Introduction
An archaic patriarchal world dominated by masculinity is obsolete today, and numerous women’s rights movements attest to this fact. However, some aspects of social life are perceived as biased, and little freedom in decision-making limits women’s rights. This work aims to describe abortion as a controversial phenomenon that always causes significant public resonance. Prohibitions on the voluntary termination of pregnancy are a relic and can be regarded as a direct violation of women’s freedom. Females have the right to make an independent decision whether to have an abortion since, in addition to personal motives, many other conventions and indications prescribe such a procedure.
Outdated Views as a Cause of Restraints
Despite women’s attempts to prove their equality, the issue of abortion is still perceived ambiguously. Society is divided from the perspective of accepting or not accepting this procedure, and different reasons are given. According to Ho and Tsang (2012), opponents of abortion insist that women do not have the right to make decisions that entail interrupting the life of a fetus, albeit unborn. At the same time, the authors note that topics of sexual behavior are addressed to a much lesser extent, which is illogical (Ho & Tsang, 2012). No one forbids a young woman to have a free sex life, but in the case of pregnancy, most of her environment will surely be convinced of the need to preserve a fetus. These double standards underscore the bias in the anti-abortion legislation.
In addition, officials’ participation in resolving the problem is minor and ineffective and, as a rule, is based on bans only. Rubin (1993) notes the imperfection of the existing policies and argues that the official ban on abortion, along with the abolished sex education program, is an irrational result of the authorities’ attempts to coordinate the issue. Therefore, the right of women to an individual decision on the termination of pregnancy should be perceived as natural, largely due to the prevalence of prohibitions over support measures.
Additional Reasons for Making an Independent Choice
Women’s right to decide whether to have an abortion is based not only on legal but also on other prerequisites. Sanger (2016) notes cases of miscarriages, fetal diseases, and other factors that serve as indications for the termination of pregnancy. From an ethical standpoint, this controversial procedure is often justified. Moreover, according to Berer (2017), abortion is one of the safest medical procedures if it is performed based on the current standards of gynecological surgery. Therefore, in addition to legal status, medical aspects should be considered as conditions allowing women to decide whether to have an abortion.
Conclusion
Women’s right to decide on abortion should be inalienable and independent due to gender equality and related conventions, for instance, mandatory medical prescriptions. Outdated views and legal constraints maintain a bias towards the issue and make it difficult to objectively assess the problem. The safety of this procedure performed by modern medical standards is an additional aspect in favor of protecting women’s rights.
Annotated Bibliography
Berer, M. (2017). Abortion law and policy around the world: in search of decriminalization. Health and Human Rights, 19(1), 13-27.
The article by Berer (2017) examines the phenomenon of abortion from the perspective of its perception in the context of the existing legislation. The researcher’s key argument is that the participation of various stakeholders, including responsible boards and authorities, should be mandatory to decriminalize abortion and empower all women to terminate unwanted pregnancies (Berer, 2017, p. 13). This article is valuable in the context of the ongoing research and provides the current regulations related to the issue of abortion. The study can be used in the planned project as a resource with the necessary references to legislative acts and statistical correlations.
Ho, P. S. Y., & Tsang, A. K. T. (2012). Sex and desire in Hong Kong. Hong Kong University Press.
In their book, Ho and Tsang (2012) examine the aspects of sexual behavior in contemporary Hong Kong and provide unique arguments based on individual cases. The authors address the topic of abortion and note the growing interest in addressing this phenomenon among women (Ho & Tsang, 2012, p. 197). The findings can be applied to provide a rationale for the upcoming research. Personal experiences of individual cases can be utilized as primary sources and additional arguments.
Rubin, G. S. (1993). Thinking sex: Notes for a radical theory of the politics of sexuality. In H. Abelove, M. A. Barale, & D. M. Halperin (Eds.), The lesbian and gay studies reader (pp. 3-44). Routledge.
Rubin (1993) examines the legal aspects of abortion policies and criticizes specific practices. In particular, the researcher notes the illogicality of prohibitions on the termination of pregnancy and the limited ability to receive appropriate sexual education (Rubin, 1993, p. 8). These considerations correspond to the planned research topic and may be used as a basis for criticizing the legislation. A comparison of current and past approaches to coordinating the issue of abortion can be made within the project.
Sanger, C. (2016). Talking about abortion. Social & Legal Studies, 25(6), 651-666. Web.
The article by Sanger (2016) offers to assess the phenomenon of abortion from both social and legal perspectives. The author draws attention to conflicting aspects and argues that various factors need to be taken into account, including reasons that do not depend on women themselves, for instance, medical indications (Sanger, 2016, p. 654). This study is related to the topic under consideration and contains a variety of views on the issue of abortion. Selected examples from the legislative practice can support arguments about giving women the right to decide whether to have an abortion or not.