Essay, Research Paper: Abortion

Abortion has been around in our country for decades. It may be one of the most debated human rights topics in the whole world. I can remember the first time I really learned what abortion was. I was about 14, and I was sitting on a couch in my house, reading through a magazine. As I flipped through the magazine, I stopped on an article that caught my attention. I forget the title, but I do remember a picture of a woman, maybe 22, sitting in a corner of a darkened room, with a light shining on her. Her expression was of grief and sorrow. Intrigued by the picture, I read the article. It described how a woman was raped, and, after learning she was pregnant, had an abortion. After reading it, I felt very disturbed. How could a mother take the life of her child? Right then and there I decided that abortion was one hundred percent wrong and that I would never have an abortion. But, as I learned more about abortions, pregnancy, and issues related to abortion, my position changed. During high school, many speakers came to my high school to talk about abortions. My high school, being catholic and all girls, believed firmly in pro-life. The speakers explained more about the abortion process then the magazine article I had read. They presented many sides to the issue, and my fellow classmates also added their insights. Because of these new revelations, my position on abortion began to change. I began to realize that, while I was never going to get an abortion myself, I could not chastise other women for getting abortions. Every woman is her own person and I could not judge someone for her decision to get an abortion. So now my feelings on abortion are personally, I would not get one, ever, but if another woman wants to get one, it s their decision and I have to accept it. Also, I believe that in some cases, like rapes, abortion would not necessarily be a bad thing. Like my view, other people s views on abortion have changed over time. A while ago, abortion was not legal; now it is. Sometime during the time abortion was illegal and it was legalized, society s views changed. With the progressiveness of technology and the social changes occurring, the government chose to legalize abortion. I do not think that this will change in the near future. Many women enjoy having the option of abortion if necessary, and those women will fight to keep abortion legal. This particular issue does not apply to one certain social class or race; it applies to women in general. Therefore, one cannot say that abortions will go away because of the rich upper class or the poor lower class. One cannot say that abortions will become illegal because of whites, or blacks, or Asians. The only way abortions might change is if an age limit is enforced. This has not occurred, as of yet. Abortions will continue to be legal as long as women have the desire to have them.