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Ciara Lambe
Professor Grant
UWRT 1103
10 November 2014
The Legality of Abortion
Whether or not abortion should be legal is one of the most controversial topics of
this time. Although there is a huge debate behind the moral or spiritual reasoning, for or
against abortion, some would argue the legal debate is even more significant. The fact
that there are different laws regarding abortion for all fifty states makes for an even
more heated debate.
Laws making abortion legal or illegal are difficult to make because many argue
about the point during the pregnancy in which the baby can be considered an actual
human being. Another reason creating a struggle in developing laws comes from the
different viewpoints of the pro-life and pro-choice advocacy groups. Whereas the prochoice group believes that the mother has the right to make decisions in regards her
own body, the pro-life group believes the baby has the right to live.
Abortion is such a two-sided topic that most people are either completely for, or
completely against. It is difficult for lawmakers to develop laws to please citizens who
see the topic differently. In researching previous Supreme Court cases such as Roe v.
Wade and evaluating current laws, it is interesting to see the evolving stance that the
government is taking in its views of abortion.
Simply put, abortion is the intentional termination of a pregnancy. Although the
definition may seem simple, it is very complex. There are many practices used to carry

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out an abortion. One of the most common procedures is a surgical abortion. If
completed early on the pregnancy, the procedure is known as a suction curettage, in
which all contents regarding the pregnancy is suctioned out of the uterus. Dilation and
Evacuation is another type of surgical abortion that is carried out later in the pregnancy,
around twelve to sixteen weeks. Another widely known method is a medical abortion. A
medical abortion requires the pregnant woman to take a series of pills throughout the
first seven to nine weeks (Abortion).
Hundreds of years ago, there were basically no restrictions when it came to
abortion. Until the middle of the 19th century, there were virtually no penalties for an
abortion and women often would abort the babies up until 13 to 25 weeks of pregnancy.
This period was known as the quickening and was defined as the time in which the
mother could first feel the movement of the fetus. Abortion were very common,
however, they were not regulated and were often deemed dangerous (Abortion). After
beginning to promote professional abortions in the 1850s, the American Medical
Association was able to pass laws making almost all abortions illegal by 1900. The only
time an abortion was legal was if the mothers life was at risk (Nossiff 1). This remained
the only exception until the 1960s when thirteen states added a few more exceptions.
Abortions were now legal if the mother had conceived the baby through rape or if the
fetus was going to born with birth defects (Nossiff 2).
Arguably one of the most influential moments in the legality of abortion in the
United States of America was the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade on January
22,1973 (Roe V. Wade: Its History and Impact). In March of 1970, Texas native, Norma
McCorvey, better known as Jane Roe, became pregnant out of wedlock. Henry Wade, a

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Dallas district attorney, was responsible for representing the law of Texas (Weddington).
At the time of case, Roe v. Wade, Texas was one of the thirteen states that deemed an
abortion legal only if the life of the mother was endangered. Roe claimed the law was
unconstitutionally vague. How could it be determined whether or not the mothers life
was threatened? She also argued that her right to privacy was being violated (Roe v.
Wade (1973)). In the decision by the Supreme Court to legalize abortion, they
elaborated on the constitutional right of privacy stating, The right of privacy is broad
enough to encompass a womans decision whether or not to terminate her
pregnancy.(qtd. Roe V. Wade: Its History and Impact). In other words, the Supreme
Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to make it illegal to have an abortion. With that
being said, the decision of Roe v. Wade declared it legal for a woman to carry out an
abortion as it was considered her right to privacy declared in the constitution.
Whether or not abortion would be considered legal following the Supreme Court
in the case, Roe v. Wade, was based on the point in the pregnancy in which the mother
was seeking abortion. The Supreme Court ruled that all abortions in the United States
were legal during the first trimester, which is weeks zero through twelve. The legality of
abortion during the second trimester, weeks 13 through 28, was to be determined on an
individual state-by-state basis. The Supreme Court decided that it would be illegal to
carry out an abortion in the third and final trimester, weeks 29 through 40, unless the
mothers life was at risk (Abortion).
The legalization of abortion drastically decreased the amount of deaths as a
result of pregnancy. Women were now able to attend professional clinics where the
practices of abortion were much safer and much more sanitary. Whereas seventeen out

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of every one hundred deaths regarding pregnancy were due to illegal abortions in 1965,
only three out of every one thousand deaths are because of legal abortions today (Roe
V. Wade: Its History and Impact). The decrease in abortion related deaths can be
related to the decision by the Supreme Court that made it illegal to perform abortions
without a state license (Abortion).
There are so many factors involved that make it difficult to determine the legality
of abortion. One of the primary arguments between pro-life and pro-choice advocates is
the idea that an abortion is murder. According to the Victims of Violence Act, unborn
babies are classified as humans in the eyes of the United States government (Abortion).
Those who intend to kill or harm an unborn baby will be punished as if they were trying
to harm or kill a human being. This idea can spark a huge debate. If a human were to
kick a mother in her stomach and kill the unborn baby, he can be tried with murder.
However, a mother can abort her baby and kill it with no penalty at all.
Another position pro-life and pro-choice advocates argue about is the right. Prochoice advocates believe that the woman has the right to her body. This can be seen in
the recent Supreme Court cases, Stenberg v. Carhart in 2000 and Gonzales v. Carhart
in 2007. In the Stenberg v. Carhart case, the court ruled that partial-birth abortions were
unconstitutional. A partial-birth abortion takes place when the physician delivers the
baby so that the head is outside of the body of the mother and then it is killed. Any
physician who performed a partial-birth abortion could be charged for murder. The court
case Gonzales v. Carhart provided an exception. The Supreme Court ruled that anyone
who killed the baby after it was delivered would not be charged if the partial-birth
abortion prevented the mother from dying (Zhang). According to the Supreme Court

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ruling, an abortion violated, a womans autonomy to determine her lifes course, and
thus to enjoy equal citizenship stature.(qtd. Abortion). Where as Supreme Court Cases
before Gonzales were generally very vague and either legalized or illegalized an
abortion practice, the specificity of the Gonzales v. Carhart case provided a precedent
that would allow past and future laws based on abortion to be explored further in depth
(Zhang).
On the other end of the spectrum, those in favor of the pro-life side believe that
the unborn baby has the right to live. The United States of America was founded on the
Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence says, All men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. (Abortion). Pro-life
supporters claim that if the unborn baby has the right to life. They believe that life of the
unborn baby begins at conception. The baby therefore is a human and to take the right
of life away from tem is deemed unconstitutional (Abortion).
One of the main reasons women have an abortion is for the sake of their child.
Some women find out that they are going to have a child with a disability and decide to
abort the baby. Pro-choice supporters think that it is unfair for the baby to have to live
with having a disability throughout their life. Some mothers are also not believed to be
capable of raising an unborn child. Therefore they are put in an unfair situation that can
be detrimental to the child. They also argue that a it is cruel to require a mother to carry
a baby a full term if it is certain that the baby will die before birth or shortly after the
delivery. On the other hand, pro-life supporters consider aborting a baby with a disability
as discrimination (Abortion). According to a recent study by BBC News, nine of ten

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unborn babies that are diagnosed with spina bifida are aborted. (Abortion and
Disability) In order to prevent the discrimination of those with disabilities, The Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990, was created. This legislation helps to protect the rights of
babies with disabilities so that they have the opportunity (Abortion). The Society for the
Protection of Unborn Children makes an interesting point in favor of letting the unborn
baby have the right to live by stating, Some claim that abortion prevents disability but
all it does is kill those who happen to have a disability. No doctor would claim to be
curing cancer by killing patients (Abortion and Disability).

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Works Cited
"Abortion and Disability or Eugenic Abortion." Abortion and Disability or Eugenic
Abortion. Society for the Protection of Unborn Childfren, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
"Abortion Pros and Cons." Procon.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
Nossiff, Rosemary. Before Roe: Abortion Policy in the States. Philadelphia: Temple UP,
2001. Project MUSE. 25 Sept. 2014. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
Roe V. Wade: Its History and Impact. Planned Parenthood Federation of America. N.d.
Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
"Roe v. Wade (1973)." Department of Philosophy. UC San Diego. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
Weddington, Sarah. "ROE V. WADE." Texas State Historical Association. N.p., 11 Feb.
2013. Web. 06 Nov. 2014.
Zhang, Mark. "The Embryo Project Encyclopedia." Gonzales v. Carhart (2007). Arizona
State University, 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.