies for an explanation. This is
not fair to the woman, she should not have to explain herself to anyone,
it is her body and therefore she can do what she wants, she does not need
other people’s consult.
Abortion clinics are not a “butcher’s place”
where young babies are murdered. They provide a choice for women whether
or not to bring a child into this world.
What is worse: taking away the life of
an unborn child that is not even aware of life itself yet, or a mother
bringing an unwanted child into this world, knowing that she will not be
able to take care of it, and that her child will have to suffer from the
poor circumstances in which she lives. As of now the woman has the ability
to make that choice and save the child from poor, possibly abusive or hate
filled environment. Personally I feel that living in a circumstance such
as abuse is worse than the abortion of the fetus. Rape victims should also
be able to have an abortion because they know that if they were to keep
the child, they would cringe when she thought about whom contributed to
the other half of the child. The offspring will be a painful reminder to
the rape victim. She did not choose to take the responsibility of a child
and therefore should not have to pay the consequences. A woman who cannot
love her child has no right to have a baby in the first place.
One option for women who are not able to
take care of their baby is adoption. Yet she will have to carry the baby
for nine months and then give it up. Not all women are able to do this
physically or psychologically. After the pregnancy she will have to hope
that their baby will find a good and loving home. And this is not always
the case. The child will possibly have to suffer from living in orphanages
waiting to get adopted. Adoption can not always be seen as a good solution
to unwanted pregnancies.
The advantage of closing abortion clinics
could be that woman will be forced to take the responsibility over their
baby, and give their unborn child the right to life. But it can not be
seen as something entirely positive. The mother will always regard the
child as a “mistake” and will never love it the way she would have if she
had wanted to keep the child. Getting an abortion does not always mean
that the woman is only thinking of herself, she also thinks on behalf of
her baby. Abortion clinics do not make the choice easier, nor do they force
the woman into the surgery. People who are against abortion having the
choice not to have one. It is not fair to take away the choice of people
who do want one.
List of works consulted:
“Abortion.” Encarta Encyclopedia 1999.
1999 ed.
“ACLU.” Encarta Encyclopedia 1999. 1999
ed.
“Fetus.” Encarta Encyclopedia 1999. 1999
ed.
The Abortion Law Homepage. “Abortion Law
Homepage”. 24 November 1996. (11 March 2000). http://members.aol.com/abtrbng/index.htm
The American Civil Liberties Union. “Abortion
Clinic Access Law”. 1997. (11 March 2000). http://www.aclu.org/library/aaabort.html
