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Jake Cioffi

Professor Sheila Fielding

WRTC 103

09 October 2017

Does an Unborn Child Have inalienable rights?

The most commonly understood definition of the word abortion is the deliberate

termination of a pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks. Today, there is

much debate over whether or not this is a legal, justifiable action for women to pursue within the

United States. Throughout the 20th century, this issue witnessed a heightened amount of

attention; after the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Case had been decided, the United States

had erupted into a wildfire of debate over this topic. The court ruled in this case a right to privacy

under the due process clause of the 14th amendment that it was ultimately a womans decision to

have an abortion. With this decision being made, controversy immediately swept over the

country; still today, our nation remains divided to a great extent over this topic. On one side there

lies the pro-life advocates who deem abortion as illegal and unjust, and on the other side there

are the pro-choice advocates who believe abortion is a womens choice and is acceptable for

them to choose this.

In the article Abortion: To What Extent Should Women Be Allowed Access to Abortion

in the United States? the author debates whether or not abortion should be accessible for women

in the United States. She juxtaposes her own view, pro-choice, with her opponents view pro-life

side by side with claims following both opinions. In her eyes of a pro-choice supporter, she states

claims that it is ultimately a womans right to choose whether or not they want to receive an

abortion, and not the state or federal governments. Some of the reasons following this claim
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include the health of women being at risk, but most of all holding back womens rights by not

allowing them to perform this procedure.

The crux of the supporters argument for justifying abortion is the claim that access to

abortion has improved the lives of women in the United States (Supporter 1). In her draw to

ethos, the author says that the regulation of abortion has been a significant turn for many women

in the United States, now allowing them to practice this act safely and under the care of trusted

doctors who professionally regulate these procedures. The author says that with this regulation of

abortion, the lives of women and their health has increased significantly as there has now been

the end of an era that supported the proliferation of back alley butchers who were motivated

by money alone and performed unsafe, medically incompetent abortions that left many women

dead or injured (Supporter 1). The author then goes on to discuss the societal and economic

benefits of abortion for women, saying that it improves their opportunities and autonomy. They

also argue that women who become pregnant at a young age, pro-choice advocates contend, are

often constrained in what they can accomplish because they are forced to raise children

(Supporter 2). Here is where the reader is given a sense of empathy for women, creating a feeling

of sorrow and compassion for them which ultimately would shift towards allowing them to

receive legally practiced abortions. This is then backed with the claim that restrictive abortion

laws narrowly circumscribed womens role in society and hindered women from defining their

paths through life in the most basic of ways (Supporter 2). Again, here is where the reader is

able to gain support for the supporters view, enabling these women to freely act on their own

will and not have themselves held down by these restrictive laws.

The author and supporter delve into pathos by personally appealing to the readers

themselves, stating that the only person who should make decisions about ones health is
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themselves. Politicians should not be making decision regarding a womans body, advocates

contend (Supporter 3). She then appeals further to the reader by incorporating an excerpt from

one of former President Obamas speeches when he addressed Planned Parenthood in 2013

stating that The only person who should get to make decisions about your health is you

(Supporter 3). This reaches out to the reader by giving them a glimpse on the essential rights of

individuals today and how they are deemed proper to oneself, including the right to choose on

ones own behalf whether or not they can receive an abortion. She solidifies this by asserting a

very powerful message stating that the decision to have an abortion is one of the most intimate

and personal choices a person may make in a lifetime and is central to persona dignity and

autonomy (Supporter 8). After hearing a message like this, many people can reflect within

themselves that it is ultimately and solely oneself who should be the person who chooses

whether or not a woman can receive an abortion.

In the supporters appeal to logos, light is drawn on the famous case Roe v. Wade. This

was a monumental milestone for supporters of pro-choice, as the Supreme Court decision led to

the legalization of abortion almost entirely. It established most abortions in the early stages of

pregnancy as protected under the Constitution (Infobase 5) by the right of privacy. The supporter

then refutes the claim that abortions are painful for fetuses after 20 weeks (Supporter 4). To

justify this, she inputs that The limited research used to support such claims has been refuted as

pseudoscience by both the Journal of the American Medical Association and the British Royal

College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (Supporter 4). With these facts, the supporter is able

to garner the trust of the reader in stating that abortion does not directly harm the fetus, inflicting

no pain to it at all.
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The issue of abortion is very significant in the United States today. It is because of how

profound it is within our country, as it continues to divide our nation in half over the debate of

whether or not this action is legal and justifiable for women to perform on their own. Today, this

issue is extremely relevant, as the U.S. stands divided by our current president, Donald Trump,

and former presidential nominee Hilary Clinton. A majority of those who supports Trump are

pro-life, and a majority of those who support Clinton are pro-choice; both of their positions were

discussed and debated on in one of the presidential debates which they both participated in.

Clinton stressed her support for pro-choice, stating I will defend Roe v. Wade, I will defend a

womens right to make her own decision (USA Today 11). In opposition to this, Trump made it

clear that once he was elected, he would immediately overturn this case. He stated, I am putting

pro-life justices on the court, and It will go back to the states, and the states will then make a

determination (NBC 3). With each of their stances going against one another, the nation took a

stand and inevitably divided itself into two, leaving it to the people to take a side over this issue.

Today, this topic flares as one of the most heated debates in the United States, as the relationship

between gender and the rights each possess are changing more than ever. With a hope to achieve

gender equality, the issue of abortion looms over the country as a wildfire engulfing each and

every part of it into its flames. Only with access to abortion then, can women be truly equal and

free to determine the course of their lives (MCCL 1).

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Works Cited

"Abortion: To what extent should women be allowed access to abortion in the United

States?" Issues & Controversies, Infobase Learning, 4 Feb. 2016,

http://icof.infobaselearning.com/recordurl.aspx?ID=2489 . Accessed 8 Oct. 2017.

Bowerman, Mary. What Is Roe v. Wade and Why Does It Still Matter? USA Today, Gannett

Satellite Information Network, 20 Oct. 2016, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-

now/2016/10/20/roe-v-wade-abortion-clinton-trump-debate-womens-issues/92452822/.

Accessed 8 Oct. 2017.

Carmon, Irin. 2016 Debate: On Abortion, Trump and Clinton Give Passionate

Answers. NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 20 Oct. 2016,

www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-presidential-debates/abortion-trump-clinton-let-it-all-hang-

out-n669586. Accessed 8 Oct. 2017.

Stark, Paul. The Gender Equality Argument for Abortion. Minnesota Citizens Concerned for

Life | Pro-Life News and Information, www.mccl.org/single-post/2017/03/13/The-gender-

equality-argument-for-abortion. Accessed 8 Oct. 2017.

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