The Abortion Controversy
Megan Choi
November 2024 — Social IssuesThink about a situation when you’re about to make a very personal decision, with opinions and rules affecting and judging you. This is the reality for many people who are dealing with abortion these days. To any of you who never heard of it, abortion is a medical process of terminating pregnancy. It is different with miscarriage since abortion is on purpose and miscarriage is naturally occurring. Since abortion is killing the baby intentionally to end pregnancy and also risking women’s health, abortion has become an issue for many years and is still continuing today.
To understand why abortion became controversial, it’s important to look at its history. Did you know that ancient people also had methods of abortion? Even though their methods weren’t proved safe, many ancient women practiced them. The first evidence of abortion is written in the Ebers Papyrus, which is a medical papyrus of herbal knowledge from ancient Egypt. At that time, since they didn’t have any specialized medical system, they used non-surgical methods such as getting an abdominal massage and doing harsh physical labor on purpose. Most of the methods were usually home remedies. There isn't any evidence if those methods were effective, but it shows women that time also struggled to end unwanted pregnancy. Later, as medical technologies developed, some safer methods also appeared. Instead of unproved dangerous methods, women started to visit hospitals and take pills or have surgery.
So why do many women decide to have abortion these days? There are several reasons: unplanned pregnancy, financial burden, health issues, etc. According to BMC Women’s Health, the most commonly cited reason was because of economic concerns. As everyone knows, raising a child costs a lot of money and some people aren’t making enough money and feel burdened by it. Teen pregnancy also applies to this situation. There are more pregnant teens than we think today. Most of them are pregnant accidentally. Since they usually don’t make money and have to focus on their academics, they visit hospitals with their parents for abortion. Even worse, teens who can’t get help from their parents or run away from home usually end up trying illegal abortion which isn’t safe.
Did you know that the laws regarding abortion are different in every country? Abortion laws can be largely classified into three, which are fully legal, partially legal and illegal, and fully illegal. Countries where abortions are fully legal are very rare. Today, South Korea and Canada are the only countries without legal restriction. Abortion became legal in Canada in 1969, and from 2021, abortion became legal in South Korea. Abortion in most countries are partially legal and illegal considering woman and baby’s health and the gestational age. The United States is the only country where abortion law differs by state, although this includes other laws as well. Abortion laws are different in each country since the way of viewing abortion is different. In countries with strong religious belief or influence, abortion is viewed negatively and evaluated strictly. Also, countries with less populations have the tendency to ban abortion.
At this point, people might wonder why there is a controversy for abortion and why some people are protesting about it. This happens because there are two groups with differing opinions: the “pro-life” group that thinks a baby who isn’t born yet also has a life thus having an abortion is a murder, and the “pro-choice” people who care about women’s rights as being more important than that of the fetus. These two groups have debated about abortion for many years.
Even though there are people who support abortion, most of the society still view it negatively. In 1984, Dr. Bernard Nathanson, an obstetrician and gynecologist, created an anti-abortion documentary film 《The Silent Scream》. During this 28 minute video, he shows the specific process of abortion of a 12-week fetus which is in the first trimester. According to the video, while the abortion is in progress, the fetus is moving around the uterus to escape from the surgical instruments. As its body is broken into small pieces and sucked away, its mouth looks like it is screaming in pain. The title silent cream refers to this. This film became controversial as it was released for several reasons. It included unnecessarily cruel scenes such as dead fetuses and the specific steps and explanation. Also, some suspicions were raised that the video was time lapsed, and it is unsure whether the fetus’s sensation of pain has developed yet.
In conclusion, abortion is a controversial and sensitive topic that has been problematic for a long time. Unfortunately, no one has ended this debate since society’s opinions and thoughts regarding abortion is keep changing.