Women s Rights And General Moral Values - 1631 Words

Over the course of American history, there have been many controversial issues within America such as gun control, the legalization of marijuana, the death penalty, and abortion. Abortion has been debated as a topic concerning a woman s rights and general moral values. There are two main opposing sides to this issue: people who are pro-life, and people who are pro-choice. People who are pro-life are against abortion at any time during the pregnancy, no matter the circumstances, while people who are pro-choice feel it is a woman s decision to choose if she should have an abortion because it is her body. Abortion has stimulated many intense discussions throughout the United States, and one should become fully informed on its history, the†¦show more content†¦Stanton says that if the government and society started treating women with respect and giving them the same rights as men, they won t feel the need to get an abortion because they would be receiving government financial support and therefore feel safer having a child. This movement continued and finally in 1920, the 19th Amendment was passed and women received their right to vote, yet getting an abortion was still a struggle for women (Foster 2). In the 1950’s, it is said that between 200,000 and 1.2 million abortions were illegally performed due to the previous laws that were passed banning abortion (Eichenwald 3). The United States continued to enforce abortion laws between 1967 and 1973 that allowed abortion â€Å"when performed by a licensed physician who judged that there was a substantial risk that continuance of pregnancy would gravely impair the physical or mental health of the mother, that the child would be born with serious defects, or when pregnancy resulted from rape or incest† (Abortion: Background and Issues 2). In the case of Roe vs. Wade, Sarah Weddington, the attorney of the case, explained the inequality pregnant women endured who work, are in school, or lack money . She asked the jury to understand that the pregnant women who want an abortion feel it is the best decision for them because of the injustices they face (Foster 3). So, in 1973, the Supreme Court allowed abortion within the first three months of a