Joelle Ho

Writing 39C
Broadbent
4 May, 2018
The War on Abortion

“The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own
child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between.”
- Mother Teresa

“I didn’t know if he was a fry cook, a doctor, or a plumber. I didn’t know who he was or
what he did.” Barbara, a 77 year old woman, described the story of her abortion when she was 18
years old. Abortion was illegal at the time (1955), so she had to find ways to illegally terminate
her pregnancy. She was given the phone number a man whom she had never heard of, and went
to his house in hopes of obtaining an abortion. She climbed up onto his kitchen table as he
examined the inside of her vagina. He told her the abortion would be $200, however Barbara
could not afford that. When she came back home, her friend had somehow obtained pills for her
to take that were supposed to carry out the abortion. Barbara explained that she took them and
thought [she] had killed [herself] because [she’d] never had such pain in [her] life.” She said she
was “burning inside” for a week and finally went to a hospital that had to operate on her. The
doctor told her that if she had waited another 24 hours, she would have been dead (Madera).

History of Abortion in the United States

“I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born”
- Ronald Reagan

An abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. For years, abortion has
been considered a highly controversial issue in the United States–to the point where states began
to criminalize it during the mid-1800s. Many women who attempted to have an abortion during
this time period can share stories similar to Barbara’s experience, if not worse. However, before
abortion was outlawed in the United States, it was legal at the time the first English settlers
arrived. It is believed that the main reason behind the criminalization of abortion was that many
“native” Anglo-Saxon women (Germanic inhabitants of England) in the United States were
having abortions, whereas foreign immigrant women were not. People were afraid that this
would lead to the demise of the Anglo-Saxon race (Beisel). It was not until 1973, over
one-hundred years later, that abortion would be made legal again.
The controversial nature of abortion polarized people into either Pro-Life or Pro-Choice
groups. ​Pro-Life activists argue that an unborn baby is still considered a human being by the
government and therefore, terminating a pregnancy would be considered murder. According to
this belief, abortion practice should be made illegal due to its unethical nature. Some Pro-Life
arguments also tie in religious beliefs that fall along the lines of the acknowledgment of the
sanctity of the unborn child’s life. Whereas Pro-Choice activists believe that prior to the point of
viability, a woman should have the choice to terminate her own pregnancy without government
involvement. They do not consider it “murder” because prior to viability, the underdeveloped
fetus is not able to survive outside of the womb.
It was not until January 22nd,
1973 that abortion would finally
be legalized in the United
States. On this day, the U.S.
Supreme Court announced its
decision on ​Roe v. Wade​, a case
that challenged a Texas law that
banned abortions unless the
woman’s life was in danger. The
Court ruled that a woman’s
choice to terminate her
pregnancy fell under the
Fourteenth Amendment, the
constitutional right to privacy
(Mively 614).
However, in 1989, another case surrounding abortion was presented to the Court. In
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services​, the Court upheld a regulation in Missouri that required
women to get viability tests performed by physicians before getting an approved abortion. It also
prohibited the use of public facilities for the performance of an abortion (Mively 621). This
decision sent a message to other states that they could enact different laws to regulate abortion
practice in their states. Since this ruling, states whose government sways towards the Pro-Life
side have taken advantage of this by placing restrictions on abortions to make it more difficult
for women to have access to them. This has caused women seeking abortions to have to attempt
to hurdle many obstacles such as distance from clinics that are permitted to perform abortions,
gestational age limits, and obtaining permission from others. These barriers have led to women
putting themselves at risk in order to perform the abortion themselves, just as Barbara before ​Roe
v. Wade​.

Attempts to Undermine ​Roe v. Wade

“It's time that we recognize the Supreme Court is not the supreme being, and we
change the policy to be pro-life and protect children instead of rip up their body
parts and sell them like they're parts to a Buick” - Mike Huckabee

Many states have enacted laws that attempt to undermine ​Roe v. Wade ​since it was
enacted, mainly through gestational age limits. Gestational age is a term used to describe how far
along a woman’s pregnancy is, measured from the first day of the woman’s last menstrual cycle
to the current date of the pregnancy. Most states require that the abortion take place while the
fetus is not viable–when it is not able to survive outside of the womb. Many studies have been
conducted on when a fetus is viable, some saying that it is after the 25th week while others say at
the 20th week (Peterfy 608). Many states have placed bans on abortions around 12 weeks, 20
weeks, and 24-28 weeks into a woman’s term. For example, the Governor of North Dakota
 signed a law in March 2013 that bans abortions as early
as six weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period
(“Abortion”). A study conducted in 2008 estimated that
around 4,000 women were denied an abortion in that year
alone due to limits on gestational age in certain states
(Upadhyay 1692). These age limits create many issues for
women because most pregnancies are not recognized
until 5 or 6 weeks after fertilization. Additionally, women
seeking abortions commonly have to delay the procedure
because they need to raise money for travel and
procedure costs (Upadhyay 1692). The gestational age
limits take into account these factors of pregnancy
recognition and costs and purposely make it more
difficult for women to have the procedure in order to
attempt to regulate the amount of abortions being
performed.
Another way that states have attempted to undermine ​Roe
v. Wade ​is by placing restrictions on abortion that
requires women or minors to obtain permission from
others before undergoing the procedure. Some states such as Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, etc., have
enacted laws requiring minors to obtain permission from their parents/legal guardians to have an
abortion, while others require parents to be informed of the abortion 48 hours before the
procedure, or simply have no requirements at all (Planned Parenthood). This is a deliberate
attempt to limit the number of abortions performed since most teen moms would prefer getting
an abortion without their parents knowing. However, if their parents are informed, they might
not let them undergo the procedure depending on their views on abortion. Most of the states that
do require parental permission are states in the midwest that have a strong Catholic/Christian
presence, therefore the parents would most likely not approve. Similarly, a new law in Arkansas
requires a woman to obtain permission from the man who impregnated her before having an
abortion, including rape victims (Forster). Leaving a woman’s life in the hands of the man who
impregnated her takes Arkansas backwards in terms of women’s rights by stripping women of
making such an important decision on their own. All of these restrictions regarding permission
strip women’s right to do what they want to their bodies, and overall sends the disrespectful
message to American women that they are not competent enough to make their own life
decisions.
These restrictions cause many
issues for women trying to terminate
their pregnancies because purposely
make women have to take more steps
than necessary that might deter them
from undergoing the procedure.
Recently, the Trump administration
tried to deny a 17 year old
undocumented teen in Texas from
receiving an abortion. A federal appeals
court sided with the girl and ordered the Trump administration to allow the girl to have her
abortion immediately. At 16 weeks pregnant, time was of the essence since Texas prohibits
abortions after 20 weeks. The girl and her lawyers claim that the federal officials deliberately
delayed the case by requiring her to undergo counseling at a religiously affiliated pregnancy
center, which urged her to continue with her pregnancy (Fernandez). Undocumented women
under federal custody are allowed to obtain abortions in the United States, however the Trump
administration used its power to delay the procedure from happening. Their actions demonstrate
how the country is only moving backwards in terms of abortion laws, and creates fear and worry
for many young women in the United States.
Additionally, in 2013, a new law in Texas limited abortions to only take place in surgical
centers, including abortions using the pill (CBS/AP). Unfortunately, only 5 out of 41 abortion
clinics were certified surgical centers, which further limited women’s access to abortions. Texas
is a large state, and the scarcity of abortion clinics forces women to have to find cash for travel
expenses, further delaying the procedure and detering women from undergoing it.

Consequences of Abortion Restrictions

“Abortion is the single greatest avenue for militant women to exercise their quest
for power and advance their belief that men aren't necessary...nothing matters but
me, says the feminazi” -Rush Limbaugh

Women living in states that enforce such strict abortion laws face a variety of difficulties
due to these laws. Many women feel as though they are forced to carry their unwanted pregnancy
to term. Most women seek abortions because they do not feel as though they are ready to take on
the responsibility of a baby. This may be due to continuing education, or not being in a good
economic standing to vare and provide for a child. However, if they are denied an abortion, they
are forced to face these bring a child into their unstable lives. A study published in the American
Journal of Public Health concluded that laws that restrict abortions may lead to worsened
economic outcomes for women (Foster). Women who were denied abortions were more likely to
experience economic hardship and poverty than women who received abortions. These laws
force women to carry out pregnancies that they are not ready for and can lead to poor quality
lives for the mother and her children.
When a pregnancy is extremely unwanted, some women take matters into their own
hands. Similar to pre-​Roe​ times, women are attempting to self-induce abortions. Researchers
conducted a study in Texas that resulted in an estimated 100,000-200,000 women who had
attempted to self-induce an abortion (Grossman). These women felt as though they did not have
adequate access to clinic-based care and decided to perform the procedure themselves. Whether
this be through ineffective herb remedies, medications brought in from Mexico, or through
violent actions such as blunt trauma to the abdomen, these self-induced attempts pose a high
health risks to the mother (Vasquez). Rather than lift the harsh restrictions on abortion, states are
allowing women to put their health and their lives at risk just because of their beliefs that
abortion is wrong.
 Works Cited

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archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/06/18/us/politics/abortion-restri

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CBS/AP. “Texas Senate Passes New Abortion Restrictions.” ​CBS News​, CBS Interactive, 13

July 2013, www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-senate-passes-new-abortion-restrictions/.

Fernandez, Manny. “U.S. Must Let Undocumented Teenager Get an Abortion, Appeals Court

Says.” ​The New York Times​, The New York Times, 24 Oct. 2017,

www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/us/undocumented-immigrant-abortion.html.

Forster, Katie. “Women Seeking Abortions in Arkansas Now Need Permission from Men.” ​The

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www.independent.co.uk/News/world/americas/women-arkansas-abortion-men-permissio

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