Should women have the right to make choices about their bodies? Women’s choice of freedom has been questioned by Pro-Life and Pro-Choice groups for centuries. Many people ask, 'If Roe is overturned, will abortion be illegal in all states of America?' The answer is no. In the Roe vs. Wade case, if Roe were to be overturned, each state would have an option on whether or when abortion will be banned. Roe vs. Wade is the famous 1973 lawsuit that led to the challenge of abortion laws in Texas. Jane Roe was an unmarried pregnant woman who filed suit on behalf of herself and others to challenge Texas abortion laws, while Henry Wade was the defendant who represented the state of Texas. In Kenya, unlawful abortion is illegal, meaning if a medical professional deems it an emergency and abortion is necessary, it would be legal. Roe being or not being overturned could impact other counties and whether they change their laws about abortion.

Pro-Choice groups (people who support abortion) have a firm opinion of the Roe vs. Wade case. Pro-Choice supporters and activists say that access to safe and legal abortion follows the right to say what happens to our own bodies and the right to privacy regarding our own bodies. 

"If (Dan Quayle) thinks that its ungraceful for an unmarried woman to bear a child, and if he believes a woman cannot adequately raise a child without a father, then he'd better make sure abortion stays safe and legal." (Diane English). This quote shows a perspective and point of view we don't usually see talked about as much on social media compared to other reasons as to why abortions should be legal. As much as every other reason is valid and incredibly important, this idea that banning abortion goes against the left-handed (conservative) opinion that a woman is less and incapable without a man, and most people who promote the abortion ban tend to have the same or similar ideologies surrounding this topic and the patriarchy alike. If a woman should not bear a child alone, then shouldn't she have the opportunity to abort? As much as the idea that women should have abortion rights because a mother raising a child alone or without a man is unlawful is helpful towards pushing abortion rights forward, we mustn't forget that it is a point of view that strongly objectifies women and disrespectfully degrades them.

Many people seem to think that banning safe abortions itself will not stop all abortions and possibly promote unsafe, illegal, and underground abortions. Many women apart of the Pro-Choice and Pro-Abortion movements say that we need to care more about what life the child and mother will live if the fetus is not aborted. An absence of abortion may lead a family to a life of poverty with a lack of opportunities or that the mother could endure severe mental, physical and medical issues that will profoundly affect both the mother and child.

In contrasting views, a fetus can be considered alive, aborting it would be murder, and there are alternatives like adoption. Several people deem that morally the government of the US should protect the lives of fetuses. Critics argue that a fetus 20 weeks old (or even younger) responds to various types of stimuli like music and their mother's voice which could mean that there is a chance that the fetus can feel the pain from the abortion. Another reason many people believe that abortion should be banned is that everybody has a right to live and a right to life (assuming that an unborn fetus has a life). 

“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 Theresa). A large number of people disagree with this idea, as many don't support the idea that life is at conception. From the point of view where this idea is agreed upon, then morally, it is believed that abortion is the murder of an unborn child. Saying that abortion and murder are alike pushes a very criminalizing perspective toward abortion. Though many people disagree with the ideology that abortion is murder and morally there is a duty to stop mothers from aborting, folks may argue that the emotional roller coaster that a mother goes through as they abort their fetus is proof abortion can be considered murder as the mother is saddened and people plea that she feels guilt towards her actions, and if she did only good, guilt would not be a present emotion.

In my personal opinion, I believe that people should have the right to freedom of choice. No woman will ever have freedom until they have full control over their own body, that can’t be done unless a mother has the right to abortion. Many people who are ‘Pro-Life’ don’t actually care about life after birth. The majority of Pro-Life people don’t realize that banning abortion increase the number of kids and families in poverty by a large percentage, healthcare, and daily resources are scarce in families, and the mother or child could have agonizing mental, physical, and medical issues that will affect the whole family. Many say the guilt a mother feels after abortion is proof that abortion is murder. Having an abortion is not indulgent, most mothers feel plenty of emotions, both negative and positive and that doesn’t mean that she did something bad, just that she has feelings, and she is human.

In conclusion, abortion is a globally divisive issue. Pro-Choice groups consider abortion as a right and that women will not be free until abortion has no consequences and banning abortion will only ban safe and legal ones. Pro-Life groups strongly believe that abortion is murder and there is a moral obligation to put an end to them. Overall I think abortion should be safely, easily, and legally accessed by mothers though many people seem to think otherwise.  

Works Cited

"Abortion." Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 4 May 2022, icof.infobase.com/articles/QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTY1NDM=. Accessed 12 May 2022.

ProCon.org, Britannica. "Pro and Con: Abortion." Abortion [N/A], Pro and Con ed., 29 May 2019. Britannica, www.britannica.com/story/pro-and-con-abortion. Accessed 9 May 2019.