ABORTION LAST RESORT?

Abortion involves terminating a pregnancy by the
removing or expelling of a fetus or embryo from the
uterus. This is sometimes due to the death of the fetus;
however, it can also result in the death of it. Abortion is
a very controversial topic because its frequency of
occurrence, legal, cultural and religious status varies
extensively in different regions of the world. There are
many high-profile groups that champion either pro-
choice or pro-life, and such organizations bring up a
host of issues to further their often political agenda. In
the United States, pro-life groups favor greater legal
restrictions on abortion, or even the complete
prohibition of it. They argue that a human fetus is a
human being with a right to live, so abortion is similar
to murder. In contrast, pro-choice groups argue that a
woman has certain reproductive rights, especially the
choice on whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term.
One of the most common reasons why some women
want to have an abortion is because they have the
desire to delay childbearing because they themselves
are young. Other reasons include not wanting to stop
work or schooling and/or because of financial or
relationship instability. These reasons are consistent
across numerous countries, including America. Most
abortions that occur in the United States are obtained
by women of a minority race because they are having
higher incidences of unintended pregnancies. In
developing countries, women have the additional
concern of health risks and complications that occur as
a result of unsafe practices in medical settings.
Some abortions happen because of societal pressures.
This occurs to when there is little social support, when
a specific gender of a child is preferred or when
governments enforce population control, such as
China's one child policy. It is suggested that sex-
selective abortion could account for disparities between
the birth rates of male and female children in some
countries. Many countries in Asia like China, South
Korea and India have cultures that prefer male children.
When abortion occurs because of societal pressures,
women sometimes have to resort to unsafe practices
because the legalized healthcare route is not an option.
As a result, countries that have restrictive abortive laws
have more women that seek unsafe abortions. Unsafe
abortions occur when they are performed by individuals
without adequate medical skills or in an unhygienic
environment. Such situations occur globally, and result
in about 70,000 maternal deaths and 5 million maternal
disabilities per year.
Currently, laws regarding abortion are diverse and differ
by states in the U.S. Some states have a 24-hour
waiting period before an abortion can be carried out and
require that information regarding fetal development is
given out. The abortion debate also focuses on whether
laws should be passed mandating that the pregnant
woman has the consent of others, especially if the
woman is a minor.