Abortion: Should We Talk About It?

Abortion: Should we talk about it?

The topic of abortion can be discussed based on a number of controversial principles. Principles such as whether or not the unborn fetus is considered an actual human with its own rights, and one’s ethnic and moral character play a large roll in a person’s standpoint on the abortion issue. Religion and culture also affect how a person chooses to view abortion. Abortion is defined to be the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy that usually occurs within the first twenty-eight weeks of conception. Abortion is such a controversial topic in American households, because in our modern-day world it is slowly evolving to be considered an acceptable alternative to women who do not wish to keep their child. Statistics tell us that one in three women in the U.S. will have an abortion in her lifetime (Huffington Post). A posing question in our society today is whether or not support for abortion would grow if women would be brave enough to step out and discuss their abortions to the public. Our country’s current standpoint is 56% of U.S. adults say it should be legal in all or most cases, compared with 41% who say it should be illegal (Lipka). By sharing new perspectives and more knowledge about the process of abortion, women who discuss their experiences have the opportunity to rally more support; however, by speaking out, women also raise the risk of receiving more backlash and further dividing the issue.

If more women are given the opportunity to discuss their abortion experience, they have the chance to convince society to pity abortionists and see them as victims. The reason our society is leaning more towards supporting abortion is because the women who have abortions do not embody what we picture to be cruel murderers. These women are daughters, sisters, friends, neighbors, employees, etc. Photographer Allison Joyce builds off of this notion in her photo series titled “Abortion, After The Decision.” In her photo series, five women have come forward with their abortion stories to “help break down the stigma” (Huffington Post). Joyce states: “I think it’s important to humanize the issue and to go beyond the partisan debate, the statistics and headlines. By talking openly and understanding how and why women arrive at the decision to terminate their pregnancy it can remove a lot of the stigma.” (Huffington Post). While Joyce’s photo series does in fact provide a vehicle to help women humanize their side of abortion to the public, they are still susceptible to much critic.

By sharing their stories, women have the power to direct the conversation in a way that brings up questions about the true concept of what abortion is. Women sharing their stories gives them the power to take the reigns behind a movement that strives to gain acceptance once and for all. However, whether Pro Choice activists would like to admit or not, abortion is ending the life of a living human. There is simply no way to cover up the definition of abortion. A.C. and Norbert J. Mietus are two authors who call out the fact that abortion is indeed murder in a response to an article published in the January 1964 issue of the Journal. In they’re response, A.C. and Norbert J Mietus state: “Some abortionists will deny that what they destroy is a human life. But if the embryo, and later the fetus, be not human what is it? Malignant or benign tumor? Stone? Vegetable?” (Mietus 924). Mietus’ point is there should be no justification for abortion. I completely agree with this statement, because in our society we seem to try and misconstrue what abortion truly is in order to make ourselves feel better. If women are able to speak out more about their abortions, our society will become further divided on this issue as Pro Choice and Pro Life supporters feud. Pro Life supporters view abortion as murder, and Pro Choice view abortion as a woman’s right. While I do believe that abortion is wrongful murder, I also agree that a woman has the right to choose. Every human is responsible for his or her actions, abortion is ending a life, but at the end of the day a person is going to make their own decision based on their own reasons.

Abortionists have many reasonings as to why the timing of their pregnancy is inconvenient and should be terminated. In a Cosmopolitan article “6 Women Talk About Why They Had an Abortion”, we read personal accounts of women who have spoken out and shared their basis behind choosing abortion. In one account, twenty-six year old Samantha Romero, tells her story of ending her pregnancy. Her deciding factor for ending her pregnancy is her financial situation. “I had just graduated college, and my boyfriend at the time and I knew we couldn't afford a child. He was unemployed. I was underemployed.” (Cosmopolitan). Another woman, JaimieLynn Lake shares her initial reaction upon finding out she was expecting: "No, we can't do this again. We already had three kids, a set of twin boys who were 5 at the time and a 2-year-old girl. We love our little family and are super happy” (Cosmopolitan).

Age, financial stability, work obligations, and already having enough children are all justifications