The Controversy of Abortion Essay example -- Abortion Pregnancy Medica

The Controversy of Abortion In three weeks, Jennifer will leave for college. She broke up with her boyfriend two weeks ago, and today she found out she was pregnant. Should Jennifer have an abortion, or stop all her plans and have a baby at eighteen? Either way the decision is hers to make. On January 22, 1973 the landmark decision of Roe vs. Wade occurring in the Supreme Court made abortion a "constitutional liberty" (Francome 20). Legally, Jennifer can receive an abortion. Socially, however, she will endure many more obstacles. Fighting for society's acceptance In today's American society, viewpoints on certain topics often conflict with what individuals believe is right. This is very evident in the argument for acceptance of abortions among college students. However, with the rise of the anti-abortion movement this procedure has become less accepted and harder to obtain. Should abortions among college students be more widely accepted in society? According to a Planned Parenthood study done in 1997, forty percent of seventeen year olds will become pregnant before their twenty-fifth birthday. This statistic is directly targeted at college age females. The answer is far from being strictly a black and white issue, but my own viewpoint is "yes" abortions should be accepted among society for many reasons. The controversial issue of abortion has many intertwining, surrounding complications. Such an issue is never concrete, "in America, about 20% of Americans thoroughly oppose abortions, 20% thoroughly favor abortions, while a vast majority are 'muddled in the middle'" (Pojman and Beckwith 59). As with any pregnancy there are impending risks involved and many extenuating circumstances that justify an abortion. In a perfect world, abortions are not the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancies, but there are many "bumps in the road," keeping the United States from being perfect. Defining Life? The main question facing society is the definition of a fetus' point of living. Pro-Lifers believe that, "a fertilized embryo is the foundation for a living human being" (National College Students for Life). In contrast, pro-choicers argue that a human being is something more concrete with it's own thought processes and consciousness. Petchesky argues, "the fetus is only a potential human being, and we confuse actual with potent... ...roblem with accepting abortion is the lack of facilities that perform abortions. Only thirteen percent of abortions are performed within hospitals (Landes 64). The rest are performed outside of hospitals in clinics. The Alan Guttmacher Institute surveyed and found only 2,680 abortion clinics in the United States. Eighty-eight percent of the clinics are only in metropolitan areas where ninety-eight percent of abortions are performed (Landes 64). Rural counties that contain colleges or universities do not have such accessibility to facilities that perform abortions. The AGI discovered that eighty-three percent of rural counties did not have clinics. Limited facilities that perform clinics poses a dilemma for college students that may not have transportation or time, to travel to metropolitan areas. However, if colleges installed on-campus abortion clinics with certified doctors and psychologists, for counseling purposes, this problem could be corrected. With on-campus abortion clinics, it would show the university to be more accepting and understanding of college students need for such medical facilities, and therefore, society as a whole may be more accepting.