Public views on abortion rights Personal choice over law

When it comes to personal choices, how can the law take the right away from women to receive abortions? Abortion services are far from guaranteed in various countries around the world, yet individuals still find ways around the law. 

     The Guttmacher Institute, a US non-profit organization, found that the abortion rate is 37 out of 1,000 people in countries where abortions are illegal. With limited resources to achieve a safe abortion, women seek dangerous ways to have abortions, because of restricted laws. The World Health Organization states, that there are 25 million unsafe abortions per year, many in developing countries where the consequences are fatal. 

     Specifically, in America, public views on abortions are widely split with 59 percent of adults saying abortion should be legal and 39 percent saying it should be illegal, according to the Pew Research Center. Attitudes toward the issue also vary by religious affiliation. 

     Around three-quarters of white evangelical Protestants support abortions being illegal, while 63 percent of White Protestants who are not evangelical say abortions should be legal in most cases. Furthermore, personal experiences and education have an influence on individual opinions regarding abortion morality. 

     Coming to terms in a divided society over abortion rights and respecting human life becomes further of a societal issue when taking rape and a lack of sex education into consideration. With every 1 in 6 women in America having been a victim of attempted or completed rape, shouldn’t a woman, despite their age, have the power to make their own personal decisions after being victims of such a gruesome crime. 

     Within the education system, failing to teach women and men about safe practices for sexual activities should not place a pregnant teen or woman at blame. Teaching specifically ‘abstinence’ does no good for the majority of teens placed in pressured situations to engage in sexual activities. 

     Focusing more emphasis on ways to have safe sex and saying ‘no,’ would be more beneficial for students finding themselves in challenging situations with a partner.  

     Recently in Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan vetoed a measure to expand access to abortions but was overridden by the General Assembly controlled by Democrats, according to U.S. News. The new law allows nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and physician assistants to be provided with abortion training, instead of just physicians.  

     On the House floor, Emily Shetter supported the measure as a mother and sexual assault survivor in college. Shetter states, “thankfully the incident did not result in a pregnancy but had it, it would have drastically changed my life.”

     For women with similar experiences to Shatter, having the right to receive an abortion is beyond important for those incapable of taking care of a child and those searching for safe options for successful abortions.