Accept Abortion

Accept Abortion
Leslie Martinez
Montgomery College

ThispaperwaspreparedforENGL10232867taughtbyProfessorStorm.

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ABSTRACT

This essay is a proposal to change the views of abortion from a negative view to a
positive and accepting. Women already get judged and feel unaccepted in society due to the fact
that people are so against abortion. The proposal is to get people to at least understand and accept
women when they do go through this procedure. The problem that causes people to not be
opened minded is because they dont get to listen someones own point of view on their
experience and life story on why they got. A solution Ive came up to make this work is getting
people to listen to storys such as Aspen Bakers on Ted Talks. Another way is getting people
involved with an organization that can inform them on reasons why and how they go through the
abortion process. Therefore, with everyone accepting a womens choice on abortion, it will make
not only easier for women but, for society as a whole. This is a beneficial for everyone in general
not just one group of people. Even though, some people wont be as accepting and supportive on
abortion, at least they would be informed on why women do this procedure.

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AcceptAbortion
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but, some people should be opened minded on
listening to others opinions or decisions. Women have always gotten judged for centuries. Either
women get judge mainly because of the way they make decisions. Women, for the most part
today, get judged by their decision making. They get extremely judged when theyre thinking
about getting an abortion. An abortion is the removal of an unborn fetus that is usually in the
beginning stages of the pregnancy. People need to accept abortion for many reasons and see it as
a positive thing but they dont see how it is acceptable. Every woman who choose to have the
procedure have a valid reason for why the choose to go through an abortion but, some people do
not seem to care enough to hear or accept their decision on abortion. Abortion can be a positive
for some women but most people in society sees it as an inhumane act. But, with people like
Aspen Baker who inspire women and let the voices of women be heard. By coming up with a
solution that can change peoples opinions by people in society actually listening to people who
been through it. Society can change the mind set of how abortion is portrayed. Therefore, by
changing the negative views to a positive and accepting way, women can feel judge free and
comfortable when thinking about getting an abortion.
The problem that is seen in todays society is, have today is people not being accepting.
Acceptance is a huge part in why people view abortion so negatively because they dont get to
see the other side of the opinion. If people in society were opened to listening to others stories on
why they choose to get an abortion, then it wouldnt be such a judgmental feeling for women.
For example, in Aspen Bakers video, she discussed how when she told people she was pregnant
and having a baby, she felt a positive vibe from people rather than when she told someone she
got an abortion, she felt a negative and judgmental vibe (A better way to talk about abortion,

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2016). Women shouldnt have to experience things like this because if they chose to make that
choice they should at least be able to feel good and not have to worry about being criticized for
it. Another issue that is apart of todays world is the negative views. The negative views such as
judging the mother for killing her child that hasnt even been born yet. People in todays society
protest about abortion being legal in the United States. These negative views affect women. With
people judging a woman for getting her procedure done, then it is most likely for her to to be at a
greater risk to involved herself in alcohol and drug abuse (Reardon para 5, 2016). This
commonly affects women not emotionally but mentally. It causes women to go into a depression
state because they feel unaccepted into society or bad because they killed their child. Funding
plays a role in this situation by it causing to be difficult for a mother to provide for her child if
she is the only one raising the baby. If the government provided enough funding to help support
women in some way, women wouldnt be affected as much. Planned Parenthood is a good
resource for women but they dont always provide the best resource or guidance for women.
Women can not always be turning to them whenever they need help.
In addition, women not feeling accepted because of their choice on abortion is hard for
women. Its women like Aspen Baker who help womens problems be heard. Reasons why
people in society do not accept abortion is mainly because how the procedure is done. The
negative views that abortion gets is because of protesting. People who protest about do it in a
way that you can imagine it as if it were you being aborted. The affects it has on women is
usually mental issues. Some women become depressed and end up suicidal because of what they
put through. Women are very sensitive and emotional human beings. Also, women seek abortion
for a variety of reasons. Its not like theyre doing to harm themselves or the child in them. Most
of the women who go for an abortion have health issues that can potentially harm the baby or kill

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it. Therefore, their only option is to abort the fetus. So why should a women have to give birth to
her child if the baby will most likely die at birth? That is making a mother suffer too much than
she should. The government not providing enough funding for women isnt fair. The Hyde
Amendment is what limits women to abortions. It puts limitations on the health insurance
coverage and only covers for certain reasons such as a women being raped, the pregnancy
endangers the mothers life physically, etc. therefore, the Hyde Amendment is an issue that is
keeping women who want an abortion, for other justifiable reasons, from being able to access it.
But, with every problem there is always a solution to solve it.
There is a solution to all the problems about abortion. Aspen Bakers organization everyone
can hear about there plan and be able to get people to open up and just talk about their
experience and what they think about abortion. This could be a way to get everyone to accept
womens decision on abortion is to simply just be supportive. Whether you agree with what some
choose just support them along the way. This can change everything because women will feel
accepted and happy about their procedure. Women will finally feel judged free and actually feel
accepted into society. With people knowing others situations and reasoning behind their abortion,
this could possibly reduce the amount of protesting. Getting an abortion isnt all negative. For
some women they need it for health reasons (About Abortion, 2016). So if they get the abortion,
theyre possibly doing a good for themselves and the fetus in her. With this solution the affects
on women wont be as bad. Women will not feel that guilt in them that theyre a horrible person.
They can go to speak to someone about their situation and see what they think and how they
would handle it if they were to be in their shoes. Women will also know theyre not being judged
for their decision. They will be able to embrace themselves and lives peacefully. Women that are
able to be heard may also benefit women financially. If women are heard by the government,

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they can possibly get the government to change the laws around and get financially help or even
get ride of the Hyde Amendment.
Therefore, with a solution to this problem we can have everyone accepting and not
judgmental. As Baker spoke in her video, she explained how good it felt to finally feel accepted.
She said:
And while pregnant, I had never been asked how I was feeling so much in all my life. And
however I replied, whether I was feeling wonderful and excited or scared and totally freaked out,
there was always someone there giving me a "been there" response. It was awesome. It was a
welcome, yet dramatic departure from what I experience when I talk about my mixed feelings of
my abortion (A better way to talk about abortion, 2016, 09:42).
This perfectly shows that people should always be happy about their choices. Bakers opens up
and help shows people that people can be supportive and caring towards someone. It should just
be when they are pregnant, it should be like that every time you talk to someone. She also said:
So, another way to be pro-voice is to share stories, and one risk that you take on, when
you share your story with someone else, is that given the same set of circumstances as you they
might actually make a different decision. For example, if you're telling a story about your
abortion, realize that she might have had the baby. She might have placed for adoption. She
might have told her parents and her partner -- or not. She might have felt relief and confidence,
even though you felt sad and lost. This is okay. Empathy gets created the moment we imagine
ourselves in someone else's shoes. It doesn't mean we all have to end up in the same place. It's
not agreement, it's not sameness that pro-voice is after. It creates a culture and a society that
values what make us special and unique. It values what makes us human, our flaws and our
imperfections. And this way of thinking allows us to see our differences with respect, instead of

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fear. And it generates the empathy that we need to overcome all the ways that we try to hurt one
another (A better way to talk about abortion, 2016, 07:55)
With people sharing their stories about their experience, it can create empathy. People who
protest and speak about how bad abortion is can feel respect and be sympathetic about another
person who had to choice an abortion because they had no other choice. Which in that case, it
almost frequently a lot of reasons why women choose it. It will no longer affect women in
general if people actually heard the side of real life peoples experience and stories. This solution
can create a form of empathy that will allow people hearing the stories be able to feel what it is
like to be in the other persons shoes. This would as well help with funding because the
government can hear about it and see how it affects not only single mothers but a mother in
general had to raise a child with special health issues that cost a lot of money to help the childs
development (Adler, 2016). With the Hyde Amendment gone, women may actually be able to
access abortion easily because there would not be any restrictions keeping them from being
qualified to receive the procedure.
This solution will be beneficial. With everyone being accepting about women choosing
abortion, it will make it not only easier for women but, for society as a whole. These benefits
include people finally being accepting towards the decision. They will support the women who
choose it valid reasons. This creates an accepting atmosphere for everyone to live in and in a
perfect world this would be nice to have. In fact, according to abortion advocates, they claim
that the right to abort unplanned pregnancies empower women (Reardon, 2016). Therefore, with
everyone at least being accepted there wouldnt be as much judging on women like there usually
is. The negative views on abortion will diminish. They would not be completely gone (since
people still have a right to their own opinion) but at least the negatives will be lowered. Also,

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people will get to be able to see not just one side but both sides and be able to understand where
it is coming from. Not one side is going to be taking all credit or seen as better but both sides will
be seen as both being reasonable. The main goal is to get everyones opinions heard and doing
what Aspen Baker does in her cofounded organization is what can help everyone be on the same
page about abortion. Like Baker said in her video:
pro-voice works on hard issues that we've struggled with globally for years, issues like
immigration, religious tolerance, violence against women. It also works on deeply personal
topics that might only matter to you and your immediate family and friends. They have a
terminal illness, their mother just died, they have a child with special needs and they can't talk
about it. Listening and storytelling are the hallmarks of pro-voice practice. Listening and
storytelling. That sounds pretty nice. Sounds maybe, easy? We could all do that. It's not easy. It's
very hard. Pro-voice is hard because we are talking about things everyone's fighting about or the
things that no one wants to talk about. I wish I could tell you that when you decide to be provoice, that you'll find beautiful moments of breakthrough and gardens full of flowers, where
listening and storytelling creates wonderful a-ha moments (A better way to talk about
abortion, 2016, 03:57)
With just listening to someones story you can learn so much from and maybe change your
mind on how you view an issue. That is one of the benefits of this solution. Being able to listen
and story tell someone about your life or experience to get them hopefully change their view or
passion towards a certain issue. You can get someone to see the situation in a different way by
getting them to be in the other persons shoes. This is the whole point of the solution which can
hopefully help people be more understanding and sympathetic when they hear someone went
through an abortion procedure. If womens voices are heard enough, we can get the Hyde

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Amendment removed or at least adjusted to help women get better access to abortion. According
to Biggs article, women who seek abortion only seek the procedure for reasonable decisions such
as rape, financially unstable, not mature, etc. This is a good enough reason to have the
government to get rid of the Hyde Amendment through letting womens voices be heard by the
government. This could help women get the access to abortion that they need.
Although, itd be nice for everyone accept the fact women get abortions. Not everyone is
going to be on board with it. Itll be hard to get most people to open up and the good in it. People
are not going to be accepting towards women killing a child (Kucera, 2016). Even though, the
procedure isnt done till like the beginning stage of formation so, technically there is no killing
being done to no one. Also, people are not going to always support the decision of someone that
does not like or support the same views they do. Which is totally fine because we do not live in
such a perfect world. The protests will still happen because everyone has the right to speak their
mind about what they do not support or believe in. Abortion will still affect women because
when after the get the procedure they will still have a negative impact on them because they will
still continue to be harassed on why they went through with the procedure. If a womens
insurance will not pay for her procedure to be done she will have to pay for it out of pocket. You
know how much money it is? Especially if she is a single woman that has no help what so ever
from anyone. An average abortion procedure cost starting from $1,500 according to Planned
Parenthood (Planned parenthood, 2016). The cost could rise more depending on far along you
are in your pregnancy. Besides, most women dont have support to help them through an
abortion or do not qualify to get help from the government. So how would they be able to get
access to the procedure if its not in their budget. This is a big issue for most lower class families.
People dont want their child to suffer the low lifestyle and want what is best and if they cannot

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support a child financially there is always a second option like adoption (Doyle, 2016). But, laws
such as the Hyde Amendment are in place to keep people from just getting an abortion just cause.
It allows people to get one for a justifiable reason not just because you want to.
Overall, by women being comfortable and judge free, society can change its negative
views on abortion into positives. The problem with abortion was that most people in our world
are against abortion. Theyre against seeing the other side and dont want to believe that it is
beneficial and best for some women. Society or someone needs to resolve or find a solution to
change people that are against abortion and not accepting but, as well as judging others who go
through the procedure due to the fact that this affects womens everyday lives. With the research
being done, Ive came up with a solution that can help slowly change the views of others. As
Aspen Baker talked about her story on Ted Talks, her organization that she cofounded can help
bring everyone to become accepting about women choosing abortion and it will not only make it
easier for women but, society as a whole. This solution includes getting people to speak to one
another about abortion and getting the both sides of what they think about abortion procedures.
The benefits of this outcome is helpful. It will educate and show people why people get it
whether its personal reasons or health issues, theyll get a grasp of the both sides and not just
one. In conclusion, solution can help people become supportive of one another. People in general
all need to just support each other with the decisions anyone makes since most of the time they
are only are doing what is best for themselves. Therefore, at the end of the day it is the mothers
decision on whether or not she can keep the fetus in her or let it go. No one has control over what
you can and cannot do.

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References
A better way to talk about abortion. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from
http://www.ted.com/talks/aspen_baker_a_better_way_to_talk_about_abortion#t-15255
About Abortion National Abortion Federation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2016, from
http://prochoice.org/education-and-advocacy/about-abortion/
Adler, N. (2012). Emotional Side Effects After an Abortion. Retrieved April 18, 2016, from
http://americanpregnancy.org/unplanned-pregnancy/abortion-emotional-effects/
Doyle, S. (2013, October 3). Abortion Isnt a Necessary Evil. Its Great. Retrieved April 18,
2016, from
http://inthesetimes.com/article/17216/abortion_isnt_necessary_evil_its_great_pro_choice
Biggs, M. Antonia, Diana Greene Foster, and Heather Gould. "Women Seek Abortions for a
Variety of Complex Reasons." Abortion. Ed. Tamara Thompson. Farmington Hills, MI:
Greenhaven, 2015. Current Controversies. Rpt. of "Understanding Why Women Seek
Abortions in the US." BMC Women's Health 2013: n. pag. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
Brown, Judie, and Robert P. Evangelisto. "All Abortions Must Be Illegal." Are Abortion Rights
Threatened? Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. of "The
Moral and Logical Arguments against Abortion." Vol. 5. N.p.: n.p., 2011. N. pag. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
In-Clinic Abortion Procedure | What is the Cost & Process? (2008). Retrieved April 18, 2016,
from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/abortion/in-clinic-abortion-procedures
Kucera, Daniel W. "Abortion Harms American Society." Abortion. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. San
Diego: Greenhaven, 2010. N. pag. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.
Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

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Population & Reproductive Health. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2016, from
http://www.icrw.org/what-we-do/population-reproductive-health
Reardon, D. C. (1993, Fall). AbortionFacts.com. Retrieved April 18, 2016, from
http://www.abortionfacts.com/reardon/abortion-and-the-feminization-of-poverty