Introduction
Even though the Supreme Court granted the right to abortion in 1973, the debate between the pro-choice and pro-life camps remains heated. It has become a point of contention between political conservatives and liberals. The Republican Party advocates for criminalizing abortion on a federal level because the government is responsible for preserving the religious sanctity of human life. The Democratic Party believes that all individuals have the right to bodily autonomy, including the right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. Wilkes’ pro-choice argument should be supported because depriving women of the constitutional right to abortion leads to the suffering of the woman herself, her child, and society at large.
Main body
Firstly, Wilkes argues that women’s right to abortion is guaranteed by the Constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness. Carrying a fetus for nine months is an invasive, inhumane burden to impose on a woman against her will. For centuries, women have thrown themselves off stairs, gotten dangerous illegal surgeries in alleys, and swallowed poison to avoid unwanted births. It is impossible to ban pregnancy termination, and criminalizing it only deprives women of access to safe, legal abortion care.
Furthermore, it is necessary to acknowledge that every pregnancy is unique. Some women were impregnated by their rapists; some fetuses face intrauterine diseases that mean they will not survive birth or present a threat to the mother’s life. In such situations, women have the right to make their decisions privately without government interference. Outlawing abortion is a constitutional infringement on reproductive rights.
Secondly, women seeking abortion usually do so because they lack the necessary resources to ensure the child’s healthy development. Forcing them to give birth regardless of circumstances means their children are likely to grow up malnourished and not receive enough love and attention to become well-adjusted adults. After all, conception is a biological function, but parenting is a psychological choice. It is impossible to guarantee the latter by imposing the former. Children should be willingly brought to life and cherished, not forced into a neglectful environment as punishment to their parents for having unprotected sex. If a woman acknowledges that she is either unable or unwilling to be a parent, that decision must be respected because it cannot be forced.
Furthermore, proposing the foster care system as a viable alternative is misleading and threatening to society. The system is infamous for neglect, abuse, mental health issues, and caregiver substance abuse (Scheid). Many children never get adopted and age out of the system with no family support, facing higher odds of unemployment, housing instability, and criminal justice involvement (“Fact Sheets”).
Wilkes states that the psychological, emotional, and financial difficulties unwanted children face causing them to become unproductive adults that threaten society. Since nobody bothered to teach them better, they turned out to be violent and immoral criminals. It has been estimated that legalizing abortion in 1973 reduced violent crime, and property rates each fell by 50% from 1991 to 2014, and that percentage is predicted to double in another twenty years (Donohue and Levitt 1). Granting women access to legal abortion establishes the safety and peace of our society.
Conclusion
In conclusion, legal abortion means respecting women’s reproductive freedom, ensuring that all children grow up wanted in safe environments, and improving the general conditions of society. Pro-lifers argue that abortion should be criminalized because a human life must be protected at all costs. However, this ideology would be more respectable if it led to more social support for vulnerable groups such as veterans, refugees, minorities, the disabled, and the elderly. Otherwise, it is a hypocritical stance that is more concerned with policing women’s sexual freedom than actually preserving the sanctity of life.
Works Cited
Donohue, John J., and Steven Levitt. “The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime Over the Last Two Decades.” American Law and Economics Review, vol 22, no. 2, 2020, pp. 241-302.
Scheid, Jeanette M. “Children in Foster Care: Issues and Concerns.” Psychiatric Times, vol. 33, no. 6, 2016. Web.
“Fact Sheets.” Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. Web.