Abortion and Rape, Essay Example

Abortion

The question of pro-life came to light in the legal system with Roe v. Wade. The case made women’s right to abortion legal. This paper will support the courts decision through rhetoric, research, and outside supporting sources that state that women’s right to abortion, is a constitutional right.

Argument One

Legal abortion is not only a constitutional right but a personal/private right. This argument brings up the topic of law dictation on personal choice. Thus, the focus should not be on abortion as a constitutional right but rather as a personal right protected by the constitution. This difference signified by West suggests that “individual right as the conceptual vehicle for legal abortion” (1396) is the crux by which support for abortion should be realized through (thus, not through legal terms that are instilled to adjudicate abortion, but through personal freedoms that are inalienable). West’s argument for abortion, although stepped in “legalise” suggests that it’s a right innate in humans upheld by the law, not a right given first by the law: thus, the argument is for the support of biology v. society.

Argument Two

In support for abortion there’s a moral question that arises that suggests that the human being inside the woman, the fetus, can be terminated because “the unborn is not intrinsically valuable because of a lack of ability to reason and self-awareness” (Lopez 513). In support of abortion pro-choice advocates argue for termination because the fetus is not yet given consciousness, but is merely a collection of nerves and synapses and as such, are absent constitutional sanctity.

Argument Three

Another argument for abortion suggests that it’s right because the child may be born with potential birth defects causing serious health related issues throughout life: this argument is for quality of life. Such issues include mental retardation as well as psychological problems in children born to parents who did not want them (leading to self-esteem, anger and attention deficit disorder) (Lopez 514).

Argument Four

The right to an abortion also has to do with pregnancies that are induced through criminal acts, aka rape and incest. Women who become pregnant through criminal acts should not have to carry a child full term as it creates a mental instability in the woman and “women’s mental health is greater than the value of the fetus” (Beckwith para. 3).

Conclusion

Women have the right to abortion not only because it’s mandated constitutionally but it’s an innate law through privacy/biology. The fetus has no consciousness and therefore should not be protected by the constitution (abortion is not murder) and therefore there is no moral question about abortion. Also, if a child may be born with some rare disorder or disease and their quality of life will be termed poor, then the woman has a right to decide to abort because of these reasons. Finally, in an argument supporting abortion, if a woman is raped or if there’s incest, the psychological damage to the women (as well as potential health risks for a child born of incest) favor abortion over potential mental imbalance.

Works Cited

Beckwith, James. “Abortion and Rape: Answering the Arguments for Abortion Rights.” Christian Research Institute (2009). Web. 29 June 2014.

Lopez, Raquel. “Perspectives on Abortion: Pro-choice, pro-life, and What Lies Between.” European Journal of Social Sciences 27.4 (2012). Print.

West, Robin. “From Choice to Reproductive Justice: De-constitutionalizing Abortion Rights.” The Yale Law Journal (2009). Print.