Rana El Zaghir
Trigger warning: This article mentions rape.
Abortion is explained as the expulsion of a fetus from the uterus before it has reached the stage of viability, which is usually about the twentieth week of pregnancy. There are a few ways abortions can happen, whether spontaneously or purposely. Often at times, miscarriages can occur which makes the woman obligated to have an abortion in order to remove the remainder, so no medical problems can occur to the woman. Females have several reasons behind why they would want or need to get an abortion, which could be personal or medical reasons.
To begin with, at times women have to get abortions due to medical reasons that could greatly affect them. One major reason why a woman would get an abortion is to be able to save the life or mental or physical health of the mother. There are a few complications that can come with childbirth such as hyperextension, obstetrical hemorrhage, or uterine rupture. Although, the most common is hyperextension, which is when the mother’s high blood pressure that she already has before childbirth, rises up to the point of causing heavy blood loss, or cardiac arrest.
Another reason behind getting an abortion could be to prevent the delivery of a child that suffers from serious mental deficiency, genetic abnormality, or deformity. This reason could be a personal choice for the parent on whether they decide to continue with the pregnancy or not. They might not want their child to suffer in the world because they would be aware of the difficulties the child would have to go through growing up.
There is also the chance of women having a miscarriage, also known as a spontaneous abortion. The causes of a miscarriage could be genetic or chromosome issues, lifestyle habits, or underlying conditions. At times miscarriages could be from diseases or trauma because these have a great effect on the mother.
In addition, a woman can get an abortion due to personal reasons. One reason would be because the woman was raped or from incest and she wouldn’t want to keep the child. There is a great majority of women all over the world that go through getting raped by a stranger or someone they know and at times, they get impregnated. The whole situation would already be too much to handle for the victim and then having to bear the child of the man that did that to her would sometimes make the circumstances worse. They/ them would not want to bring the child into the world because they might resent them and there wouldn’t be anything they could do about it because every time they would look at the child, they would relive the experience all over again, but this is only a few cases and not all.
These situations, at times, lead the woman to put their child up for adoption because they wouldn’t be able to handle all of this. Another reason would be due to social and economic issues. Ever so often, the female that is pregnant would be a teen mom and they might not be able to manage the situation because they are still young and barely know what they are doing. At the time they are still dependent on their parents and getting an education, so it would be difficult and stressful for them to go through with it. There is also the idea that they can’s financially handle a child due to their lifestyle and barely making enough for them to get by.
However, there are people that will disagree with their decisions and try to talk them out of it or attempt to prevent them from doing so. There are states that made getting an abortion illegal even if they were raped, can not support the baby, or have complications. A great majority of states prevent women from getting abortions, and this leads them to get an abortion in an unnatural way or a way that could harm them. There is also the situation where the family of the female would not allow her to get an abortion because of their way of thinking and if she proceeds to do so, she would be going against their faith.
In conclusion, women have their own reasoning behind getting an abortion and it is something that they alone should make. This debate between pro-life and pro-choice is not something that can be decided by the government or someone of higher power because this so the choice of the person carrying the child since they are more aware of their own situation. Abortions are legal for two reasons, women have the right to make their own decisions concerning their reproductive system, and they have the right to practice their rights regardless of the government policies. Maybe some people will see a woman’s decision as selfish for not keeping the child but a woman should be able to do whatever she pleases with her body.
It’s her body, so it’s her choice.
References
Britannica. (n.d.). Abortion. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/abortion-pregnancy
Cafasso, J. (2019). Everything you need to know about miscarriage. HealthLine. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/miscarriage#causes
CountriesNow. (2013). Countries where abortion is illegal. Retrieved from https://www.countriesnow.com/countries-where-abortion-is-illegal/
Head, T. (2020). Understanding why abortion is legal in the United States. ThoughtCo. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/why-is-abortion-legal-in-the-united-states-721091
Rao, C. (2017). 3 most common causes for maternal death during delivery. BoldSky. Retrieved from https://www.boldsky.com/pregnancy-parenting/basics/2017/causes-for-maternaldeath-110813.html